Is is hard to believe that we have already reached the one month mark of the Premier League season, but last night marked another key date in the football calendar - the return of the Champions League.

While it might not mean much for those supporters whose teams did not qualify for the elite club competition, for the fans of Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham, it is a great chance to see how their heroes match up against their rivals from the continent.

Last decade saw a golden age for English clubs in the competition, with Liverpool and Chelsea locking horns in a number of epic battles which saw the Merseysiders get the better of their west London rivals on most occasions.

Their 2005 semi-final battle has gone down in folklore with the Luis Garcia goal which decided the tie fiercely debated by fans of both clubs to this day regarding whether it crossed the line.

It apepeared destiny was in the Reds corner that season as they won a memorable final against AC Milan, coming back from 3-0 down to win the competition on penalties for the fifth time in their history.

Chelsea experienced more European heartbreak three years later when Man United defeated the Blues on penalties in what was a largely a forgettable contest.

However, after the Red Devils fell to the might of Barcelona in two finals in 08/09 and 10/11, in 2012, it was Chelsea's time to get their due reward and raise the European Cup up for the first time when they defeated Bayern Munich on penalties.

Since that moment, Barcelona and Real Madrid have largely shared the spoils, however, there was a beacon of hope last season that English clubs were starting to get their strong reputation back in the revered competition, with Liverpool and Man City meeting in a keenly awaited tie at the quarter-final stage.

Pep Guardiola's men were taking all before them on the domestic front, but while they had the measure of most teams, there was one team who caused them some headaches - that being the men from the red part of Merseyside.

Their league clash in January (a 4-3 win to Liverpool) was unquestionably the game of the season and ended all hopes for Man City going through the league campaign undefeated.

That defeat added an extra element of intrigue to this contest, but while City were favoured by most pundits, Liverpool did not listen to one word of the predictions and swept their Manchester rivals aside in 45 minutes of breathtaking attacking football where they led 3-0 and Man City didn't have a look in eventually losing 5-1 across the two legs.

That performance was the catalyst for a return to the Champions League final, but the seasoned professionals of Real Madrid were too savvy on the big stage and got the job done 3-1.

A new season has seen Liverpool start in fine fashion with five wins from five in the league and whispers that their near three decade wait for a league title could be close to ending.

While it is way too early for that kind of talk, GiveMeSport readers have had their say regarding who they think will go further in the 2018/19 competition.

Sixty three percent of the 37,740 voters thought that Liverpool would progress further than Man City, who many good judges feel are the favourites.

While Liverpool have got the headlines for their strong start, City have been no slouches and are sitting just two points off the pace.

There is a feeling that the Champions League is the trophy that Guardiola craves most in football and for all his outstanding achievements as manager in Spain, Germany and England, he has only won it twice (the last in 2010/1).

It is therefore about time that the highly touted City line-up with world class talents like Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Raheem Sterling put a real footprint on this competition.

Their best performance came in 2015-16 in a semi-final defeat to Real Madrid (1-0 on aggregate.)

Likewise, it is time that Jurgen Klopp, with a talent-laden squad at his disposal, takes the final step to raise a trophy after a number of heartbreaking losses in finals over the last three years.

As we all know, Liverpool got their campaign off to a great start, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 at Anfield thanks to a last-minute Roberto Firmino goal.

Over to you, City.