Champions League: New Format But Same Old Suspects

Just in case you missed it, this year’s Champions League will look different because of its new format. Unlike the usual group stage-knockout format that we’ve come to know, this time, we’ll start with the league phase, where an expanded list of 36 teams will compete for Europe’s biggest prize.

These teams will compete in home and away matches. Then, the Top 8 teams will advance to the Round of 16, while the teams ranked 9^th to 24^th will have to battle their way to make it to the next round before the actual knockouts.

Because the tournament is a survival of the fittest, teams need enough depth to see this through, and these clubs are equipped to do so.

So, who are these teams? Continue reading below to check out today’s SBOTOP list.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid are the winningest team in tournament history and the defending champions, and they got even stronger with the addition of Kylian Mbappe this summer.

Mbappe struggled for a while in his first few games in Los Blancos uniform, but the 2018 World Cup titleist found his footing by scoring a brace against Real Betis, which is bad news for the rest of the competition.

Because they maintained the same core and still have the masterful Carlo Ancelotti, the Champions League 2024 odds have Real Madrid as the prohibitive favourites to win it all again this year.

The only thing that will stop Real Madrid is injuries, as they now have eight key players on the injured list, with Eder Militao, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Ferland Mendy, Dani Ceballos, Joan Martinez, and David Alaba all sidelined.

This means that Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Fede Valverde, and Antonio Rudiger will have to carry the squad, while Endrick, Luka Modric, and Arda Guler should step up.

Real Madrid commence their Champions League campaign with winnable matches against VfB Stuttgart and Lille before taking on Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, and Liverpool in their next three.

Barcelona

Barcelona haven’t had much success in the Champions League recently, but this may be the year they could make a run at the trophy.

The Blaugrana are oozing in confidence under Hansi Flick, as they’re currently on top of the La Liga standings with four consecutive wins, including a 7-0 beatdown of Valladolid before the international break.

Flick knows what it takes to win the Champions League, as shown in 2020 when he was still at Bayern Munich, and he has a great core to work with in Catalunya.

Flick is reunited with Robert Lewandowski, who is not slowing down anytime soon. And then, they have some of the best young talents in Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Pau Cubarsi, Alex Balde, and Marc Casado, while Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are all in their prime.

Similar to Real Madrid, Barcelona will start their campaign with winnable games against AS Monaco and Young Boys before Flick meets his old employers, Bayern Munich, in late October.

Manchester City

Premier League teams do have a say in the Champions League proceedings, but the most equipped team to make a run for the trophy is Manchester City.

The Sky Blues, who won their first Champions League trophy in 2023, remain a formidable force in Europe under the watchful eye of Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City were relatively quiet during the summer transfer window, but they didn’t need to make so many moves because they already have a strong core.

There’s Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku, and John Stones, among others, and then they pulled off a huge coup by bringing back Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer after spending a year in Barcelona.

Manchester City will start their Champions League campaign with a tough matchup against Inter Milan, their opponent from the 2023 final, before a couple of easy games against Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Praha.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich went trophyless for the first time in a long while last season, prompting a drastic revamp this summer. Other than the summer additions of Joao Palhinha and Michael Olise and the sales of Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, they also have a new coach in Vincent Kompany.

So far this season, the Bavarians won their first two league matches this season to go on top of the Bundesliga table, and they can start their campaign with a positive run of Champions League 2024 results.

Bayern Munich’s first eight games are teams they’ve defeated before, with Dinamo Zagreb, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Benfica, PSG, Shakhtar Donetsk, Feyenoord, and Slovan Bratislava all in their way.

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