Liverpool and Manchester City are the favourites to win the 2019-20 Champions League, according to Dietmar Hamann.
The Reds secured the sixth European Cup of their illustrious history with a 2-0 win over Tottenham in last season's showpiece, after dispatching Barcelona and Bayern Munich in previous rounds.
City, meanwhile, suffered a shock quarter-final exit at the hands of Spurs, extending Pep Guardiola's recent barren run in the competition's knockout phase.
The Spaniard did, however, oversee more domestic success at the Etihad Stadium, which has seen his side named among the favourites to conquer Europe in 2020.
Jurgen Klopp has also been backed for more continental silverware, with Liverpool currently the only team in England still protecting a 100 per cent record this term.
Hamann, who played for the Reds between 1999 and 2006 before a three-year spell at City, feels the Premier League duo are the frontrunners in the race to lift the Champions League.
"I think that City and Liverpool will set the standard," the German said in an interview with SID.
Liverpool open their latest European campaign with a trip to Italy to face Napoli on Tuesday before City come up against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
Having won a Champions League winners' medal with Liverpool in 2005, Hamann feels German champions Bayern are still some way off the standard required, insisting they are "in the second row" of clubs in this season's competition.
Niko Kovac's men were knocked out by the Reds in the last 16 last term after suffering a 3-1 second-leg defeat at the Allianz Arena.
Hamann went on to highlight Bayern's need for a defensive midfielder, a position in which he shone during his playing days.
He added: "[Joshua] Kimmich can play there, but then he has to show that he is capable of doing so.
"[Javi] Martinez shone last year against Liverpool, but that game was a long time ago - now he's injured again - and Thiago is not a six."
Bayern host Red Star Belgrade in their opening Group B fixture this week, when they will be looking to bounce back from a 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga over the weekend.