Paul Scholes Rates Champions League Hopes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, City

Manchester United aren't involved this season, but ex-Red Devil Paul Scholes still feels England's bastions can leave their mark on the 2014-15 Champions League.

Speaking on ITV (h/t Daily Mail's Andy Hampson), Scholes picked out Liverpool as a surprise package worth keeping an eye on, as well as weighing in on the prospects of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea:

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Liverpool are the dark horse of the competition this year. Brendan Rodgers has done a fantastic job. The style of play he’s adopted is exciting to watch and the players seem to have taken to him. I feel they will do well with the players they have.

The big advantage they have is a home crowd. Anfield is always a hostile place to go, which is something Manchester City lack. 

Champions League will be their [City's] main focus for the season. Their owners will want to see them push on in the Champions League. They have a tough group this year, but with the players they have they need to go on to win it, and there’s really little excuse not to do well.

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Scholes' comments come but a few days after both Premier League giants stumbled in their most recent domestic fixtures, with the Reds losing to Aston Villa 1-0 at home while the Citizens drew 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium.

The Old Trafford icon went on to outline Arsenal's uncanny knack for progressing past the group stage but failing to do much past that phase of the tournament. He also queried whether Chelsea's European hopes will suffer due to a lack of focus:

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They (Arsenal) always qualify and always seem to get through the group. The only problem with Arsenal is when they meet top teams, they don’t seem to have the consistent level of mental strength to get through it.

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Whilst The Champions League is the ultimate trophy for any club team, I believe Chelsea’s main objective is winning the Premier League this season. If you ask Jose Mourinho what you’d rather win now, I think the answer would be the Premier League.

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The Gunners are coming up against a familiar opponent, having faced Borussia Dortmund in last season's Group F tussle that saw the Germans just edge top spot on away goals.

City also finished as runners-up in their group last season and will themselves revive a German rivalry, facing Bayern Munich in the group stage for the third time in four years.

Dave Thompson/Getty Images

In last year's second match, Manuel Pellegrini's side triumphed 3-2 against Der FCB at the Allianz Arena, falling just one goal short of topping the group.

However, Norwegian pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft doesn't feel those heroics will be on display again this time around:

Last season saw all four English clubs advance from the first round. Liverpool take the place of United this year and each outfit again has realistic chances of progression.

According to beIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri, Premier League sides can have a "statistical" advantage in drawing easier groups:

Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City may argue otherwise with Real Madrid, Dortmund and Bayern to encounter, respectively, but Scholes clearly feels England's big guns are on a par with the rest of their continental counterparts.

Recent years have seen German and Spanish clubs dominate the later phases of the Champions League, with 13 of the last 16 semi-finalists coming from the Bundesliga and La Liga.

With the Premier League smashing its previous summer transfer window record spend this year, however, clubs are evidently making their bid to reclaim a status of European renown.

A two-time Champions League winner himself, Scholes will be fully knowledgeable of the skill and squad quality needed to take home such a title, and he feels English teams could be on the march once more.