Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has left the English Premier League in search of medals and trophies. Kane has been a legend at Tottenham Hotspur, but last summer he transferred to Bayern Munich, where he will be hoping to finally win some football silverware.
Winning the Bundesliga in Germany is almost assured for Bayern Munich. Kane will know that he is extremely likely to finish his first season in Germany with a league title, and while that will be great for a player who won nothing at Spurs, it’s not the big prize that he left Spurs looking to win.
Bayern are one of the betting favorites
Every season, Bayern Munich is one of the front runners to win the Champions League, and this year is no different. In the latest UEFA Champions League betting, Bayern Munich is the second favorite at +500, while Manchester City are favored by the bookmakers, having them at +200. Before Kane arrived in Germany, Bayern were +600 to win the trophy, implying he should have a notable impact on the team’s performance.
Manchester City still look like the team to beat
Bayern Munich are one of the top sides in Europe. But unfortunately, there are plenty more top sides competing for the Champions League. Manchester City are the defending champions and currently the best side on the continent, having won the 2022/23 Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
In a one-off match, there is the possibility of beating City. But as Munich found last season, defeating the English Premier League champions across two legs is a different proposition.
The two sides met at the quarter-final stage of the 2022/23 competition. Manchester City were at home in the first leg and won comfortably on the night. The Blues took a 3-0 lead with them to the Allianz Arena, and it already felt like that was too much for Bayern to pull back. And so it proved, as the second leg finished 1-1, and Bayern were knocked out 4-1 on aggregate.
But that was a different Bayern Munich. They had just sacked Julian Nagelsmann, replacing him with Thomas Tuchel, and the former Chelsea boss was still finding his feet at the club. Fast forward a few months, and Sadio Mane has gone, and Harry Kane is in. The team looks different and better equipped to take on City this season.
PSG set to be a threat this season
Also looking to stop Bayern Munich and win the Champions League are Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians have also just employed a former Champions League winner, Luis Enrique, and with the likes of Messi and Neymar gone, the Paris dressing room will now belong to the new boss.
Whether Enrique can turn PSG into a potential winner in his first season is debatable. But they have to be taken seriously with Mbappe upfront and the former winner in charge.
Real Madrid are the Champions League specialists
Also likely to be a threat this season is Spanish giants Real Madrid. Los Blancos have just lost the services of Karim Benzema and are in a period of transition. But they just can’t be discounted when it comes to the Champions League, as they proved in 2022 when they knocked Manchester City out in the semi-final and defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the final.
The Champions League this season promises to be competitive, but Bayern Munich and Harry Kane are certainly in with a chance of winning it.
This post was published on September 30, 2023 7:20 pm