The group stage is going to go on very comfortably for Real Madrid. We must have all understood it from their winning against Napoli away recently. That was technically the toughest match of the group. But even Napoli couldn't stop them in Naples. I can already be confident that Real Madrid will finish as group leader.
The important point is what they will do against the biggest title contenders. Especially against Manchester City and Bayern Munich I mean. If they manage to show a strong team performance with the help of their main scorer Bellingham too then I wouldn't be surprised to see Real Madrid adding another CL title to their collection.
This season I don't expect Real Madrid to add to their collection of Champions League titles. Real Madrid can certainly qualify for the round of 16, but I'm not so sure they can reach the final if they face tough opponents in the knockout round. Real Madrid could barely win the game against Napoli, they even had difficulty winning the game against Union Berlin. Imagine if in the knockout rounds Real Madrid had a better opponent, I think they would have failed.The important point is what they will do against the biggest title contenders. Especially against Manchester City and Bayern Munich I mean. If they manage to show a strong team performance with the help of their main scorer Bellingham too then I wouldn't be surprised to see Real Madrid adding another CL title to their collection.
But I agree that anything can happen. Real Madrid is the king of the Champions League with its collection of titles, but the doubts are always there this season because Real Madrid seems to have lost their attacking power without their best striker. Bellingham can certainly be relied on, but he can't always be the hero in every crucial match.
This is quite an early call you are making here
Real Madrid has lots of potential and I wouldn't get too distracted by some weaker performances. They have everything it needs to raise their performance level. Because simultaneously Manchester City isn't doing that great either. If we consider both Real Madrid and Manchester City, I don't think one team can be considered much better than the other. Maybe Arsenal will be among the biggest favorites and maybe Barcelona can as well increase their game quality over the coming months. Last season I was quite sure that Manchester City would win it as they have been so dominant most of the time, but it's different this season. It is much harder to give it a guess, but saying that Real Madrid is probably not one of the favorites doesn't quite right to me.