The Champions League begins in earnest on
Tuesday evening and it would appear that a number teams could stake a
claim for glory this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been signed by Juventus purely in the hope that he can bring his incredible Champions League form with him from the Bernabeu.
Meanwhile, Gareth Bale looks like he is ready to replace his former team-mate as Real Madrid's linchpin in their hunt for a previously unthinkable fourth successive title.
With a number of contenders vying for the title, Sportsmail's experts have their say on who will lift Europe's most prized trophy in May.
Matt Barlow – Juventus
Max Allegri has stayed in Turin to win this prize. Backed to buy experience like Ronaldo and Bonucci this could be the year. Juve among a cluster of teams - also City and Liverpool - who can take the trophy out of Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times but will desperately want a sixth
Adam Crafton – Atletico Madrid
The club with a team that has grown together and added boldly in the transfer market over the past 12 months. With Barcelona and Real Madrid in transition, Diego Simeone’s team, with that powerful and talented spine of Diego Godin, Koke, Saul, Diego Costa and Antoine Griezmann, will feel this is their best chance yet to lift the trophy.
Keeping Antoine Griezmann from Barcelona could be a seminal moment for Atletico Madrid
Lee Clayton – Juventus
Juventus. Doesn’t the trophy go where Ronaldo goes? A quietish start for him there but we all know that once he gets going, the one-man fireworks display will explode all over this competition.
Craig Hope – Real Madrid
I think we’ve been distracted by Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus and ignored the positive impact it could actually have at the Bernabeu. It was interesting to read Gareth Bale’s interview in Sportsmail this week and he certainly seemed to suggest they could be stronger without Ronaldo and manager Zinedine Zidane. He made a convincing case and I’m backing them to make it four on the spin come May. And any time with Isco in it gets my vote.
Gareth Bale is looking like he could be the linchpin of Real Madrid in the post-Ronaldo era
Sami Mokbel – Juventus
Surely it’s written for Ronaldo to lift the trophy in his first season at the club? But fate aside, they’ve gone pretty close in recent years and the Italians are well-equipped to go all the way this time around.
Jack Gaughan – PSG
There has been a change in attitude at PSG this summer, with less emphasis placed on winning the competition. Lowering expectations is no bad thing and that may well work to new manager Thomas Tuchel’s advantage. Quality courses through their side and they might look at the different transitions rivals are going through and sense an opportunity this year. They should improve on their best, a quarter-final finish, at the very least.
Neymar (left) and Kylian Mbappe form part of an incredible attacking trident again this season
Rob Draper – Manchester City
It is illogical that the UAE and Qatar super clubs keep failing. Manchester City and PSG’s Champions League records since their respective Middle East takeovers are abysmal. Though there may be deep-seated psychological reasons why players at a traditional club like Real Madrid keep getting over the line, that can’t go on forever. My hunch is that this is the year new money makes its mark. And City, because of the more-competitive nature of the Premier League, look best placed to do so.
The next big target for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will be to win the Champions League
Dominic King – Juventus
I picked them out at the beginning of the season and I have no reason to change my mind. The signings they have made this summer have been with one intention. Now that Cristiano Ronaldo is starting to find his feet, he will make the difference. There could be nothing sweeter for him than to win this trophy with a third club and set himself apart.
Laurie Whitwell – Barcelona
It’s been a while since the Catalans claimed Europe’s biggest prize but perhaps now they are ready once again. Lionel Messi is as mesmeric as ever, and the supporting cast contains a frankly ridiculous level of talent. Any one of Ousmane Dembele, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, or Ivan Rakitic would be the leading light at other clubs in the competition.
Lionel Messi looks like he is approaching the very best of his form for Barcelona once again
Joe Bernstein – PSG
It’s the most open field for years. Bayern Munich look strong and Manchester City will prioritise over the Premier League but how about Kylian Mbappe trumping Messi and Ronaldo just as he did at the World Cup, this time for PSG. In Neymar, Di Maria, Thiago Silva, Veratti and others, he has no shortage of accomplices
Mike Keegan – Juventus
For me, any one of eight could win it, and I include City and Liverpool in that bunch. It’s incredibly difficult to predict a winner given the nature of the competition and the talent of the clubs involved. I’ll go for Juventus, however, simply because it would be an incredible storyline. They’ll beat Barcelona in the final with you-know-who scoring the winner.
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