Dimitar Berbatov predicts Juventus will reach the Champions League final

Dimitar Berbatov has predicted that Juventus will reach the Champions League final and will face either Manchester City or Barcelona in Madrid.

Juventus crashed out at the quarter-final stage of the competition last season to the eventual winners Real Madrid.

However, the Serie A side have Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks this time around following his £100million move from Madrid.

The Serie A side have Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks this time around following £100m move

‘I think Juventus will reach the final and I see Manchester City or Barcelona joining them there,’ he told The Mirror.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are the favourites to win the competition ahead of the opening round of fixtures and Berbatov, who lost to Barcelona in the final with Manchester United in 2009, believes they will better last year.

‘The way that City play and the players they have mean that they of course have to be amongst the favourites and I’m certain they will do better than last year’s effort of being knocked out in the quarter-finals by Liverpool.’

The former Manchester United striker lost to Barcelona in the final of the competition in 2009

Berbatov has also backed Barcelona to do better than Madrid, who have won the competition for the last three seasons. 

‘Real Madrid have obviously lost Ronaldo to Juve, it doesn’t mean the team is weak, they clearly have great players, but it’s Barcelona I see as being the stronger of the Spanish teams this year. 

‘Who will actually win it? Without watching the early rounds how can you possibly say? It’s so close between those top teams at the moment that without watching any games it’s impossible to say.’

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are favourites to win the competition ahead of opening round