Source: SKY_Sports
Fergie predicts Prem dominance
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Sir Alex Ferguson can see no reason why English dominance of the UEFA Champions League will not continue this season. The Premier League has been omnipresent in the competition's latter stages in recent years, with three of the four semi-finalists for the past three seasons having been English.When coupled with the fact the Premier League has provided finalists in each of the last five seasons, Ferguson's opinion seems more than plausible.Yet there are some who claim a weakening of standards in England, coupled with the huge amounts of money spent by a Real Madrid outfit desperate to reach the final in their own Bernabeu Stadium next May, will ease that stranglehold.Liverpool, for one, are poised precariously in this season's group stages but Ferguson has warned those jubilant at the thought of England's dominance coming to an end that they may be a bit premature in their celebrations."The English teams will be involved in the semi-finals again," he said."They have been very dominant in the tournament for the last six or seven years. That is shown by the evidence of the latter stages and I think it will be the same this year."Cruise controlManchester United will book their place in the last 16 with two games to spare if they beat CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.Chelsea are similarly well placed after their opening three games, while it would be a major surprise if Arsenal did not make it through after collecting seven points so far.In contrast, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are currently outside the automatic qualification spots, while AC Milan and Real Madrid have already lost matches in a group they were expected to dominate completely."Obviously Barcelona are one of the favourites," he said. "You cannot dismiss them."But there is no question in my mind that the English teams will compete for the trophy."