Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness is backing all three English clubs to make it through to the Champions League semi-final stage.

The Reds take on Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final tie tomorrow night, with City facing Borussia Dortmund on the same evening, and Souness believes both teams will get good results:

“As it stands, I see all three English clubs in the semi-finals, which would mean at least one finalist. If Erling Haaland has a good night, Borussia Dortmund could turf anyone out of this season’s Champions League. Otherwise, you would take City all day long to progress to the semi-finals at their expense.”

“We all know Liverpool have been disappointing this season, but they can get themselves up for a game like this week’s against Real Madrid and even allowing for injuries, like Virgil van Dijk’s, they still have the edge. There are a lot of tired legs in Real’s team now. They’re sitting third in Spain and I’m suspicious of how good La Liga is this season. We’ve seen a disappointing Atletico Madrid that Chelsea rolled over quite easily and Barcelona were well beaten by PSG, so I fancy my old team there.”

Souness also weighed in on Chelsea’s chances, stating he is confident that they will overcome Portuguese champions Porto:

“Chelsea have had their tails up since Thomas Tuchel took charge and I expect them to continue that against Porto. They’re defending well and dominating possession; my only doubt is that they’re still missing a 25-goals-a-season striker, which is why they will be another club seriously interested in Haaland. Timo Werne’s getting lots of gilt-edged chances, but has not turned the corner to being someone who puts them away and at the highest level you have to do that.”

Whether it will be as simple for the English teams as Souness says, we shall have to wait and see. Liverpool’s task has been made easier after the news that Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos will miss both legs but Zinedine Zidane’s team are still a decent outfit.

Progression to the semi-finals will ultimately depend on Liverpool’s performances. Their inconsistency this season makes them hard to predict but, if they turn up for both matches, they have a good chance of going through.