Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti names Barcelona and 3 others as Champions League favourites

Despite being the manager of Barcelona's biggest rivals, Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti believes that Xabi Hernandez's team are one of the favourites to win the Champions League, according to reports.  

The Italian boss led the Los Blancos to the UCL title two seasons ago, while Xavi, on the other hand, has seen his team relegated to the Europa League from the Champions League group stage twice, but Ancelotti still fancies their chances.  

The Blaugrana sit comfortably in their Champions League group with six points so far, and it is seemingly unlikely they suffer a similar fate as the previous two campaigns. 

The Catalan team also beat an Ancelotti-coached team to the LALIGA title and the Spanish Super Cup. The Italian manager appears to rate the bunch highly; hence, he named them one of the favourites for the European Cup this season. 

He also believes his team are one of the major contenders, as are last season's champions Manchester City and Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich.

Carlo Ancelotti: “Favourites for the Champions League? There will be, as always, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Bayern. There could also be some surprises, like last year with Inter who reached the final.”