Champions League verdicts: Our top team of reporters have their say on winners, thrillers, surprise teams and how England's five clubs will fare

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Europe's elite club competition returns on Tuesday, this time with five English clubs competing and Paris Saint-Germain ready to unleash their extortionate attacking line on teams across the continent.

Real Madrid head into the tournament sizing up the challenge of emerging victorious for an unprecedented third straight year.

Ahead of Tuesday's opening group matches, Sportsmail's reporters assess the most exciting sides and their chances, as well who could be the surprise package and how the English clubs are set to fare. 

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will lead Paris Saint-Germain's attack in the Champions League

DOMINIC KING

Which side are you most looking forward to watching? 

Paris Saint-Germain. They won't be overwhelmingly popular in a Europe and the way they have spent money has changed the game but it will be fascinating to see how Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edison Cavani click together.

Who could emerge as the surprise package? 

Tottenham. Plenty of people have them down for a group stage elimination but while Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are formidable opponents, Spurs at their best will give anyone a game. They are desperate to reach the knockout phase and I wouldn't bet against them doing it.

Which Premier League team will go furthest? 

Manchester City. This could be the year when English teams flood the second half of the competition and it wouldn't surprise if there were two representatives in the last four. City score goals for fun, they look best equipped.

Who will win it? 

Feels a bit like sticking a pin in the runners and riders at this stage but I would love to finally see Juventus get the rewards their consistency in the competition deserves. 

Gabriel Jesus is looking to lead Manchester City to the latter stages of the Champions League

CRAIG HOPE 

Which side are you most looking forward to watching?

Paris Saint-Germain. How can you not be excited about the £370m strikeforce of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe? Forget FFP, let's enjoy seeing these two in the same side - and what a game to kick off with at Celtic this week.

Who could emerge as the surprise package?

Tottenham. You would hope they can only improve the more they play at Wembley and I think odds of 40/1 to win the Champions League are generous. They certainly should not be double the odds of Liverpool.

Which Premier League team will go furthest? 

While I think Tottenham could be a surprise package, I believe Manchester City will go the furthest. Their attacking options are frightening and they are players who will enjoy the biggest stage. I fancy them to reach the last four at least.

Who will win it? 

Barcelona. They will be hurting after Real Madrid's back-to-back triumphs, and so, too, will Lionel Messi after seeing Cristiano Ronaldo take the Ballon d'Or prize for the third time in four years. 

Lionel Messi and Barcelona are naturally among the contenders to win the Champions League

JOE BERNSTEIN

Which side are you most looking forward to watching? 

Tottenham. Paris Saint-Germain is the obvious one because of their spending splurge but I think Tottenham will be a fascinating watch because the two English players with world-class potential - Harry Kane and Dele Alli - have to do the business against the likes of Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Who could emerge as the surprise package?

Napoli. They're joint-top of Serie A and have goals in the team with Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Marek Hamsik. We'll know more after a tough opener away to Shakhtar.

Which Premier League team will go furthest?

Manchester City. They have a relatively comfortable group and by the knockout stages you'd have thought Pep Guardiola will have sorted out his best XI and system. Still won't be easy to get beyond quarters though.

Who will win it?

Real Madrid. Having backed against them last season because Champions League winners never retain their trophy, I'm doing a U-turn and saying 'three in a row'. Everything Zidane touches turns to gold. Ditto Cristiano.

Harry Kane will take on Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in Tottenham's group

SIMON JONES

Which side are you most looking forward to watching? 

Paris Saint-Germain. They have assembled an exciting strike force with Neymar and Mbappe alongside Cavani. Should they gel quickly they'll be difficult to stop, especially with Verratti pulling the strings behind them.

Who could emerge as the surprise package? 

Manchester City. They are vulnerable in defence but have a lot of attacking options whose movement makes them difficult to contain. That fluidity and pace allied to a more clinical touch in front of goal will trouble the best of defences.

