Ben Guest
With the Champions League set to make its glorious return on Tuesday night, Gary Lineker has passed judgement on the English clubs chances at Europes top table this season.
With Chelsea and Arsenal the two to miss out, this years Premier League hopes rest on the shoulders of Man City, Man Utd, Spurs and Liverpool, and the former Barcelona striker thinks that Liverpool and City represent the best chances of European success:
“I think the English sides will do well, they’ve got a lot better after a bad spell,” Lineker told BT Sport.
“I think with their style of play Liverpool will go far again and obviously Man City will have to be one of the favourites amongst the usual suspects.”
However, when discussing Manchester United‘s chances, the former England striker was slightly less optimistic:
“Jose has a formula of playing and I don’t think he’s going to change it,” Lineker said. “It’s going to be fascinating, his third season there too! He doesn’t seem to be the happiest of souls.
“The game has evolved, it’s far more open and attacking. We witnessed that in the Champions League last season with the top teams and with City winning like they did in the Premier League.
“He (Mourinho) simply has to get the best out of those excellent players, it’s a pretty strong squad, especially going forward. It will certainly be interesting.”
Lineker’s former club Spurs meanwhile have a tricky group with Inter Milan, Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven,