Peter Crouch has named his former club Liverpool and Manchester City as his favourites to win this year's Champions League.
The competition gets back underway this week with the round of 16 ties, City face Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night while Jurgen Klopp's men will be hosted by Inter Milan on Wednesday.
The likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Juventus all progressed from the group stage, but Crouch says it is difficult to look past the English clubs.
"We are living through an exciting time for English football and are currently in a spell of Premier League dominance," he wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
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"Two all-English finals in three years says it all and you would not bet against that turning into three out of four when Saint Petersburg comes around on May 28.
"I cannot see much past the Premier League clubs. Liverpool and City are my favourites and I'm struggling to split them in Europe.
"Chelsea, crowned world champions over the weekend, have a real opportunity to defend the trophy too. Joe Cole still keeps in touch with the guys at Lille and they fancy their chances in their last-16 match but Chelsea should be too strong.
"Manchester United are the only ones I’m wavering on. They can have their moments, although their tie with Atletico Madrid is 50-50. It depends on which United turns up.
"Bayern Munich are the real threat. Robert Lewandowski is lethal, supplemented with pace and ability in midfield. The rest? Real Madrid remain a top side but lag behind. Paris Saint-Germain have top players but are they ever going to truly gel as a unit?"
The Champions League has been won by an English team twice in the last three years, and two of those finals have been contested by all Premier League teams.
Chelsea are the current holders of the title as they beat Pep Guardiola's City side 1-0 last May, while the Reds were crowned champions in 2019 after they overcame Tottenham 2-0 in the final.
Bayern Munich were the winners in 2020, whereas Liverpool were knocked out in the round of 16 against Atletico Madrid.
Last term, the Reds only managed to make it to the quarter-final stage before they were defeated by 13-time winners Real Madrid.
