Liverpool legend Ian Rush believes Manchester City remain the favourite to win the Champions League and would be surprised to see Serie A clubs go as far as last season, but ‘anything can happen.’
The Champions League group stage draw takes place today at 17:00 BST. Napoli, Inter, Lazio and Milan are the Serie A representatives in Europe’s elite competition in 2023-24 and their fans will be closely monitoring the draw later today.
Liverpool legend Rush, a former Juventus striker, shared his thoughts on this season’s edition in an interview with Thursday’s printed edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (page 6).
“I think Manchester City are still the favourite. They are the defending champions, they’ve brought reinforcements and are surely the strongest,” said the Welshman.
Who comes after Pep Guardiola’s men?
“I think Bayern have improved with Harry Kane, Real Madrid and Barcelona are not as strong as in the past, but surely they must be considered.”
How about Italians?
“They had favourable draws last season. I’d be surprised if it happens again, but anything can happen in the knockout phase. At one point, Napoli were my favourite to win the Champions League last season.
“They had beaten Liverpool and played fantastic football. I believed in them and it surprised me to see them eliminated by Milan, but it confirms that you never know with Italian teams.
“When Italian clubs play in the Champions League, they always find a way through. It’s in their DNA, they have something special in this competition.”
Serie A champions Napoli are in pot 1 today, while Inter are in pot 2 with Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester United. Lazio and Milan are in pot 3.
Football Italia has ranked the potential opponents for Serie A clubs in this season’s Champions League and will be following the draw with a liveblog later today.