Who Will Win the Champions League?

The German giants have been unbelievable since Hans-Dieter Flick succeeded Niko Kovac in November. Having completed the domestic double this season, Bayern are in pole position to complete a treble win their first Champions League since 2013 when they beat Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

A place in the last eight is nearly guaranteed due to their 3-0 first leg win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Barring a disaster in the second leg, Flick's side will be going up against either Napoli or Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

In the past decade, City have transformed themselves from a mediocre side to one that deem a season to be unsatisfactory if the only silverware they manage to achieve is the Community Shield and Carabao Cup.

Having missed out on the Premier League to a rampant Liverpool side, City fans would be more than happy to sacrifice the Premier League, which they have won four times, if it meant they could bag their first ever Champions League. Considering the strength of the squad and having a world-class manager guiding them, it is going to take something special to stop City grasping the famous old trophy for the first time this year.

However, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being decided by a single leg, anything could happen and Guardiola, if they overcome Real Madrid in the round of 16, may find the improvised format to be more of a potential curse than a blessing.

Since the 2013/14 season, PSG have been a dominant force in domestic football, bagging no less than 25 trophies in that time. The next step, which has been in place for a long while at the Parc des Princes, is to make a mark in European football.

The Paris outfit have managed to progress through the group stages in the last eight Champions League campaigns (this one included) but, up until this season, have always fallen in either the round of 16 or quarter-finals. Thomas Tuchel has quality in abundance at his disposal so the former Dortmund coach cannot complain about not being given the tools to complete the job since his arrival in 2018.

Having already secured their place in the last eight, the draw has been favourable to them as they will be going up against Champions League debutants Atalanta in the quarter-finals. With that in mind, it will take something special to stop PSG from reaching their first Champions League semi-final since 1995.

One of the longest serving managers out of the biggest clubs in European football, Diego Simeone is in contention to reach a third Champions League final.

With odds of 8/1, Atletico are, alongside Barcelona, leading the way for Spanish clubs in this season's competition. Similar to PSG, Simeone's side have already confirmed their place in the last eight in Lisbon and will go up against Julian Nagelsmann's RB Leipzig side. In some ways, that is a favourable draw for Atletico considering this is the first time that Leipzig and Nagelsmann as a manager have reached this stage of the Champions League.

Should they beat Leipzig, they will play the winner from the tie between Atalanta and PSG in the semi-finals which means that Simeone could, for a third time, go up against his nemesis Real Madrid in the final.

The Champions League is Barcelona's last hope. Failure to claim their sixth Champions League title this season would mean that the team from Catalonia will complete a season devoid of silverware for the first time since the 2007/08 season.

In the round of 16, they will play their second leg at the Camp Nou with the tie delicately poised at 1-1 and Barca have Antoine Griezmann to thank for scoring their second half equaliser, an away goal that could prove to be crucial.

If they manage to progress to the quarter-finals in Lisbon, they will most likely be up against joint-favourites Bayern Munich. This is going to be a tough ask for the Spanish side to even progress through to the semi-finals, let alone win the competition, given their poor form since the restart.

Their five-year absence from the final could suggest that they have lost that spark that made them a team to be feared by even the biggest clubs. Considering their fairly long odds to win the Champions League, it seems like they might be the ones fearing to play against other clubs.

By Rob Spereall

• Atalanta - 9/1
• Juventus - 14/1
• RB Leipzig - 14/1
• Real Madrid - 25/1
• Lyon - 66/1
• Napoli - 66/1
• Chelsea - 200/1