Could Leicester actually win the Champions League?

After taking the Premier League by storm last season, and famously beating odds of 5,000/1, it was hard to know whether or not the Foxes were going to produce something similar when they entered Europe’s elite competition.

Some plucky fans put their money on another fairy-tale finish, albeit at reduced odds, whilst others deemed that this would be where Leicester would finally get found out.

Ironically, Claudio Ranieri’s fearless bunch have taken to the Champions League like the proverbial duck to water, whereas their Premier League form has slipped from indifferent to alarming.

On Tuesday evening they defeated Club Brugge 2-1 to ensure that they would top their group, and theoretically receive an easier draw in the last 16.

But they can actually win the competition? We take a look at both sides of the debate here…

Leicester won the Premier League.

It’s hardly been forgotten but because they were towards the top of the table for so long it gave people more time to adjust to the insanity of it all. However, it can’t be stressed enough that this is a team who were predicted by most pundits to come bottom of the table, not take the title by 10 points.

Many will, rightly, point out that part of this was down to the fact many of the traditional big sides were faltering and as such there were no serious contenders. It’s not quite happening to the same extent but are the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Atletico Madrid as fearsome as a season or two ago? Not really.

The playing field is opening up a little bit, again not as much as the Premier League, but the Champions League definitely feels more winnable for the lesser teams. The door might just be ajar for a surprise package like Leicester.

They could feasibly receive a relatively easy draw in the next round and once you reach the last eight who knows what could happen. Think of the atmosphere if a Real Madrid or Barcelona come to the King Power Stadium, that’s going to be an uncomfortable place for the away side. Furthermore, the bigger sides are going to be under immense pressure in the home leg, something that Leicester will be able to capitalise on.

The Foxes are clearly a side who love being an underdog and this season at times it looks as if they have struggled to live up to their billing as champions, as well plug the N’Golo Kante sized hole in their midfield. However, in the Champions League, even though they are the English champions, they are still often the underdog and they have relished this.

It also suits their style of play, as teams sit deep against them in the league making it more difficult for them to break opponents down. The Champions League, with bigger and more expansive sides, is built for teams who love to counter, like Dortmund in 2013 and to some extent Atletico over the past few years. Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki. Ahmed Musa and Riyad Mahrez should all be real threats to teams who leave too much space in behind against Leicester.

Of course it’s highly unlikely, and will still require a great degree of luck, as most major trophy tournaments do, but who predicted Portugal to win Euro 2016? Especially after they lost the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo in the final. If Leicester can entice a couple of defensive reinforcements, as well as another all-action midfielder, in January then who knows what could happen…

Arguing against Leicester could backfire. Badly. Claudio Ranieri and his unlikely lads made fools of thousands of football fans and experts – particularly Gary Lineker – last season when they took the title. No-one predicted that outcome, but adding the Champions League crown this time around will surely not happen, no matter how much they want to indulge their former striker’s fondness for fetish.

Part of their problem is that they can now be a bit predictable. Their game-plan hasn’t changed too much as they attempt to soak up pressure and hit teams on the break with the skills of Riyad Mahrez and the pace of Jamie Vardy and, more recently, Ahmed Musa. While this took advantage of their frustrated opponents last season, European sides will know this is how they play and the better teams amongst them should have the patience to break them down.

Sure, they have won their group convincingly and can now even afford to rotate their team for their final game against Porto in December. But Group G is the weakest in the competition with no other teams from the strongest four European divisions – the Premier League, Bundesliga, Liga and Serie A – so it’s not really a surprise that they have topped it.

Victories over Copenhagen and Porto, while impressive in their first effort at the competition, were not completely convincing and the tests will only become sterner. The two-legged affairs that come into play in the last 16 are not suited to Leicester who have shown they can win any one-off match but, in this format, even if their next opponents struggle at the King Power Stadium, more talented opponents are likely to be able to pick apart their defence. This has been shown already in the Premier League with the Foxes' attacking stars from last season also out of form. Throw in the huge loss of Kante – one of their best players in the title success – and it's tough to see how their rearguard can remain as watertight as it has seemed in their five matches so far.

Timing is also a problem for Ranieri. Last term they had just a single game to prepare for each week in the second half of the season. Now, even if they are prioritising their European needs, the reality of their league position – if they remain relegation contenders – will kick in around March and focus will become divided. A match against Barcelona, for example, would be hard enough to prepare for even if they were in form and not distracted, but with their domestic duties already looking like a burden, they will surly become unstuck – and sadly become victims of their own success.

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