Which Premier League team will go furthest? 

Manchester United. Jose Mourinho's side have the most favourable draw which should give them a basis to build confidence in the competition. Can overpower teams and the return of Ibrahimovic in December should give them fresh impetus if Lukaku struggles.

Who will win it? 

Real Madrid. A few have been surprised that they have not changed the squad dramatically but they have a tight unit with a real hunger to keep on winning. They know each other well and have players who perform at the highest level consistently. Should set the standard again. 

Real Madrid are going for an unprecedented third straight Champions League victory

LAURIE WHITWELL

Which side are you most looking forward to watching?

Paris Saint-Germain. Seeing whether the world's most expensive front line can sync to devastating effect will be intriguing. Neymar and Kylian Mbappe might have cost the GDP of a small country but that does not dilute the significant anticipation of how the pair link up on the pitch for PSG. They have started well domestically and it seems inevitable that will continue in Europe.

Who could emerge as the surprise package?

Red Bull Leipzig. They came close to emulating the Leicester miracle in the Bundesliga last season and are well equipped to go on a similarly deep run in the Champions League. They could well edge a tricky group containing Monaco, Besiktas, and Porto, particularly given the French champions have been picked apart.

Which Premier League team will go furthest?

Manchester United. Before the draw, Manchester City stood out due to the sheer talent in their squad and Pep Guardiola's track record. But United have a more straight-forward looking group and they and Jose Mourinho are in a groove of navigating two-legged ties after winning the Europa League, and that could well count for much.

Who will win it?

Real Madrid. They have shown flickers of mortality in drawing to Valencia and Levante, but it remains difficult to look beyond them. Zinedine Zidane's side have been Europe's most fluent for a considerable length of time and continue to develop with new personnel. Winning three in a row – and four in five years – would be a remarkable dynasty.

Romelu Lukaku could lead Manchester United into the latter stages of the competition 

SAM CUNNINGHAM

Which side are you most looking forward to watching?

Paris Saint-Germain. They spent more than a third of a billion pounds on two forwards. If that isn't worth tuning in for, I don't know what is. Paris Saint-Germain look set to be the most exciting attacking team in the competition this season and are already on a six-game winning streak ahead of playing Celtic.

Who could emerge as the surprise package?

Napoli. The Italians have continued the form that saw them finish third in Serie A last season with five straight games unbeaten this campaign. Maurizio Sarri's side play bold football that fears no-one. In Group F with Manchester City, Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk they have a great chance of progressing to the knockout stages and could go far.

Which Premier League team will go furthest?

Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's City have an immense depth to their squad that should lend itself to competing fully in the Premier League and Champions League. They have three huge names for virtually every position in the starting eleven. Plus Guardiola has the competition experience to guide them through difficult times.

Who will win it?

Real Madrid. They may have stumbled to draws in their previous two La Liga matches but it is hard to look beyond Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two figures who will drive this Real Madrid team to Champions League success once again. They were born champions. 

Napoli have the potential to become one of the surprise teams in this season's tournament 

ADAM SHERGOLD 

Which side are you most looking forward to watching?

Paris Saint-Germain. It has to be, they are set to unleash one of the deadliest forward lines in the competition's history. Good luck to anybody who has to withstand the combined force of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani this season.

Who could emerge as the surprise package?

Liverpool. They could well surprise a few on their return to the competition. Jurgen Klopp has the know-how having guided Borussia Dortmund to a final in the past, their lightning-quick forward line will trouble almost every defence and they have a very favourable group stage draw.

Which Premier League team will go furthest?

I think Manchester City are the likeliest of the Premier League sides to make it as far as the last four, or even the final. Given their big-money signings over the summer, plus Pep Guardiola's experience in the Champions League, it surely has to come together spectacularly at some point.

Who will win it?

Real Madrid to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the final. There's a reason why Real are the favourites and they still have more firepower than everyone else. I fancy them to make it a hat-trick of Champions League wins.