The bookies are expecting the Foxes to reach the last sixteen stage before bowing out of the competition
Dilly ding, dilly dong! The Leicester City supporters have been in dreamland since winning the title and one of their favourite chants involves “going on a European tour” with Claudio Ranieri.
The 2016/17 Champions League draw couldn’t have been kinder to the Foxes who were in Pot 1 and therefore couldn’t meet the European powerhouses of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Instead, they were handed favourable opponents in Porto, Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen, with Ranieri quietly confident that the Foxes can finish in top spot and continue their European adventure into the New Year.
Most of the players in the Leicester squad have little experience of playing Champions League football, although their Italian manager is an old hand when it comes to this competition and has experience of juggling foreign and domestic campaigns throughout the course of a season.
Bet365 offer a best price 1/2 that City qualify for the last sixteen and that would represent a formidable achievement, although the same firm can’t really split Leicester and Porto when it comes to landing top spot in the section.
Brugge and Copenhagen are viewed as minnows by comparison to the Portuguese and English sides in the group, although they will also think the group is there for the taking and it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see any of the quartet lining up for the knockout stage.
Ranieri has succeeded in keeping Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy at the King Power, meaning N’Golo Kante is the only notable departure of the summer, while the squad is virtually stronger by virtue of adding Islam Slimani, Ahmed Musa and Nampalys Mendy.
Slimani joins compatriot Mahrez at the Midlands club and Ranieri will hope that the Algerian connection can work as finely as the latter’s partnership with Vardy, which saw the creation of numerous goals last season.
Like every other English Premier League side, Leicester’s spending power is unrivalled by any of their Champions League opponents, with a well-established European club like Porto having to operate on a far smaller budget.
Therefore, even though the Foxes aren’t a household name when it comes to playing European football, they have spent £70 million on new players this summer and will hope that enables them to compete forcefully in the Champions League.
It will naturally be a juggling act for Ranieri when it comes to preparing for Premier League matches directly before and after European engagements, something that wasn’t the case last term as they stormed to the title while all their rivals floundered.
Indeed, the powers-that-be at the King Power Stadium must know that this shot at the Champions League might not occur again for a few seasons and that the opportunity to become European champions must be grasped with both hands.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool took their eye off the ball last year when it came to their domestic season, although the signs are that Leicester will need to make it count in Europe while they have the chance.
Go and open an account with online betting site Bet365 and claim a 100% matched deposit bonus from them. You can also enjoy a great UEFA Champions League accumulator win bonus from them as well. Just land a winning accumulator on selected UEFA Champions League markets and you will pick yourself up a win bonus! This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the Premier League, Serie A, Primera Liga, Bundesliga 1 or Champions League.
