Former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Claude Makélélé has named the two clubs he thinks can stop Enzo Maresca’s side winning the 2025/26 Champions League - and it's not Liverpool or Real Madrid.
The Champions League league phase draw is done and dusted. Finally, clubs can begin to prepare for the 36-team group, which will feature six English teams - Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Newcastle – for the first time.
2024/25 winners PSG, Premier League champions Liverpool, record winners Real Madrid, and La Liga giants Barcelona are currently the four favourites to win Europe’s premier club competition this season.
The first round of fixtures will take place between the 16th and 18th of September, with the league phase set to run until January 28.
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The knockout phase play-offs will be played over two weeks on the 17th and 18th and 24th and 25th of February, before the round of 16 begins on March 10.
Then, the quarter-finals are scheduled to begin on April 7, with the semi-finals due to commence on April 28.
This edition’s final, which will take place in Budapest, Hungary, will be played on May 30.
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Of course, between now and then, a lot of things can and will change. Injuries, transfers and general form will all play a part in which teams reach the latter stages.
Two-time winners Chelsea return to Champions League action after a two-year hiatus, during which they won the Conference League - and former Blues midfielder Makélélé is backing them to go far this season.
In an exclusive interview with SPORTbible, on behalf of Oddspedia, Makélélé, who won the 2001/02 Champions League with Real Madrid, claimed that just two teams could stand in Chelsea’s way this term.
The former France midfielder said: “For me, of course, I will talk about my teams and where I played. I'm talking about Chelsea, I'm talking about Real Madrid, I'm talking about Paris [Saint-Germain].
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“For now, Chelsea can build something in the Champions League, because it has been normal for them. Always.
“We win the Champions League, Club World Cup, finals, as it's the only club who win all five trophies. Nobody does this. We have stories about all these competitions.
We have a good group, and I like all the players, and the manager are doing a great job. I repeated that many times last year, as the fans were critical of him at first. We can see them making progress, though, so I hope they make it through to the final."
Topics: Champions League, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG, Football, Enzo Maresca, Spotlight
Luke Davies