How far can the English sides go in the Champions League?
The serious business begins now. The quest to be named European Champions for four English clubs starts now.
European football’s premier club competition,the Champions League, returns to our screens on Tuesday after the group stage concluded in early November. We’re in the business end of the competition now. It’s knockout football. 16 teams remain as the road to Istanbul begins in earnest. The giants of European football are ready to joust for the honour of being crowned champions of the continent. My duty in this piece is to predict which Premier League club will go the furthest in the competition.Manchester City,Liverpool,Chelsea and Tottenham remain in the Champions League.
English clubs last 16 ties:
Ac Milan vs Tottenham
Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City
Firstly, it must be said the luck of the draw is a big factor that can impact how far any of these teams can go so that is something that has to be considered. Teams like Porto,Benfica,and Club Brugge remain in the competition. Although they should not be underestimated, if any of the English sides face them, if they progress they should beat those sides. However, I don’t want to get caught up in hypotheticals.
The team I expect to go the furthest in the competition and dare I say I demand they lift the trophy is Manchester City. The Champions League has been the pot at the end of the rainbow that City have been desperately searching for in the last 5 years. The arrival of Pep Guardiola, the billions of pounds invested into the team and the squad has been assembled all to claim the elite prize of European football. So far the Champions League has proven elusive. The Premier League has been a formality for City in recent years but they are yet to make their presence felt on the European stage.
We all know what happened last year in the semi-final against Real Madrid where they capitulated in spectacular fashion. We all know what City did in the summer. They brought in Erling Haaland who was brought into drag City over the line with his goal scoring prowess. Therefore, my expectation is that Pep Guardiola leads his side to victory come May. Despite the narrative that has just been painted, City do not currently look like a side that are ready to win the Champions League. They have not been as convincing and as impressive as they have been in former seasons which has been well documented.
Nonetheless, City will face German side RB Leipzig in the last-16 where progression into the quarter-final should be a formality. Then the Citizens will have to contend with the likes of Bayern/PSG,Napoli and Real Madrid who are the other favourites. Despite Manchester City being a heavily diluted version of the City we’re used to seeing, they still have star-power and the best manager in the world, making them by far the best placed English club to win the Champions League this season.
Big spenders Chelsea have comfortably spent enough money where getting to the latter stages of the Champions League should be a formality. However, despite their frivolous spending, the West London club are nowhere near being a team capable of mounting a challenge for the trophy.
Chelsea are having a disappointing season so far as they sit in 9th place ten points off 4th place. Graham Potter’s side face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday which is a winnable game. The Champions League provides the opportunity for Chelsea to gather momentum which they can transfer into the league to propel them up the table. Additionally, it provides a route for qualification for the competition next year as finishing in the top four does look like an uphill struggle at the minute.
What will give Chelsea fans some hope is that they defied the odds to win the Champions league two seasons ago,so can they do it again? Nah probably not, but it won’t stop them dreaming. Beat Dortmund and who knows. Bowing out at the quarter-final stage shouldn’t be too disheartening for Chelsea.
The six time winners Liverpool are having a nightmare season so far and they’ve been handed the nightmare draw as they face holders and 14 time winners Real Madrid. This is probably the last fixture that Jurgen Klopp wanted out of the hat given the way his side and he himself has performed so far this season.
In saying this, this tie should provide the motivation for the reds to turn their season around. If Liverpool can topple the La Liga champions then it can really be the catalyst for their season and spark an unlikely charge for the Champions League trophy. Winning this competition will secure their place in next year’s edition which is an extra incentive.
It looks like this current Liverpool squad are in their twilight years with their era of relative dominance coming to an end. However, this Champions League campaign could be the unlikeliest of last dances for this Liverpool side. The challenge of Real Madrid is one to be relished but a challenge where Liverpool will ultimately fall short. Their tournament ends at the last-16 stage for me.
Tottenham scraped through the group stages and have been rewarded with a trip to the San Siro where they face AC Milan in the first leg on this Tuesday. Conte and European football is a scary combination as the Italian has a notoriously awful record in the Champions League.
Nonetheless, the Serie A champions,AC Milan, are very much beatable opposition. It is likely to be an even affair. The issue with Tottneham is that you have no idea what Tottenham you are going to get from one ninety minutes to the next. Therefore, it’ll be risky to bet your hedges on the North London side doing anything meaningful in the competition.
Harry Kane aside, Tottenham do not strike fear into the hearts of their competition. The Champions League is a free-hit for them. The quarter-finals is the likeliest checkout point for Tottenham.
Other Last 16 ties:
Bayern vs PSG
Club Brugge vs Benfica
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli
Inter vs Porto
The knockout stages of the Champions League is something to always look forward to. The English sides have represented the nation well with at least one club getting to the final in five of the last six seasons. We’ll see how far they can go this time around.