Real Madrid will embark on their UEFA Champions League title defence when they take on Celtic at Parkhead. While the Spanish giants are the more likelier team to win on the night, the Scottish champions are a team in form and could make things tricky for them for sure. Thus, Carlo Ancelotti’s side cannot look past their opponents.
In fact, it does feel like a lot of teams had actually looked past Real Madrid as genuine contenders for the UEFA Champions League last season, as they had struggled in the competition following the departure of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2018.
Real Madrid were considered as the underdogs against every team that they faced in the knockout phase of the competition – Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. And one could argue that they were outperformed by these teams as well. But they just found a way when there did not appear to be any and always managed to come out on top when the final whistle blew.
This time around, nobody is expected to make the mistake of looking past Real Madrid. And Pep Guardiola has even declared them favourites to win the competition. As reported by Tribuna, the Manchester City manager said in his press conference:
"“Favourites to win the Champions League? For me, Real Madrid should be the favourite candidate.”"
Guardiola has declared Real Madrid as the favourite to win the Champions League
It is safe to say that Real Madrid are certainly one of the favourites to win the Champions League this season. But it would be a mistake to not include teams like Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG on that list as well.
One of the major worries that Real Madrid could end up having this season is their lack of depth in certain areas of the pitch.
Their midfield is stacked with top quality options like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde and even Dani Ceballos, who has been making positive contributions off the bench this season.
The same cannot be said about their options going forward or even in defence to a certain extent. And over the course of a long season, when injuries and fatigue come into play, things could get difficult.