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Barcelona defender Joao Cancelo believes Manchester City are the favorites to win this year's UEFA Champions League trophy.
Cancelo is currently on loan with the Catalan side from the Cityzens after seemingly being deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad. Despite that, he believes Manchester City could win the competition for the second year running.
Pep Guardiola's team breezed past Copenhagen in the Round-of-16 stage as they secured a 6-2 result on aggregate. The likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid still remain in the competition.
However, placing his bets on the Premier League champions, Cancelo told Gazzetta dello Sport (via @FabrizioRomano):
"Man City are the favorites to win it. I think so because of the squad, the style of playing, manager. They can win two Champions League in a row, I’m sure."
Cancelo's comments come at a time when Barcelona themselves are looking to get into the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. They face Napoli for the second leg of their Round-of-16 meeting on Tuesday (March 12), with the scores tied at 1-1.
Manchester City are certainly a dangerous proposition this season and are placed well in the title race. They're third in the standings, only a point behind the leaders, Arsenal.
Pundit predicts winners between Arsenal and Real Madrid if they face each other in Champions League quarters
ESPN pundit Stuart Robson has tipped Arsenal to defeat Real Madrid if the two sides meet in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Gunners still need to overcome a single-goal deficit on Tuesday (March 12) against Porto to qualify.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos progressed to the quarter-final, beating RB Leipzig by a slender margin (2-1). Speaking highly of the north Londoners, Robson said (via The Boot Room):
"The way both teams are playing at the moment, I would say Arsenal would win the tie because, at the moment, Arsenal are difficult to play against.
“If you try and squeeze them high up the field, they play around you. And if you drop deep like Sheffield United did and other teams have done (like) Burnley and sit there and sit deep, they’ve got enough quality in and around the box."
Arsenal have won their last eight Premier League matches and are eyeing their first-ever trophy in Europe's highest club competition. Real Madrid have won the honor 14 times.
