Arsene Wenger tips Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain for Champions League glory
Legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger named two sides as favourites for the Champions League, as the competition prepares to restart after a staggering five-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The round of 16 stage of the Champions League is set to resume later this week, with the tournament following a new format to comply with recent events. From the quarterfinal stage onwards, the games will be decided by single-legged ties and each fixture is set to be played in a neutral venue.
The Champions League winner will be crowned at the end of the month, as the 16 teams look to battle it out in Portugal. Speaking to Europe1 via Daily Mail, Wenger picked Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for Champions League glory in the coming weeks.
"I think that there is an overall fall in the European level of very, very, very high level and that they are still among the two, three best in Europe."
"For me, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are the two favourites (of the Champions League) on their potential.”
Wenger makes bold call ahead of Champions League restart
While defending champions Liverpool have already been eliminated, the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid remain in contention to win the Champions League this year.
However, Wenger tipped City and PSG for continental kingship and also went on to speak in detail about the Parisian club's chances.
"Afterwards, when you play in a match against Atlético Madrid (potential opponent of PSG in the semi-finals) or against Atalanta, anything can happen."
"I honestly find them a little less strong than they were 3-4 years ago. In the overall structure, they were perhaps a little more complete 3-4 years ago, at all times. The competition (within the team) was also stronger."
Neither side has won the Champions League despite spending heavily in recent years and will look to take advantage of the changed format to get their hands on the prize.
While PSG have already secured qualification to the quarterfinal stage of the competition, Manchester City have a 2-1 lead to protect in the second leg against Real Madrid.
From the quarterfinals, each tie will be played in Portugal by virtue of the new format. However, all remaining round of 16 second leg ties will happen in the respective venues, as the Champions League campaign prepares to draw to a close in the coming weeks.
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