Who are Champions League favourites and players to watch? — SkimNews
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- Opta ranks Arsenal as overall favourites at 20.4%, with Bayern Munich at 20%, Manchester City at 12.7% and defending champions PSG at just 7.3%; all five Premier League clubs sit inside the top 10
- PSG are chasing a third consecutive Champions League title, but Julien Laurens calls the three-peat "impossible unless you've got Cristiano Ronaldo in your team" and instead backs Arsenal to lift the trophy in Madrid on 5 June
- Guillem Balague predicts PSG, Barcelona and Arsenal as semi-finalists with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Manchester City taking the fourth slot, noting Hansi Flick's Barcelona are "flying" despite needing a centre-back and number nine
- Manchester City drew the toughest fixtures of the English clubs, facing Barcelona and PSG from pot one plus 24th-ranked Napoli from pot three; Liverpool have the easiest draw per Opta power rankings while Arsenal drew Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but also the two lowest-ranked sides
- Players to watch include Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (dubbed "Mr Champions League" by Laurens and a Ballon d'Or tip from both experts), Jude Bellingham in Real Madrid's number 10 role, Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Martin Odegaard, debutant Como's Nico Paz, Roma's Donyell Malen and Shakhtar teenager Kaua Elias
- Four debutants enter: Como managed by Cesc Fabregas (Balague predicts they'll reach the knockouts), LASK, Sabah and Viking, with the Norwegian side flagged as a potential surprise package
Why it matters: Arsenal hold the 20.4% Opta edge and best defence in Europe per Laurens, PSG carry the proven knockout pedigree as three-peat chasers — but Manchester City's brutal draw (Barcelona, PSG, Napoli) and Liverpool's easy path mean English clubs enter with wildly different knockout trajectories.
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