In 1994 AC Milan won the Champions League whilst city rivals Internazionale lifted the UEFA Cup (now Europa League).
Three years ago, Real Madrid were the champions of Europe, whilst neighbours Atletico lifted the Europa League.
Can Manchester become the third city to lift Europe’s two top European club trophies in the same season? Well, the bookmakers certainly think so. Anyone wanting to back the Premier League side can boost their potential returns with a sport welcome offer.
Manchester City are currently the favourites to win the Champions League and have one foot in the semi-finals with a 2-1 quarter-final first leg win over Borussia Dortmund earlier this week.
Their neighbours Manchester United are favourites to win the Europa League and were 2-0 winners away to Granada in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday night.
Champions League
Manchester City have been among the favourites to win this competition for a number of seasons, particularly since appointing Pep Guardiola as manager. But only in 2016 have the Citizens even made it to the final four.
With a significant lead in the Premier League title race, the manager can afford to rest players domestically in between important Champions League ties – an advantage Bayern Munich have had in recent seasons. And for once, he has a strong defence helping them win matches.
City saw their odds drop even further this week, now 2/1 favourites to win the 2020-21 Champions League. You can expect them to drop a little further once the final four are confirmed.
Their odds dropped as a result of Bayern Munich lose 2-3 at home to Paris Saint-Germain. The defending champions now may need to win by a two-goal margin in the French capital next week to stay in the competition.
The winner of that tie will certainly be considered City’s main rivals for the trophy, with neither Real Madrid, Liverpool or Chelsea being particularly impressive. Can Manchester City finally win the Champions League this season? Absolutely!
Europa League
Manchester United were deserving 2-0 winners away to Granada on Thursday night and shouldn’t have any problems booking their place in the final four. The Red Devils would need to go through either Roma or Ajax in the semi-final, with the former winning 2-1 in Amsterdam in their first leg.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side sit second in the Premier League with no realistic chance of winning the title and a healthy cushion over fifth place. This means the manager can do some rotation to keep his key players fresh for European competition.
On the other side of the draw are Villarreal, an inconsistent Arsenal, Slavia Prague and Dinamo Zagreb, so it’s little surprise that the Red Devils are the favourites to win the Europa League.
Bookmakers have United at just 6/5 to give you an idea of how confident they are and how impressive Solskjaer’s side have been. The likes of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood have been particularly impressive going forward so far in the campaign.
Can Manchester United win the Europa League? They’re looking good!
