Live

LIVE: OTB Breakfast

07:30 AM-10:00 AM

LIVE: OTB Breakfast
Advertisement
Soccer

How happy should the Premier League sides be with their Champions League groups?

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw always throws up a couple of intriguing ties and 2016-...



How happy should the Premier L...
Soccer

How happy should the Premier League sides be with their Champions League groups?

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw always throws up a couple of intriguing ties and 2016-17 is no different.

It's an interesting one from the four Premier League sides' perspective, with more established teams like Manchester City and Arsenal being pitched into comparatively tricky pools on paper in comparison to Leicester, who have never been here before, and Tottenham who are returning to Europe's elite for the first time since 2010-11.

But how happy will the four sides be?

Leicester City

Group G Opponents: Porto, Club Brugge, FC Copenhagen.

It's a slightly softer introduction to the Champions League than Leicester could have been faced with.

FC Porto have plenty of European pedigree, although they are perhaps not as strong as they have been in the previous decade. But Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen are certainly not beyond the Foxes' capabilities. 

As Leicester lack European experience, they could endure a couple of adverse results but have enough to finish in the Top 2.

Prediction: Second in Group G behind Porto.

Tottenham

Group E Opponents: CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco

Like their Premier League rivals, Spurs could have been pitched into a much tougher predicament but CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco will not cause panic.

The three sides are experienced at this level and have talent in their squads but are not superior to a Tottenham side that are well managed and have firepower of their own.

Prediction: Second in Group E behind Bayer Leverkusen.

Arsenal

Group A Opponents: PSG, Basel, Ludogorets Razgrad

The presence of Paris Saint-Germain will make it tough for Arsenal to top the group.

PSG are regulars in the knockout stages and have attacking strength in their squad in the shape of Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria.

Arsenal can beat them on their day but the Gunners do have a habit of being a bit inconsistent, so second in the group is likely.

FC Basel and Ludogorets are teams that Arsene Wenger's side are more than likely to finish above.

Prediction: Second in Group A... then eliminated in the last-16 as per recent tradition.

Manchester City

Group C Opponents: Barcelona, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic

Pep Guardiola's side should make it out of their group but the chances of topping it will depend on head-to-head ties with Barcelona.

Guardiola knows Barca extremely well but whether his own City side has developed enough to out-point them is unlikely.

Borussia Monchengladbach could be tricky but while a trip to Celtic Park will also be intriguing, they should have enough to finish second. 

Prediction: Second in Group C behind Barcelona. 

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer