Will Premier League Teams Find UEFA Glory This Season?
As we stand today, mere hours before the first of the 5 English teams still in UEFA competitions start the second leg of their respective quarter-finals, we have decided to assess the chances of these EPL teams winning the Champions League (UCL), the Europa League (UEL), or the Europa Conference League (UECL).
To recap, the Premier League sides still vying for a semi-final spot this season are Arsenal and Manchester City in the UCL, Liverpool and West Ham United in the UEL, while the only English side still involved in the UECL – the third tier of UEFA’s competitions – is Aston Villa.
The Gunners are playing away against German giants Bayern Munich, while EPL table-toppers Manchester City are in action at home, facing Real Madrid. Over in the Europa League, Liverpool travel to Atalanta, while West Ham host newly-minted German champions Bayer Leverkusen, while the UECL plays stage to Villa’s visit to Lille.
First leg results, with links to our reports:
- Arsenal 2 – 2 Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid 3 – 3 Manchester City
- Liverpool 0 – 3 Atalanta
- Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 0 West Ham
- Aston Villa 2 – 1 Lille
Naturally, before these results Liverpool were seen as the big favourites to lift the UEL trophy in Dublin, while perhaps some were tipping Arsenal to be on the receiving end of yet another big defeat at the hands of Bayern.
Instead, before the second legs kick off, we are left with an intriguing – if not ideal, from EPL fans’ perspective – picture. So who do we think has the best chance to win these prestigious continental competitions when it’s all said and done?
Arsenal
Apart from needing to overcome Bayern on German soil, the Gunners will need to overcome either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the semi-finals.
Mikel Arteta’s biggest issue seems to be his squad’s lack of experience at the very highest level. Very few of Arsenal’s players have been in a similar position in seasons past, but the ones who have – looking at you, Havertz, Jorginho, Zinchenko – might be able to drag Arsenal all the way to the final at Wembley.
Even though it is easy to appreciate the talents that the Londoners have at their disposal (let’s face it, Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli have been particularly easy on the eyes this season), we are not convinced that this iteration of Arsenal has what it takes to send Bayern, Real/City AND Dortmund/Paris packing.
Maybe next season.
Chances of UCL glory: 3/10
Manchester City
Three things are always certain: death, taxes, and City hitting their stride in the spring.
We know, old joke, but could you really argue with it? Let’s take stock: in the FA Cup semis, drew in Madrid against a team they obliterated last season on the way to glory, and are top of the tree in the Prem by 2 points.
We have a sneaky feeling that, due to the embarrassment of riches at his disposal – De Bruyne and Foden seem to play only to one-up each other – Guardiola might just mastermind back-to-back trebles after facing Real tonight.
And that is just insane.
Chances of UCL glory: 8/10
Liverpool
Oh, Reds. After everyone was reading the writing on the wall about Klopp’s last game being the UEL final in Dublin (a city with a great Liverpool following and history), Liverpool shot themselves in the foot by losing 3-0 at home to Atalanta.
Sure, fans might be thinking about a certain ‘corner taken quickly’ in a certain game, but if van Dijk, Salah and co. are to somehow conjure up another HUGE European comeback, they will have to do so away from the adulation surrounding them at Anfield.
Chances of UEL glory: 2/10
West Ham United
Leverkusen will be travelling to the London Stadium knowing that they have done half the job last week, but not knowing how much the celebrations after wrapping up the German title on Sunday have taken their toll on them.
While their fans can afford to party long into the night (or next morning), their heroes must wake up to the task of finishing the tie against a wily David Moyes side.
While they have some outstanding talent in their squad, with Bowen, Kudus and Michail Antonio among the best in their positions in the EPL, we do believe that the Hammers will have more than a bit of trouble getting past Leverkusen and face AC Milan or AS Roma in the semis.
Chances of UEL glory: 4/10
Aston Villa
In terms of European pedigree, Unai Emery is one of the best coaches to ever do it, especially outside of the Champions League.
He has gathered 4 Europa League winners’ medals, including 3 with Sevilla, in consecutive seasons. Now he takes his Villa outfit to France, knowing that he just needs to avoid defeat to get into the semi-finals of the UECL.
With Ollie Watkins in hot form and Konsa doing an admirable job in defence, the Spanish tactician will be quietly confident of knocking Lille out.
If that is done, then if he goes all the way past Olympiacos or Fenerbahce to reach the final in Athens, Emery might just look contentedly at conquering yet another UEFA competition.
Chances of UECL glory: 7/10
Now let’s see what the midweek brings!