Michael Owen names FOUR teams he thinks can win this season's Champions League
The Champions League round of 16 gets underway this week with former Liverpool and Real Madrid star Michael Owen reckons his old clubs are the sides to beat
by Alan Smith · The MirrorMichael Owen has narrowed down the Champions League’s runners and riders to four potential winners.
The round of 16 kicks off on Tuesday night with Arsenal and Aston Villa in action against PSV and Club Brugge respectively before Liverpool travel to Paris Saint Germain on Wednesday.
And Owen believes his former club are the favourites to win the Champions League but he reckons three other teams also have a “real chance” - with another of his old sides the next best.
“My Champions League favourites are Liverpool, above Real Madrid,’ Owen said. “You can also look at Barcelona and Bayern Munich as having a real chance.
“There’s a handful of teams who can win it, but I’d definitely say Liverpool and Real Madrid are the two teams at the moment."
Real, the reigning champions, dispatched of Manchester City in the play-off round with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in the second leg.
Owen reckons the weight of expectation may fall heavily on the France star but he knows from personal experience that that is simply part of the territory at the Spanish giants.
“There is huge pressure on Kylian Mbappe, but that’s Real Madrid. Managers have won the league and been sacked for not winning the Champions League," he added, speaking to BoyleSports.
“The pressure there is to beat Barcelona and now Atletico Madrid as well, they have the best players and the best manager, you have to win everything or it feels like a failure.
“Mbappe knew the scenario before he signed, that’s the life of a top player. If he didn’t want the pressure he should’ve signed for someone else. The higher up the food chain the more pressure there is.
“He will have to fire them to the top of the league and the Champions League, but he’s not failed in doing so yet. They have a habit of coming on strong and they’ll go on a great run when everyone is it.
“They will be the last team you want to draw in the knockout stages, people have spoken about Real Madrid like they are having a disastrous season, but you’d be very brave to dismiss them now.”
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