Peter Crouch, a former England forward, has stated that Liverpool won’t win the Champions League this season.
He thinks Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and the reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain are the teams most likely to win the trophy.
Five of the six English teams that were in this year’s competition made it to the top eight after last night’s final round of league phase matches.
Newcastle United is the only Premier League team that is not in the automatic qualification spots. Teams that finish in spots nine to sixteen will receive a special seeding during the play-off stage.
This means the second game of their two-legged tie will be played at their home stadium.
Teams that end up in positions 17 through 24 won’t get any special advantage in terms of seeding.
Last year, PSG reached the final of the competition for the first time in their history.
They had gone through many difficulties during the group stage and finished in 15th position in the standings.
Arne Slot’s second year as Liverpool’s manager has been challenging, but the team secured their place in the next stage of the Champions League by easily beating Qarabaq in their final group match.
Crouch believes the six-time European champions still have the chance to make a big surprise in this year’s competition.
He said to TNT Sports, “I believe that sometimes the best team in certain leagues doesn’t end up winning the Champions League.
“Hearts and minds are important in any sport. It’s very hard to win both the league and the Champions League, as history shows.
“Yeah, of course, you have to finish in the top four at a club like Liverpool always, but yeah, I can see a club like Liverpool going for it.
“Do I think they will? They’ll probably just fall short, maybe. I still see some of the best teams from Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and PSG. It’s really tough, but they have just as good a chance as anyone else.”