'Man Utd will do very well to get out of their group' - Red Devils not among Champions League favourites, says Ferdinand

Manchester United "will do very well" to get out of their Champions League group, according to Rio Ferdinand, who says the Red Devils are not among the favourites to win the competition.

United marked their return to Europe's biggest stage with a 2-1 victory away at Paris Saint-Germain last week, thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now preparing his side to come up against Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig, who currently sit top of Group H after recording a 2-0 home win against Istanbul Basaksehir.

Julian Nagelsmann's side have yet to lose a game in 2020-21, while the Red Devils have slipped to 15th in the Premier League standings after winning just two of their opening five domestic fixtures.

Ferdinand thinks qualifying for the knockout stages would be an impressive achievement for his old club considering their inconsistency, and that they shouldn't be regarded as one of the main contenders for the trophy at this stage.

"I don’t think Man United are going to be one of the teams I’d put as favourites. I wouldn’t put them in that bracket," the ex-United defender told BT Sport. "I think they’ll do very well getting out this group they’re in and they’ve had a fantastic start.

"They’ll do well getting out of that and then just hope to improve from there, but consistency is the key for this season for Man United improving on last season."

Ferdinand was also asked to assess Manchester City's chances after watching Pep Guardiola's men pick up a 2-0 victory away at Marseille on Tuesday, but he named Liverpool as the English club most likely to challenge Bayern Munich for their European crown.

Asked whether this could be the season that City finally win the competition, the Red Devils legend responded: "I don’t think so!

"I want to see exciting football and when Manchester City are flying they’re such an exciting team to watch and I enjoy sitting here watching them.

"Whether or not they’re going to have enough to get over the line, with their quality and the consistency that Bayern have [I don’t know]. I still feel Liverpool are a stronger outfit so I put City probably around third or fourth choice for me."