Thirty-six of Europe's best teams and hundreds of its best players will begin their quest to be crowned champions of the continent over the next couple of weeks as the 2024-25 Champions League gets underway.
A new format means that more clubs than ever will get their shot at glory, and therefore more players than ever will have the chance to shine on the biggest stage in world football.
It is usually the strikers who steal most of the headlines, and with a star-studded cast of attackers ready to be let loose on the new-look competition this year, it is unlikely to be any different.
Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe shared the top-scorer award last term and will consider themselves among the front-runners again for 2024-25, especially with the increased number of fixtures giving them more chances to hit the back of the net.
Plenty of others will also fancy their chances of joining a list of luminaries that includes the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Gerd Muller, Ferenc Puskas, Eusebio and Alfredo Di Stefano by ending a Champions League season as top scorer.
Here, the Sports Mole reporters make their predictions for which player will end up with the Golden Boot this time around.
Barney Corkhill - Erling Haaland
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The evidence for backing Erling Haaland to finish as top scorer in almost any competition goes back much further than just the start of this season, but he looks more like a goalscoring machine than ever before so far in 2024-25.
Nine goals in four Premier League appearances so far is a ludicrous start to the campaign, and he seems to be profiting hugely from a summer off while lots of the world's other top players were playing either at Euro 2024 or in the Copa America.
Haaland has already finished as Champions League top scorer twice before - one of only 13 players to have done so more than once - and with Manchester City expected to go far once again, I see no reason why he cannot do it for a third time.
The Premier League champions face some tricky teams in the league phase, but Haaland will still get goals in those games, while I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him fill his boots against the likes of Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Prague and Club Brugge.
With the increased number of games, if City do meet expectations in the tournament I would go even further and suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo's single-season record of 17 could be under threat.
Matt Law - Erling Haaland
It would be nice to go for an outsider in this category, but truth be told, it would be a surprise if the leading goalscorer was a player other than Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah or Vinicius Junior.
All of those players, in addition to Robert Lewandowski, will fancy their chances of hitting some good numbers in the competition this season, but it is just so difficult to look past Haaland here.
The Norway international has 41 goals in 39 Champions League appearances, including 18 in 20 outings at Man City, and the 24-year-old has an excellent chance of being the top goalscorer in the competition this term, with the majority of his efforts potentially coming in the league phase.
Jonathan O'Shea - Erling Haaland
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Predictable, but quite probable.
Not only has Haaland benefited from a summer of rest, and subsequently started the new season on fire, but he will surely take advantage of two extra group games to fill his boots against some relatively modest opposition.
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe may get in each other's way at Real Madrid, who are the other team likely to play the maximum amount of matches, so Manchester City's main marksman will come out on top - perhaps hitting double figures.
Carter White - Erling Haaland
With two extra matches in the first stage of the competition this season, attackers whose clubs have favourable League Phase fixtures could boast a better chance of winning the Champions League Golden Boot.
Set to face Slovan Bratislava, Club Brugge and Sparta Prague before the end of January, Manchester City's Erling Haaland could be miles ahead in the goalscoring charts prior to the knockout stages, so I am backing the towering Norwegian to win the award.
Joel Lefevre - Erling Haaland
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Erling Haaland was put on this planet to score goals, and even with the questions suggesting he couldn't handle the pressure that comes with being Man City's number nine at a top club, he's delivered time and again.
Kylian Mbappe is the other obvious answer for top scorer. Still, Haaland and City are dialled in and have developed that continuity on the pitch, and I feel it'll take some time for Mbappe to settle into his new surroundings at the Bernabeu.
The future of many Man City stars is up in the air at the end of the season, but I'm certain that Haaland will bag the lion's share of the goals in the Champions League as he's done throughout his career.
Lewis Nolan - Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland's tally of nine Premier League goals is already a third of what he totalled in the entirety of the 2023-24 season, and it would not be a surprise if the Norwegian topped the scoring charts in the UEFA Champions League as well.
Babafemi Busari - Erling Haaland
I would say none other than Erling Haaland for reasons everyone already knows. I think the league format of the competition makes it even more likely than before that he wins the coveted award.
