I don't think so either. I think there are other teams that are much stronger. My favorites are still the EPL teams like Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, and then in Spain, Madrid and Barcelona. But I think anything can still happen. There’s always a new surprise in the Champions League. But the dominance of the teams seems to remain the same, with no major changes. Currently, there are still seven more teams competing to qualify for the UCL. I see some new teams I’ve rarely heard of, and perhaps Pafos and Kairat have a chance to make history by qualifying for the UCL.
This means that the race for the Champions League title will be very difficult for Chelsea this season, although surprises can sometimes occur. But looking at the current Premier League representatives, I agree that Liverpool and Manchester City are much more convincing because they are both much better. Conversely, the Spanish representatives, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are always the mainstays because they are always strong candidates. Some teams fighting to qualify for the Champions League can indeed surprise, but they only make it to the knockout stages because when facing tough opponents, they lose mentally in many ways.
I do agree that it would be very tough for Chelsea, they are not seen as one of the teams that could win it, looking at the odds there is a very high chance that they won't win it this time. They will face a lot of great teams and Chelsea do not have what it takes to win the whole thing. This is why I am pretty sure we are not going to end up with any good returns at the moment.
It means we should be considering how this will turn out to be, and we can't make it so clear that it is going to be a bit of a tough situation. So focus on premier league if I would too, that makes more sense. UCL is a tough competition, there are best of the world all over from Europe, and you are not going to easily win that one.