Champions League: How far can the Premier League teams go?

The Champions League is about to restart after the winter lull, with the Round of 16 first leg matches scheduled for the latter half of February. The 2017-18 season was the first time the Premier League had five representatives in the UEFA Champions League.

It is only the second time that a single league had these many teams in a season - the first being La Liga in 2015/16. However, the English clubs together created history by making England the first country to have five teams in the competition's last 16.

Given the money spent in recent years, it is a surprise that they haven't been performing as well, in the competition's recent past, as they should have.

Chelsea, under Roberto Di Matteo, were the last English side to win the Champions League in 2011-12, and since then, only twice has an English team reached the semi-final stage (Chelsea in 2013-14 and Manchester City in 2015-16) and both failed to make it to the final.

However, this season, the fortunes seem to have changed. On five of the previous six occasions that all English clubs involved have reached the knockout stage, at least one has made it to the final. Will one of them win it this time? Here's a brief analysis of each team's chances of lifting Europe's biggest trophy.

---

#1 Manchester City

A class apart in this season's Premier League, Manchester City are arguably the most likely team from England to win the Champions League. Having lost a bit of their swashbuckling form from the first half of the season, City will be hoping that the likes of Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and Benjamin Mendy can return to fitness to bolster their ranks.

Basel await them in the round of 16, a tie that should be pretty comfortable for a side of City's calibre.

If things are how they are currently, City can wrap up the league title way early and have the freedom to rest key players. That combined with the quality of their squad, means they will be a match for anybody and should be considered one of the favourites to win the trophy.

With this team, in this form, anything less than a final would be a disappointment!

#2 Manchester United

José Mourinho knows how to win

Having won the Europa League last season, Manchester United will be looking to win consecutive European trophies by lifting the Champions League this time around. With the capture of Alexis Sanchez in January, they certainly do have the squad to achieve it.

In José Mourinho, they have a master tactician and a man who knows how to win matches and tournaments. If United are to win, he will hold the key.

They fared very well in the group stage winning five of their six matches, and only Barcelona (1) have conceded fewer goals than them (3). This defensive solidity will help them in the later stages.

Their first test awaits in Seville; one that they are expected to pass with ease. They are some way off from the top contenders but a semi-final position would be good progress in their hunt to regain the glory of the Ferguson era.

#3 Liverpool

Anfield holds the key for Liverpool

Liverpool are arguably the underdogs to win the trophy this season. They can show up all guns blazing one night, yet turn in a rather pedestrian performance the next. They made a fairly straightforward group stage look tough through some shoddy defending.

The positive, though, is that they were the second highest goal-scorers behind PSG in the group stage. That attack may, however, be tempered by the loss of Coutinho. Virgil van Dijk's addition will provide a better balance to the Liverpool side.

At Anfield, they will fancy their chances against any team. Jurgen Klopp's style suits the Champions League, where they will come up against the big teams. He has already led a Dortmund side to the final, where they were beaten by rivals Bayern Munich. He will hope to go one step further with Liverpool.

However, the team's unpredictability means that one should neither be surprised if they reach the final nor shocked if they crash out against Porto in the Round of 16.

#4 Chelsea

Chelsea will look to Eden Hazard to deliver the goods against Barcelona

Chelsea have been given a tough draw in the Round of 16 against Barcelona and they have nobody else to blame but themselves. Although they turned in their performance of the season so far in the win at Atletico Madrid, their group campaign was far from convincing, managing to only finish 2nd.

The odds are against them, but one man who can drag them into the next round is Eden Hazard. The Belgian has been in sublime form this season but his teammates will also have to step up to the occasion for Chelsea to have any chance against the Catalans.

They will be looking to emulate their 2011-12 success, where they beat Barcelona in the semi-finals on their way to lifting the trophy.

#5 Tottenham

Spurs defeated current champions Real Madrid in the group stage

Tottenham are the dark horses in the Champions League this season. Having been thrown into the group of death, along with reigning champions Real Madrid and German giants Borussia Dortmund, they came out flying by winning against Madrid at Wembley.

They also drew the game at the Santiago Bernabéu, beat Dortmund twice and topped the group. They were all-in-all impressive and had more points than any other English side.

Nevertheless, that counts for nothing, unless they manage to overcome last year's runners-up Juventus in the last 16. Their form in the Premier League has been indifferent, and they will need Dele Alli to be back to his best for any chance of progression.

If they want to keep the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Alli, they will have to show that they belong among the top clubs in Europe and beating Juventus over two legs is the first step towards proving that. A semi-final finish would be massive progress after they crashed out in the group stage last season.