The tournament’s elite lineup was confirmed last night after Real Madrid triumphed over Atletico in a tense and controversial penalty shootout. ..Continue Reading
The reigning champions are set to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals, while Paris Saint-Germain, fresh from eliminating Premier League leaders Liverpool, will encounter a familiar face in their former manager Unai Emery, now leading surprise contenders Aston Villa.
Elsewhere in the draw, Barcelona will take on Borussia Dortmund, last season’s runners-up, and a blockbuster clash will see Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich go head-to-head with Inter, who conceded just one goal during the group stage.
After closely observing the top teams in action, Ferdinand believes PSG has the edge to claim the title, buoyed by their newfound confidence after an impressive victory at Anfield.
He said: ‘I’m so excited, what a draw. If I’ve got to predict who is going to win the Champions League I’m going Barcelona in the final against Paris Saint-Germain. It’s going to PSG or Real Madrid isn’t it.
‘PSG have been the best team to watch for me this year in the knockout stages, definitely the most impressive so I’m going to go for them.
‘The fact that in their league they can afford to rest players that’s going to be a massive thing for this PSG team going forward.
‘Liverpool they played eight of the same players that played at the weekend in the Champions League and I think 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 although it’s in Real Madrid’s DNA I will go with them to win it right now.’
Luis Enrique’s squad holds a commanding 16-point lead over Marseille in the Ligue 1 title race, which allows them the luxury of resting key players ahead of their upcoming clashes with Aston Villa.
However, their young talents, including Desire Doue, Vitinha, and Joao Neves, showed no signs of fatigue in the victory against Liverpool. Ferdinand suggests that PSG’s success can be attributed to a significant change in their transfer strategy.
He said: ‘They’ve changed from tying to go Galactico superstar and buy the big Champions League trophy to going no our team ethic, spirit and togetherness will win us that trophy.
‘Whether they win it I’m going to go as far as to say the next two to three years if they don’t win it this year they will win the Champions League.’
