5 teams who can do a 'Leicester City' in the Champions League this season

Oh, how we love a good underdog story. Leicester City's title triumph in 2016 will go down in history as one of the biggest miracles in the history of the game.

David had to fight just one Goliath, but Leicester had a tough task at hand in the form of the Premier League's traditional heavyweights.

There is nothing football fans wouldn't give for a similar story in the Champions League this year. Europe's top competition has been lacking in surprise packages recently, with the semifinals and finals usually contested between the usual heavyweights of European football.

However, this season witnessed a change with all of Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Chelsea finishing second in their respective groups.

With optimism and gusto, let us take a look at 5 teams who might just pull off the miracle of winning the Champions League this season despite not being European powerhouses:

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#5 Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk are the only side to beat Manchester City this season

Shakhtar Donetsk's best run in the Champions League came in 2010-11 when they reached the quarter-finals, only to lose out to eventual winners Barcelona. This time around they negotiated their passage through a tough Champions League group that included Manchester City and Napoli.

Their defeat of record-breaking City in the last match of the group stage will have given them immense confidence and their round of 16 opponents, AS Roma, are not a club with a huge pedigree in Europe in recent memory.

The Ukrainian team has a lot of talent in their ranks, especially some outstanding Brazilians. None is more talented than Bernard, who scored 3 goals in the Champions League group stage. With steely determination and a dogged approach, they will surely be able to get a result in most away matches.

Given the huge travel involved plus the issue of their home matches, they will be more than competitive in every match in Kiev (they cannot play in Donetsk due to the issues between Russia & Ukraine). With the right outcomes, this might just be the year for them.

#4 Besiktas

The Besiktas home crowd makes for an intimidating atmosphere

Besiktas negotiated a tricky group containing AS Monaco, FC Porto and RB Leipzig. Many thought Besiktas would finish last in this strong group but they proved beyond doubt that they can compete with Europe's finest when they topped their group.

Their reward for being 1st? A tie in the round of 16 against Bayern Munich. While on paper there looks like only one winner in this match, we have to remember Besiktas go into this match as the group winners. They deserve to be here and will provide a stern test for Bayern.

Winning the Champions League needs luck for even the best of teams and Besiktas will need it in aplenty but no one will fancy going to Turkey for the away leg. The fans create a unique and intimidating atmosphere where players like Alvaro Negredo and Cenk Tosun will look to punish any mistakes.

They are great at set pieces - a very useful strength, especially when you have to weather a storm and then nick a game. They have the knack of being in the game till the last minute and these qualities will give them a chance of surprising everyone and going all the way in the competition.

#3 Sevilla

Sevilla are unbeaten at home in the calendar year

While Sevilla has won the Europa League multiple times in recent history, their best record in the Champions League was way back in their first appearance in the competition in 1957/58, when they reached the quarterfinals.

Since then, they have failed to progress beyond the round of 16. This season might be different though. They have a rattled Manchester United to face this time and while February is still some time off, United's record this season, coupled with Sevilla's recent pedigree in the Europa League should have them optimistic to venture deep into the competition this season.

They have already proved they have the mental strength to dig deep and find a way when they went from 0-3 down against Liverpool to draw the match 3-3. They are an aggressive team who gets into the opposition's face and have the quality to score the odd goal to see out matches.

Although no one will fancy them to go all the way, given a bit of luck, Sevilla are more than capable of replicating their Europa League achievements in the Champions League.

#2 AS Roma

With Dzeko up top, AS Roma have the makings of a quality side and can do the seemingly impossible

AS Roma won a group also boasting the likes of Chelsea and Athletico Madrid. They dismantled Chelsea in Rome and played out one of the best matches of the group stage at Stamford Bridge when they drew 3-3.

They have a winnable round of 16 match against Shakhtar and given their results this season already, will not fear facing anyone in successive rounds.

The squad is brimming with quality and Eusebio Di Francesco is tactically very sound. As always, the atmosphere in Rome will be unaccommodating for away teams against a Roma side that is very strong at set pieces, both attacking and defending.

They have experienced players and have Edin Dzeko in the form of his life. An aggressive midfield engine of Daniele De Rossi and Radja Nainggolan shields a strong defensive line. With such players in their ranks, they will fancy their chances against any opponent and not just with respect to nicking results but also dominate Europe's best.

They are a tough tackling team who will roughen the opposition up and while not many see them winning the competition, they have already shown enough this season for it not be a total surprise if they do indeed win the competition.

#1 Tottenham Hotspur

Kane will be the key to Spurs' UCL hopes

While Tottenham has been challenging for the Premier League title in recent seasons, they are still relative unknowns in the Champions League. Despite that, they topped a group containing the defending champions Real Madrid and German giants Borussia Dortmund.

Led by a young upbeat manager, Tottenham has the ingredients to go all the way in the competition and create history. They face Juventus in the round of 16 but they will not fear them in the least.

With Harry Kane banging in goals, Spurs always have a chance in any game.

They try to play the game the right way and will be able to outplay any of Europe's established heavyweights on their day. They are playing their home games at Wembley this season and that gives all their home games a special big game feel.

With the right draw and luck, coupled with some Harry Kane and Dele Alli magic, Tottenham can go all the way in the competition. They have a stingy defence with an experienced goalkeeper and have already proved this season they are a real threat to all the established European giants.