Bharat Bhise is a friend of mine who’s opinion I really respect, except when it comes to the topic of football where of course, all opinions are divided. Bharat and I were having a chat last week ahead of this week’s Champions League games, about which English team we think will go furthest in the competition. Now we both predicted a Barcelona v Ajax final last year, which of course ended up as Spurs v Liverpool, so it is fair to say that we aren’t always right. Nonetheless this year we have agreed again and here is the picks which Bharat and I have made, in order, as to who will go furthest.
Chelsea
Chelsea have been very impressive in the Premier League so far this season with their team of youngsters from the academy like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham. Whilst they have a great mix of young and old in the squad, it is not a deep squad and we think that this may be their downfall. Naturally with the transfer ban this was always going to happen and whilst we believe that Lampard will take the Blues to top 4, we expect them to bow out in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Liverpool
They may have reached the last two finals but we have a sneaking suspicion that Liverpool may come unstuck this season. They have a very good chance of winning the Premier League and having already won the CL last year, we expect them to sacrifice Europe for domestic success. They’ll still reach the quarter finals, but that will be as far as they go this year.
Tottenham
Spurs came so close to a miraculous victory last year and we believe that this will give them the fight and the belief which they need to push again this season, as a team who truly deserve to be there. Spurs won’t have a league challenge but they will be safely in the top 4 by January/February, this means they can lay heavy focus on the CL and we expect them to get to the semi-finals at least. By the time crunch time arrives the new players will be bedded in and Spurs will believe that they have a real chance.
Manchester City
Both Bharat and I believe that City’s CL woes will be over this year and that they will win this prestigious European competition for the very first time. The fact that Guardiola hasn’t won this already with City is spellbinding and they were unlucky last year against Spurs. Given the right run of games however we just cannot see which other team can threaten to stop the Citizens from adding that highly sought after trophy to their cabinet. Expect there to be some excitement along the way, resulting in another European cup for an English club, and the beginning of City’s legacy.
Who do you have to win it?