Champions League predictions: Winner, top scorer, and how far Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham will go

The Independent’s football writers look ahead to the new Champions League campaign

The 2018-19 Champions League campaign kicks off on Tuesday evening with Barcelona vs PSV and Inter Milan vs Tottenham in the new early time slots of 5.55pm BST.

Real Madrid are looking to win an extraordinary fifth title in six years and their fourth in succession, but will have to do so without the departed manager Zinedine Zidane and star player Cristiano Ronaldo.

There are a raft of clubs who will feel they can challenge, however, including a reinforced Atletico Madrid, Kylian Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain, Premier League champions Manchester City and plenty more.

Here our writers make their predictions:

Who will win the Champions League?

Ed Malyon (sports editor): Manchester City.

Miguel Delaney (chief football writer): Manchester City.

Mark Critchley (northern football reporter): Manchester City.

Luke Brown (sports reporter): Barcelona.

Samuel Lovett (sports reporter): Juventus.

Can Guardiola win his first Champions League since Barcelona? (Getty Images)

Who will reach the semi-finals?

EM: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, PSG.

MD: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus.

MC: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus.

LB: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Juventus.

SL: Juventus, Barcelona, Atletico.

Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar make a fearsome front three (Getty)

Top scorer?

EM: Lionel Messi.​

MD: Lionel Messi.

MC: Cristiano Ronaldo.

LB: Lionel Messi (12).

SL: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo has moved to Juventus (Getty Images)

Surprise package?

EM: Valencia – like a mini-Atletico.

MD: Valencia.

MC: Lyon, who have a batch of exciting attacking players, though they might lose out in Group F’s tightly contested battle for second place behind Manchester City.

LB: Lokomotiv Moscow could feasibly top Group D and then win a round-of-16 tie.

SL: Lyon.

Rodrigo leads the Valencia line (AFP/Getty Images)

How far will each English team go?

EM: City winners, Liverpool quarter-final, Spurs quarter-final, United quarter-final.

MD: City winners, Liverpool quarter-final, Spurs quarter-final, United last 16.

MC: Premier League clubs will make up half of the last eight, inviting pieces about the new age of English dominance in Europe, and then Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United will all be knocked out in the quarters.

LB: City quarter-finals. United, Liverpool and Spurs all out in the group stages.

SL: Manchester City – semi-finals. Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United – quarter-finals.

Emerging team you want to see?

EM: Valencia – what Anil Murthy, Marcelino and Alemany have done to turn around a broken football club is extraordinary.

MD: Ajax – Dutch youth coaching is producing quality again.

MC: Red Star Belgrade.

LB: I’m really looking forward to seeing the return of Inter Milan.

SL: Ajax.

Inter Milan are back in the Champions League (Getty)

Player you’re most excited to see?

EM: Kylian Mbappe – a chance to build on that incredible World Cup.

MD: Leo Messi, always Messi. We must savour these opportunities to watch him in his prime.

MC: My answer to ‘the Frenkie de Jong question’ is Frenkie de Jong.

LB: Kylian Mbappé. Unoriginal, I know. Soz.

SL: Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi is Barcelona’s new captain (AP)

Young player you’ve never watched who you’ll be looking out for?

EM: This Frenkie de Jong character seems a bit special.

MD: Frenkie de Jong.

MC: My answer to ‘the other Frenkie de Jong question’ is Houssem Aouar.

LB: Hands up: I’m still yet to see Malcom play. Hopefully he’ll be given some game time by Ernesto Valverde.

SL: Frenkie de Jong...

Rank the strongest four leagues in Europe?

EM: England, Spain, Germany, Italy.

MD: Spain, England, Germany, Italy.

MC: The Premier League is the strongest individual league, though this competition is more likely to be won by a team from La Liga. There’s then a big drop in quality and competitiveness down to Serie A, then a little drop down again to the Bundesliga.

LB: Spain, England, Italy, Germany.

SL: La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga.

La Liga remains the division to beat in Europe (Getty)

What effect will the new kick-off time have for the CL?

EM: It’s weird because they haven’t evenly split the games into two shifts, there are just a dribble of early games, but there’s potential for back-to-back fun games which is obviously better than just one.

MD: People being late for games as 7.45pm is so conditioned into our psyche! Otherwise, these will become even bigger “event” nights.

MC: Little, aside from inconveniencing match-going supporters.

LB: It means I can now cram a few more games into my ultimately unfulfilling and unhappy life, so I’m all for it.

SL: More people sneaking out of work early.

What one thing would you do to make the CL better?

EM: It’s getting a bit predictable but that is a far bigger problem than the Champions League.

MD: Eliminate away goals is the obvious answer and, while I’m generally in favour of this, it could have unintended consequences in general play. A small thing, and realise it’s down to TV, but the schedule of the knockouts seems lopsided, with last 16 drawn out and three weeks between legs, and then just one week between semi-final legs, with two sides having an eight-day break and one a six-day break. Of course, the thing that really needs to change is the economic reality of the European club landscape... but that’s a bit bigger!

MC: Scrap the away goals rule.

LB: Play the full five minutes and 47 seconds of Zadok the Priest ahead of matches, exactly as Handel intended.

SL: Excommunicate Jake Humphreys.

BT Sports presenter Jake Humphreys (Getty)

What trend do you think we might see emerge?

EM: See above. The dominance of the big clubs may be something that people start to turn their back on if the tournament begins to feel like a procession.

MD: It almost feels like the current CL is quite locked in now: the super clubs dominating with only the odd outsider breaking through, but that at least offset in the latter stages by the attacking football that currently dominates the game. I do wonder whether we might see some more effect of clubs like Juventus, PSG and Bayern dominating their leagues. Might it blunt them further in the CL? Is it a competition best suited to those sharpened by a domestic race, but not exhausted by it? Like Real Madrid the last few years.

MC: The ‘at least three of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid or Juventus in the semi-finals’ thing was finally broken last year and is hopefully not set to return.

LB: None, really – I think this will be the year several trends come to an end. Real Madrid repeatedly winning the thing and Cristiano Ronaldo picking up the top goalscorer award being the primary two.

SL: This could be one of the most unpredictable competitions in recent years and, in general, I think we’re now leaving that period of one-club dominance. As far as the CL’s heavyweight sides are concerned, it’s all up for grabs.