Comprehensive predictions for the 2017-18 Champions League

The biggest club competition in the world is opening a fresh chapter on Tuesday. Here, theScore predicts how the tournament will fare. Do you agree with the selections?

Champions League winner

Daniel Rouse: Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane's second string would be strong enough to reach at least the final eight, and his first team is undoubtedly the strongest collective in the world. The French manager will lead his side to a third consecutive European title - the first outfit to do so since Bayern Munich from 1973-74 to 1975-76 - and pose a convincing case to be considered one of the best teams in the history of club football.

Carlo Campo: Real Madrid. Los Blancos were just getting started by winning the double of La Liga and the European Cup for the first time in 59 years. It will be another season in which the Spanish club conquers the Champions League and it would be foolish to suggest otherwise. European football's biggest clubs largely weakened or maintained during the summer transfer window, paving the road for the Decimotercera.

Biggest disappointment

Rouse: Manchester City. At the behest of the club's fans, City's chief focus should lie in winning the Premier League for the first time since the 2013-14 season. A defence featuring Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi could also struggle against pacey attacks, such as the one fielded by Group F rival Napoli.

Campo: Liverpool. European nights at Anfield are as passionate as they are special, but the Reds will only play three home games this time around. What looks to be a forgiving group will expose the limitations of English football on the continental stage, particularly when the club begins to prioritise the Premier League over the Champions League as the two competitions pick up steam.

Surprise package

Rouse: Napoli. A club that's employed Diego Maradona, Fabio Cannavaro, Edinson Cavani, and Gonzalo Higuain comes with some notoriety, but the best of Maurizio Sarri's breathless attacks are yet to be seen on the Champions League stage. Napoli didn't conduct much business in the summer, allowing the frontline to only grow in familiarity and ferocity.

Campo: Celtic. Nobody is giving the Hoops a chance in a quartet that boasts the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern, but the Bhoys will shock Europe by advancing to the knockout phase at a giant's expense. It will take two victories over RSC Anderlecht and at least one win against a behemoth, but with Scott Sinclair, James Forrest, Patrick Roberts, and Stuart Armstrong, there's enough talent to get the job done.

Top scorer

Rouse: Cristiano Ronaldo. He'll enter Wednesday's fixture against APOEL Nicosia having served four games of a five-match domestic ban, and he'll revel in making the Cypriot minnow his cannon fodder. That will be the start of the effervescent forward becoming the Champions League's top scorer for the seventh time.

Campo: Lionel Messi. Eleven of the last 12 editions of the Champions League saw one of Ronaldo or the Argentinian phenom wind up as the tournament's top scorer. It will be the latter this time around, simply because Barcelona was drawn into a weaker group.

Best player

Rouse: Luka Modric. Ronaldo, Isco, Marcelo, and Casemiro were among many who shimmered during Real Madrid's run last season, but there's arguably no player more important than Modric in Zidane's designs. The Croation is simultaneously protection for the backline, a quality ball-carrier, and a creative genius - a skill set that makes him one of the best midfielders on the globe.

Campo: Isco. Patience paid off for the Spanish midfielder, who was named to Real Madrid's bench for two Champions League finals before he was a main character in Los Blancos' 4-1 victory over Juventus. With magic in his feet and a style of football that only the streets can teach, he will continue his meteoric rise by commanding the club's journey in the tournament.

Breakout star

Rouse: Christian Pulisic. Borussia Dortmund's midfield prodigy garners plenty of attention in his native United States, but still errs on the side of hipster pick rather than a surefire future star in Europe. Ousmane Dembele's sale to Barcelona has put a larger workload on 18-year-old Pulisic's shoulders, and his goal and assist in Der BVB's Bundesliga opener at Wolfsburg showed he can handle that pressure.

Campo: Marcos Acuna. The Argentinian winger, who plays on the left flank at Sporting Clube de Portugal, is off to a flying start with the Leoes, as he tallied three assists in his first four Primeira Liga appearances. The product of Ferro Carril Oeste will have a chance to embarrass right-backs on the biggest stage after the Portuguese club was drawn alongside Barcelona and Juventus.