Real Madrid and Manchester City are the Champions League favourites, but who can challenge them after the draw?
The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season may still be weeks away, but the strength of the past two winners forces the question: is it already decided whether Real Madrid or Manchester City will lift the trophy at Munich’s Allianz Arena in the spring?
The last two Champions League winners still have some of the best players in Europe, which is especially true for defending champions Real Madrid, as they have added Kylian Mbappe to their squad, which also includes Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham. The pair are naturally the oddsmakers’ favourites to win this season’s award, well ahead of the rest of Europe.
That being said, it’s too early to rule out the possibility of some of Europe’s top teams winning. A knockout competition like the Champions League offers plenty of opportunities for upsets, while the change to a Swiss-system tournament promises more competitive matches for the top teams early on. There’s also the simple fact that many teams across the continent are building strong squads of their own with the hopes of winning major silverware, including the Champions League, and will rightly target Europe’s top prize even if the odds aren’t in their favor.
Ahead of the new-look Champions League season kicking off, let’s take a look at the teams who can beat City and Real Madrid to win Europe’s top prize.
Arsenal
League stage schedule
- Home: Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Monaco
- Away: Inter, Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon, Girona
Arsenal’s growth under Mikel Arteta has been relatively slow, but nearly five years after he took over as manager, his focus has shifted entirely to winning major titles such as the Premier League and Champions League. Arteta and the Gunners are beginning to hone a defence-first style and continue to add top players to their squad with the intention of winning now rather than building solely for the future, ensuring they will be a team to keep an eye on this season. Arsenal will have to overcome some of their historical obstacles to get to the top, though, including the fact that they haven’t reached the Champions League semi-finals since 2009. Arteta’s side are also somewhat unproven in Europe – they impressed by leading the Premier League title race to the final day last season, but went undefeated in the Champions League group stage and lost to a Bayern Munich side in the quarter-finals.
Bayern Munich
League stage schedule
- Home: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava
- Away: Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk, Feyenoord, Aston Villa
Despite slipping to third place last season and ending their 11-year hold on the Bundesliga, a below-average Bayern team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, indicating that there is enough raw talent to keep them in the race for major trophies. They will have to overcome the uncertainties that come with a new manager, especially one as unproven as Vincent Kompany, to make another deep run in Europe. Bayern have quite a star-studded squad, which is tough, led by one of the game’s best goal scorers in Harry Kane and emerging talent Jamal Musiala. It seems unlikely that they will be able to bounce back quickly from last season’s disappointments, but if one is looking for an underdog, it’s hard to go wrong with a team with game-changing talent like Bayern.
liverpool
League stage schedule
- Home: Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, Bologna
- Away: RB Leipzig, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Girona
Speaking of the new manager, Liverpool will have questions to answer now that Arne Slot has taken the job vacated by Jurgen Klopp, but early returns have instilled confidence that the Reds have made the right appointment. His tactical style is different to Klopp’s but still effective and Slot has the benefit of working with his predecessor’s squad, which is full of veteran talent with title-winning experience and young players who keep the team competitive. It is perhaps too early to expect a Champions League title in Slot’s tenure at Liverpool but he has the potential to be a dark horse. Slot’s transition year could be a perfect opportunity to give club stalwarts like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson one last chance as they are coming to the end of their peak years.
Paris Saint Germain
League stage schedule
- Home: Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Girona
- Away: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Red Bull Salzburg, Stuttgart
The French champions have the longest chance of surviving a post-Mbappe future than any other on this list, especially after Mbappe left for Madrid in the summer. However, Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique started to look for a post-Mbappe future last year with an attractive squad and quite impressive results. PSG no longer have any star players, but players like Goncalo Ramos and Vitinah played a big role in their success last season, while Enrique’s trust in young players like Warren Zaire-Emery shows they are clearly building for the future. Although this season’s Champions League trophy presentation is very early for PSG in a rebuilding year, they will undoubtedly be one of the teams that will have to adapt to life without Mbappe this season – and aim to deliver on the promise of last campaign.
