'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The UEFA Champions League is one of the most entertaining European football competitions in the world. It is also one of the most important; most football analysts believe that if a club wants to be regarded among the best in the world, they need to conquer all the best teams in Europe and take the glorious trophy home.
All the great clubs such as Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich etc. have won the Champions League title at some point in their history.
In the past few years, Real Madrid have consistently held the title of the best club in Europe as they have won four of the last five UEFA Champions League titles. However, when Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, the odds of winning the UCL for the Los Blancos reduced significantly.
Still, we can never know when Real can pull a rabbit out of the bag and can turn their fortunes upside down.
On that note, let's have a look at the 3 potential clubs that could win the UEFA Champions League this year:
1. FC Barcelona
When you have arguably the best player of this generation or maybe even of all time as the face of your team, fans around the world expect your club to win the UCL every year.
FC Barcelona are the only team other than Real Madrid who won the UEFA Champions League in the past five years. This season the Blaugrana have been in excellent form as they are on top of the league table and have comfortably made it to the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Last year, Barca's run was halted by AS Roma, who were clearly underdogs in the match-up but somehow managed to defeat the eventual LaLiga Champions. Barca must be hungry for some revenge, and will be looking to win another UCL trophy after a gap of four years.
Their star players Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are only getting older, which means the clock is ticking for the Spanish giants.
2. Liverpool
After almost a decade, things are finally starting to look good for the former English Champions. Last year, Liverpool made the UEFA Champions League final and were expected to battle Real Madrid toe to toe.
But an unfortunate injury to Mohamed Salah and a terrible performance by Loris Karius led to a 3-1 defeat against the reigning champions.
This season things have been extremely good for the Reds as they are at the second spot in the Premier League ladder. They still have a very good shot at the Premier League trophy as they are level with Manchester City at 62 points each with a game in hand.
But Liverpool's end goal is to win the Champions League as they have a much better team than the last year. The acquisition of players such as Alisson and Shaquiri might come in handy during tough situations.
3. Paris Saint-Germain
PSG have made it clear that they want to win the UCL as soon as possible. And considering their transfer market history, we know that money is no problem for the French champions.
The team mainly relies on the trio of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani for offense. But with Neymar injured, the duo of Cavani and Mbappe must perform at a very high level to defeat Manchester United in their round of 16 fixture.
4. Juventus
Juventus acquired Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, pulling off one of the biggest coups in recent times. Despite taking a few games to adjust to the team pace and chemistry, Ronaldo has emerged as a brilliant goalscorer for Juventus.
The 34-year-old has the likes of Paulo Dybala as his partner in crime, which can only be a good thing. The duo of Ronaldo and Dybala could prove to be lethal in the UCL knockout stage.
Dark horses: Manchester United
After the sacking of Jose Mourinho, it seems like the team has turned into the old-school Manchester United, with fast attacking tactics. Manchester United are yet to lose a game under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and have been performing extremely well as a unit.
If the Red Devils can keep up this form in the knockout stage of the Champions League, they might have a chance to win silverware.
