Leicester City, Arsenal, Tottenham hotspur and Manchester City are all competing in the Champions League.
The Champions League trophy before the game
The eight groups for the 2016/17 Champions League have been revealed. Chelsea were the last English side to win the competition in 2012. All four Premier League sides will be hoping to equal the success of their London rival.
With the draw announced, which English side have the best chance at succeeding?
1. Leicester City
Group G: Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, Copenhagen
Leicester shocked the nation by winning the Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
The Champions have been handed a comfortable draw. Although they face Portuguese champions Porto, Brugge are competing in the group stage for the first time since 2005-06, while Copenhagen are 81st in Uefa’s club rankings.
Claudio Ranieri’s side should be confident that they can progress through to the knockout stages.
However, the experience of other clubs in the competition prove too difficult for the newcomers to come up against, if the Foxes were to get past the group stages.
2. Arsenal
Group A: PSG, Arsenal, Basle, Ludogorets
The Gunners have been drawn against French Ligue 1 winners PSG, a tough opposition for the London side.
The 2016/17 campaign is the 19th year Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League. Arsene Wenger’s side will be expected to at least match last year’s performance. The Gunners were knocked out by Barcelona in the last 16.
Whether or not Arsenal will be able to go further in the competition than last year, will all depend on who Wenger brings into the side before the transfer window closes.
3. Tottenham
Group E: CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Monaco
Tottenham mark their return to European’s biggest competition with the easier group out of the two North London sides. Spurs will be happy that they have managed to avoid any of the big European names.
Spurs last qualified for the Champions League in the 2010/11 season, where they reached the quarter-final stage. Mauricio Pochettino’s side will face a challenge when they come up against Russian champions CSKA Moscow.
Pochettino’s side should make it past the group stages, providing they don’t get stage fright at Wembley and can make the stadium feel like home.
4. Manchester City
Group C: Barcelona, Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic
Manchester City have again been handed with the toughest group. After finishing fourth last season, City were aware that they were likely to face one of the heavyweights in the group stages.
City will face Champions Barcelona for the third time in four seasons. Pep Guardiola will face his old side for the first time since becoming City’s boss this summer.
Guardiola is Barcelona’s most successful manager, helping the Spanish side win the Champions League in 2009 and 2011.
Despite a tough group, City with Guardiola’s experience in the competition should make it through the group stages and even go as far as the final.
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