It’s that time again, where the best in Britain take on the rest of Europe.
The several rounds of obscure qualifiers are over and so the Champions League group stage draw is finally upon us. But how will the five British teams (Leicester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Celtic) fare this year?
Will there be a post-Brexit hangover in Europe or will we return to the glory days of the late noughties where the Premier League boasted seven finalists (but just two winners) in as many years?
We got our best and brightest (aka the JOE writers) to give their predictions before Thursday evening’s draw. Here’s what we think…
Carl Anka (@Ankaman616)Â – Manchester City
I sincerely was going to say Chelsea, but then I remembered the Doom of Valyria that occurred last year so I’ll go for City. One of the best strikers in the world in Sergio Aguero, wide men like Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling kicking on and if Pep reins in his “over-experiment and cause one of my players to have a brain fart” tendencies, then a finalist spot is achievable.
May I also add how jazzed I am at Big Curry Goat Wes Morgan being in the Champs? Ta.
Kevin Beirne (@KevBeirne) – Leicester City
Sure, Guardiola-managed teams have made the final four of Europe’s top competition every year since 2009. And yes, I backed Man City to win the Premier League this season. But everyone else is saying City will go the furthest of the British teams which tells me that it’s not going to happen.
As an Arsenal fan, there’s no way I can back either North London club and Celtic are shit so that leaves Leicester. They’re a top seed and a top bunch of guys in my books. Everyone doubted them last season, including me, and we all ending up looking like idiots. So like any good idiot, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon just as the wheels are coming off.
I’ve already got myself a Leicester away kit and I can’t wait to see Riyad Mahrez and co march on Cardiff next June for one last hurrah after being relegated back to the Championship.
Richard Beech (@BeechardRich)Â – Manchester City
I think Man City will go furthest, but I also think they will win the league, so I’m probably biased.
Pep has a lot of experience and success in the competition, and his squad are looking great at the moment. David Silva is already looking twice the player he was last year, so if he can work magic that quickly, by the knockout round in February I’m sure they’ll be firing on all cylinders.
I look forward to being completely wrong and seeing Arsenal go on to win the treble.
Rob Burnett (@RobBurnett) – Arsenal
I’m going to discount Tottenham and Leicester straight away here. Neither club has any Champions League pedigree to speak of – those heady nights of Gareth Bale hat-tricks against Inter are a long time ago now, and Leicester have never played in it.
I know a lot of people will go for Manchester City – they have European Cup royalty at the helm with Pep Guardiola, and some top talent in their team. But I still think this will be a transitional year for them under Pep. Next season they could win it, but not this year.
But while Arsenal may have lost the habit of winning trophies, they are certainly not out of the habit of juggling domestic and Champions League football.
The team is not as bad as the defeat to Liverpool made it out to be, and if Arsene Wenger makes the couple of signings he appears to be threatening to, they will have a decent squad.
Combine that with the Champions League experience they have and they will makes the quarters at least.
Tom Victor (@tomvictor)Â – Manchester City
It depends on the draw, of course, but I’m going with Manchester City.
At this level, top managers are just as important as players – just look at Paris Saint-Germain’s recent failures – and Pep Guardiola actually has recent experience of *winning* two-legged Champions League games as opposed to just turning up.
We may well find ourselves in a position where City are the only British team left by the quarter-final stage, and barring a generous draw that could well be their limit. After all, we can’t expect Sergio Aguero to be on fire before and after Christmas in the same season.
Alex Finnis (@AlexFinnis) – Manchester City
You just know Leicester are going to end up with the hardest possible draw for a team in Pot One and end up going out in the groups, Spurs will qualify but then absolutely Spurs it up and end up by going out to Dynamo Kiev or something, and Arsenal have already been knocked out in the round-of-16 by Barcelona – which leaves Man City.
They’ll look solid and maybe even like potential winners, before Guardiola does his special trick of getting beat in the semis – probably by Bayern. You know it all makes sense.
Simon Lloyd (@SmnLlyd5) – Leicester City
With their new manager and a goalkeeper that likes to kick it a bit more, it’s far too easy to say that Manchester City will go the furthest in the Champions League; I’m not going for this.
Instead, I’m going for Leicester. Not only will they go further than all the other teams, they’ll also win the whole goddamn thing.
They showed last year that they can soak up the pressure and hit teams on the break and win a game when they’re not even playing particularly well.
If they can do this in Europe there’s no reason why they can’t do what the likes of Porto did in 2004.
I look forward to the club’s owner treating each player to their own metallic blue private jet ahead of next season.
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