Rio Ferdinand has named his favourites to win the Champions League and believes his tip have one huge advantage over the remainder of the sector.
A top quality lineup was accomplished last night after Real Madrid ousted their local rivals Atletico following a dramatic and controversial penalty shootout.
The reigning champions will tackle Arsenal within the last eight, while Paris Saint-Germain’s reward for knocking out Premier League champions-elect Liverpool is a reunion with their ex-manager Unai Emery and his Aston Villa side who’ve been the competition’s surprise package.
On the opposite side of the draw, Barcelona face last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund, while there’s a heavyweight clash between Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich and an Inter side who conceded only one goal during group stage.
Having watched the entire protagonists in motion in recent months, Ferdinand consider PSG have what it takes to go all the way in which with their belief having received a serious shot within the arm following Tuesday’s heroics at Anfield.
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He said: ‘I’m so excited, what a draw. If I’ve got to predict who’s going to win the Champions League I’m going Barcelona in the ultimate against Paris Saint-Germain. It’s going to PSG or Real Madrid isn’t it.
‘PSG have been one of the best team to look at for me this 12 months within the knockout stages, definitely essentially the most impressive so I’m going to go for them.
‘The proven fact that of their league they’ll afford to rest players that’s going to be an enormous thing for this PSG team going forward.
‘Liverpool they played eight of the identical players that played on the weekend within the Champions League and I believe PSG rested most of their players if not all of them. Big difference, freshness to overrun teams.
‘I’m going to go PSG to win it even though it’s in Real Madrid’s DNA I’ll go along with them to win it without delay.’
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Luis Enrique’s men are a mammoth 16 points ahead of Marseille within the race for the Ligue 1 title and are sure to provide their star players a breather ahead of their double header with Villa.
Not that their young stars akin to Desire Doue, Vitinha and Joao Neves looked in need of a rest against Liverpool and Ferdinand believes PSG are benefiting from a serious shift in transfer policy.
He said: ‘They’ve modified from tying to go Galactico superstar and buy the massive Champions League trophy to going no our team ethic, spirit and togetherness will win us that trophy.
‘Whether or not they win it I’m going to go so far as to say the subsequent two to a few years in the event that they don’t win it this 12 months they are going to win the Champions League.’
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