Will The Champions League Winner Come From The Premier League?

With the Premier League being offered four automatic qualification berths to each edition of the UEFA Champions League, it is a competition that finds itself in the best position to present an outright winner.

Something that proved to be the case last season, as an all-English final saw Thomas Tuchel’s then short stint at Chelsea prove to be a rather successful and after only being in the Stamford Bridge hotseat for five months, he would oversee the conquering of the continent.

A victory which saw the West London outfit get the better of Manchester City and although it would have served as bitter disappointment to Pep Guardiola and his players, it will only make them more determined for success in 2022.

Which when you consider Manchester City’s aim to finally get their hands on the Champions League and Chelsea’s determination to keep hold of it, it could well mean another year of English rule across Europe.

Of course, these two are not the only English clubs that will have desires of making it all the way to Saint Petersburg next May and with both Liverpool and Manchester United eyeing up one of football’s prized possessions, it could provide something of a closed shop.

One that sees the four biggest clubs within the Premier League, launch an assault on their continental cousins and with the quartet already having booked their place in the Round of 16, a trip to Russia next spring is now one step closer.

Which should make things interesting for those football fans who also like a wager or two and when it comes to sports picks, selecting an outright Champions League winner, is one that can usually lead to a decent amount of profitability.

At the time of writing, it is Manchester City who find themselves as favourites to win the 2022

edition of the competition and after suffering such disappointment in last year’s final, the

bookmakers are confident that next year will be there year.

If that is to be the case, then they will have to fend off not only domestic rivals but continental

opposition also and with Bayern Munich currently priced at second favourites, the Bavarian outfit

will also fancy their chances.

Because although it is not easy to select the overall winner at this point of the season, it is not impossible either and for those who make the right call at this stage of the campaign, they will eventually strike it rich.

While when it comes to the topic of riches, that is something that each of the Premier League’s awesome foursome are not short of and with the ability to purchase the best talent in the game today, the signature of players can offer resemble something of an arms race.

Especially when the two Manchester outfits are involved and with City usually lining up a player for themselves, they are then pipped to the post by their arch-rivals United – something that was the case at the start of the season.

Because with Cristiano Ronaldo throwing out a rescue signal from Turin, it looked as if Pep Guardiola was to bring the Portuguese icon to the blue half of Manchester. That was until a reported phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson.

With the Scot having a word in his former prodigy’s ear, blue quickly turned to red and with Cristiano Ronaldo returning home, it meant that his talents would be on show at Old Trafford rather than the Etihad.

Now whether United really need the 36-year-old or if he was signed as a spoiling act, is something that can be argued. Then again, one cannot argue with the former Juventus forward’s pedigree in the Champions League.

Pedigree which has all but dragged Manchester United to the next phase of this season’s competition and although there are sometimes questions over Cristiano Ronaldo’s worth, he has shown that he is a man for the big occasions.

While when it comes to occasions, they do not get bigger than the Champions League final and after lifting the trophy four times in just five years with Real Madrid, he will now also look to repeat United’s efforts of 2008.

That year was another all-English final and perhaps coincidentally, it was also another Champions League final that was hosted in Mother Russia – one that saw the Red Devils get the better of Chelsea on penalties.

Since then, Chelsea landed their own penalty success in 2012, when they went to Bayern Munich’s own backyard and did what seemed like the unthinkable, while before Liverpool’s win in 2019, that was the last time an English team came out on top.

While when it comes to coming out on top, that is exactly what Liverpool will be aiming to do at the end of the season and with the Merseyside outfit winning each of their first five group stage outings, they have got out of the blocks rather quickly.

With a group containing AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Porto, Jurgen Klopp’s men have not been paired with any slouches and to record a perfect start to proceedings, only further highlights their outright credentials.

Which means, any of the four English representatives have a serious chance of winning the 2022 edition of the Champions League. The question is, which one if any, will eventually lift the trophy at the end of the season.