“Where’s it [the final] next season? Istanbul? Book the hotel.” That’s what Jurgen Klopp said in the aftermath of last season’s bitterly disappointing Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
The Reds were on top for long periods but were simply unable to beat the defiant Thibaut Courtois, who had to be at his very best to secure Real Madrid’s 14th big-eared trophy. Online bookmakers such as Ladbrokes, who provide betting and free offers on Champions League football, have once again made the Anfield club one of the favourites for the tournament, alongside Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Should Klopp’s prediction that his side reaches this season’s Istanbul showpiece, returning to the site of the club’s heroic come-from-behind victory against AC Milan in 2005, it would their fourth European Cup final in six years. Of course, on two of their previous three conquests, they have run into the continental masters, Real Madrid. Los Blancos came out victorious both last season and in Kyiv back in 2018.
If there is one club that has a stronger affinity to club football’s greatest prize, it is the whites from the Spanish capital. If we were to put money on it however, we would bet that the Reds go further than the Spaniards this term, but how far can they truly go?
Group A – A group for the football purists
In recent years, Liverpool have been drawn in groups alongside the likes of Red Bull Salzburg, KRC Genk, Atalanta, and FC Midtjylland. While all of those clubs were deserving of their spot at football’s grandest dinner table, they hardly scream football heritage. This year though, that has all changed. Liverpool have been drawn alongside Napoli, Ajax, and Rangers – who are returning to the Champions League for the first time in over a decade and have completed a sensational turnaround from Scottish football’s basement division to the Champions League in just 10 years.
There will be some raucous atmospheres awaiting Klopp’s side on the road. The Johan Cruijff ArenA and Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo are both known across the continent for their aura, but nothing quite compares to a night under the lights at Ibrox. Recently we have seen that thunderous support catapult the Gers into the latter stages of the Europa League and last season they managed to go all the way to the final. Just as Liverpool’s big night in Paris ended in defeat though, so did Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s evening in Seville. Along the way to the showpiece against Eintracht Frankfurt though, there were some memorable evenings in Glasgow. Aggregate victories at home against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Braga will live long in the memory, and Mohamed Salah and company will have to be at their very best to silence the deafening home faithful.
Of course, Liverpool are the favourites to top the group, and failing to do so would be a disaster. But the group stages should prove to be quite the ride.
Who will be Liverpool’s biggest threats in the latter stages?
At the turn of the year, the competition will start to heat up, and the usual suspects can all be expected to have a part to play. Paris Saint-Germain and their strike force of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi will be expecting to put an end to their run of early exits. Bayern Munich and Sadio Mane are always perennial protagonists. Perhaps even a new look Barcelona – who have proven this summer that money does indeed grow on trees – may reach the latter stages.
But it’s hard to look past Manchester City. Since the Blues’ Abu Dhabi-backed takeover back in 2008, they still haven’t managed to deliver the one trophy that owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan desperately craves. They came closest in 2021 but were defeated in the final by Chelsea. Last season they were stunned by Real Madrid in the Bernabeu at the semifinal stage.
This season, however, the signing of Erling Haaland could be the one thing that propels them to success. The giant Norwegian striker has hit the ground running since his £50m move from Dortmund, and it would take a brave man to bet against the Etihad club going all the way next June.
