Real Madrid and Manchester City are Champions League favorites, but after the draw who could challenge them?

The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season may still be weeks away, but the might of the last two winners forces the question: Is it already a foregone conclusion that either Real Madrid or Manchester City will lift the trophy at Munich's Allianz Arena in the spring?

The last two Champions League winners still boast Europe's most stacked rosters, which is especially the case for reigning champions Real Madrid after adding Kylian Mbappe to a squad that includes Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham. The pair are naturally the oddsmakers' favorites to win this season's prize, well ahead of the rest of the field in Europe.

That said, it may be too early to rule out victory for a handful of Europe's top teams. A knockout comPetition like the Champions League offers plenty of opportunities for an upset, while the switch to the Swiss-system tournament promises more comPetitive matches sooner for the top teams. There's also the simple fact that several teams across the continent have been building strong squads of their own with the hopes of winning major silverware, including the Champions League, and will rightly target Europe's top prize even if the odds are not exactly in their favor.

Before a new-look Champions League season begins, here's a glance at the teams who could upset City and Real Madrid to claim Europe's top prize.

Arsenal

League phase schedule

• Home: Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Monaco
• Away: Inter, Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon, Girona

Arsenal's evolution under Mikel Arteta has been a relatively slow build but nearly five years after he took over as manager, their focus has fully shifted to winning major titles like the Premier League and Champions League. Arteta and the Gunners are starting to perfect a defense-first style and continue to add top players to their squad with an intent to win now rather than solely building for the future, ensuring they will be a team to keep an eye on this season. Arsenal will have to get over some of their historic stumbling blocks to get to the top, though, including the fact that they have not made it to the Champions League semifinals since 2009. Arteta's side are also somewhat unproven in Europe -- they impressed as they took the Premier League title race to the final day last season, but did not go undefeated in the Champions League group stage and faltered to a slumping Bayern Munich side in the quarterfinals.

Bayern Munich

League phase schedule

• Home: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava
• Away: Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk, Feyenoord, Aston Villa

Despite sliding to third place and ending their 11 year grip on the Bundesliga last season, a below par Bayern team snuck into the Champions League semifinals, teasing that there's enough raw talent to keep them in the hunt for major trophies. They will need to overcome the uncertainties that come with a new manager, especially one as unproven as Vincent Kompany, to make another deep run in Europe. Bayern do have a fairly star-studded squad of their own, tough, led by one of the Game's best goalscorers in Harry Kane and rising talent Jamal Musiala. It feels unlikely that they will be able to reverse course quickly from last season's disappointments, but if one's looking for underdogs, it is hard to go wrong with a team that has Game-changing talent like Bayern does.

Liverpool

League phase schedule

• Home: Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, Bologna
• Away: RB Leipzig, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Girona

Speaking of new managers, Liverpool will also have questions to answer now that Arne Slot has taken a job left vacant by Jurgen Klopp, but the early returns inspire confidence that the Reds made the right hire. His tactical style is different from Klopp but still effective and Slot has the benefit of working his predecessor's squad, which is full of veteran talent with title-winning experience and younger players that keep the team competitive. It is perhaps too early in Slot's tenure at Liverpool to expect a Champions League title but they have the makings of a dark horse. Slot's year of transition could also be a perfect opportunity to give club legends like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson one last run as they come to the end of their peak years.

Paris Saint-Germain

League phase schedule

• Home: Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Girona
• Away: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Red Bull Salzburg, Stuttgart

The French champions arguably have the longest shot out of anyone on this list to go all the way, especially with Mbappe leaving for Madrid over the summer. Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique, though, soft-launched the post-Mbappe future last year with a fascinating squad and fairly impressive results. PSG no longer boast any out-and-out stars but the likes of Goncalo Ramos and Vitinha played big parts in their success last season, while Enrique's trust in young players like Warren Zaire-Emery show they are clearly building for the future. While this season's Champions League trophy presentation is likely too soon for PSG in a rebuild year, they will no doubt be one of the teams to watch as they navigate life without Mbappe last season -- and aim to live up to the promise of the last campaign.

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