Comment: Which English clubs are best prepared for Champions League run?

The 2018/19 Champions League campaign is up and running and with four clubs from England in the competition, fans of those teams will hoping they can become the first English winner of the premier European tournament since Chelsea were successful in 2012.

Here is a look at who is best equipped to lift the trophy in Madrid in June.

Manchester City

Premier League champions Manchester City are the favourites in the Champions League final betting at 4/1 this season as Pep Guardiola’s men are expected to do much better than their disappointing quarter-final exit in the 2017/18 campaign.  City have already made a strong start to their Premier League title defence as they have yet to taste defeat domestically.

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Guardiola’s side started their Champions League group with a surprise defeat to Lyon where they went down 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium. They did get back on track with victory away to Hoffenheim in their second fixture, therefore, they still look likely to qualify for the knockout stages where they will be feared by all the big teams in Europe.

Liverpool

Liverpool reached the final of the Champions League last season in a memorable run by Jurgen Klopp’s men. Although they were beaten in the final by Real Madrid, Liverpool proved they have the team to win their sixth European Cup.

It’s been a mixed bag for Liverpool so far in their group as they opened up with an impressive 3-2 victory against PSG at Anfield, however, in their second game, they were beaten 1-0 away to Napoli. With a front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, Liverpool will put fear into every defence in the competition. Klopp added some depth to his squad in the summer with the acquisition of Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri and that should help them fight domestically and in Europe this season.

Manchester United

Jose Mourinho may look at the Champions League as a respite from domestic football, where his side have struggled in the early stages of the campaign. In Europe, United beat Young Boys 3-0 in their opener and then drew 0-0 at home to Valencia. The United boss knows all about winning the Champions League as he has been successful with Porto and Inter Milan.

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Although United will be expected to qualify into the last 16, it would be a surprise if they were to get any further than the quarter-finals this year, given how low in confidence the squad is at the moment.

Tottenham

Tottenham’s hopes of winning the Champions League this season may end in the group stage as the north London club have started with back-to-back defeats, losing to Inter Milan and Barcelona. It is going to be an uphill task from here for Spurs, given how difficult their group is. They must pick up at least four points from their next two games when they face PSV Eindhoven at home and away if they are to have any chance of progressing any further this season.

The next round of Champions League games takes place on October 23^rd.