The UEFA Champions League will be played under the new format from this season with each team having to play eight matches in the new league-like format. Real Madrid will enter the competition as defending champions having beaten Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final at Wembley Stadium.
This season the rival clubs will look to dethrone Real Madrid from their perch and lift Europe’s ultimate European competition.
Let us look at the teams who can take the Champions League crown from Real Madrid this season.
Arsenal
Arsenal impressed in the Premier League last season finishing 2nd in the league and taking the title fight with Manchester City all the way down to the last weekend. Mikel Arteta’s side has taken huge strides over the past few years and with Champions League football set to continue at the Emirates Stadium this season, Gunners would be eager to make their mark on the European stage.
Arsenal are expectedly busy in the transfer market this summer and have confirmed the arrival of center-back Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna. Stars like Mikel Merino and Victor Osimhen are also linked with a move to the Emirates and with the right balance in their star-studded squad, they can mount a challenge in the UEFA Champions League this season.
Manchester City
Manchester City won their first-ever Champions League trophy in the 2022-23 season defeating Inter Milan in the final. Last season they were beaten by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-final stage. Having won their domestic league title four times in a row, City’s main attention may well be towards lifting the UEFA Champions League for only the second time in their history.
Man City, like in recent years, have a squad more than capable of lifting the Champions League. The future of some key players has been in doubt recently but Kevin De Bruyne is set to stay at the Etihad this season which would come as a huge boost for the City faithful.
Pep Guardiola’s contract at Man City is set to expire in 2025 and if the Spaniard does end up leaving at the end of the season, he would love to go out as the winner of the Champions League for the second time at the Etihad.
Inter Milan
Inter Milan won the Scudetto by quite a margin last season. They only lost two matches in the league underlining the dominance of Simone Inzaghi’s side. Inter are showing no signs of a let-off this summer having already secured the services of Piotr Zieliński and are now looking to acquire the services of Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal.
Inter Milan’s last Champions League triumph came in 2010 when they beat Bayern Munchen 2-0 in the final. They also came agonizingly close in 2023 losing to Man City in the final at Istanbul. This season Inter will set its sights on winning the Champions League and with a couple of major signings this summer, Inzaghi’s team would be more than capable of lifting the Champions League for the first time in 15 years.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
