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Former Chelsea player Frank Leboeuf has revealed his three favorites to win the UEFA Champions League this season. Interestingly, Leboeuf believes Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea will not be able to defend the elite European title. Chelsea had defeated fellow Premier League club Manchester City 1-0 to win their last UCL trophy.
Frank Leboeuf tipped Manchester City, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich as his favorite contenders for the ongoing season of the UCL. Manchester City and Liverpool have been consistent in their performances in the Premier League as well as in Champions League. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, continue to maintain their sheer domination in the Bundesliga.
In the first round of the knockout stage of the UCL, Manchester City and Liverpool won while Bayern held on to a draw. The three teams are expected to find themselves entering the next round without much worry.
When asked who Leboeuf thinks are the top contenders for the trophy this season, the former Chelsea player replied:
''Liverpool, Man City, or Bayern Munich. Man City are dying to win the Champions League – I think if you asked every City fan if they would rather win the league or the Champions League, they would all say the UCL. I think that Liverpool can win the UCL and you only have to look at their history in the competition.''
Leboeuf picked Liverpool over Chelsea despite the latter winning two titles in the last decade. He added:
''Chelsea might have a recent history with the UCL, winning twice within the last 10 years, which is fantastic for the club, but Liverpool have the history from when I started following football, with players like Keegan, Dalglish and Fairclough.''
Chelsea seek to improve Champions League chances through Riyad Mahrez
Meanwhile, Chelsea have shown interest in getting Algerian striker Riyad Mahrez on board from Manchester City. French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also considered to be a club who are interested in signing Mahrez.
The French club will only look to sign the Algerian if Argentine international Angel di Maria makes a move out. Chelsea believe Mahrez will play a key role in their Champions League campaign.
The 31-year-old Algerian international arrived at the Etihad Stadium on a five-year deal, which runs out in 2023. As things stand, the English club have not offered a contract extension to him.
Mahrez has scored 21 goals so far in the current season in 34 appearances for Manchester City. Out of these, 10 goals have come in the Premier League, in 21 games.
