Champions League: Still Chelsea, not Man City, flying the flag

Chelsea are fourth favourites to win the Champions League

Despite supplying three of the final 16, there isn't much faith in an English team winning the Champions League...

So Man City did it, just as we always suspected they might. Successive victories at home to Bayern Munich and away to Roma justified Manuel Pellegrini's optimism and transformed two points from four games into eight from six and a ticket to the knockout phase for the second successive season.

As a result of the Citizens' hasty recovery and Chelsea and Arsenal's progress, the Premier League is only outnumbered by the Bundesliga, whose full complement of four (Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen) navigated a route to the last 16.

La Liga has three representatives (Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid), France has two (Paris St-Germain and Monaco) and Italy (Juventus), Portugal (Porto), Ukraine (Shakhtar Donetsk) and Switzerland (FC Basel) all have one.

England is considered the least likely of the three nations with at least three survivors to provide the champions though, with odds of 4.3100/30 ranking them a fair distance behind Spain at 2.226/5 and Germany at 3.211/5.

In terms of the individual clubs in the outright winner market, Chelsea rank fourth overall at 7.413/2, with only Bayern Munich 4.1n/a, Real Madrid 4.3100/30 and Barcelona 6.05/1 more fancied. By contrast, Man City are almost twice the price and fifth in the order at 14.5n/a.

Arsenal are far further back, with their odds of 38.037/1 rating them eighth favourites. Then again, they haven't gone beyond the round-of-16 in their previous four attempts.

However, Monday's draw for the next round has the potentially to dramatically alter the landscape.

The Gunners paid a heavy penalty for finishing second in 2013/14, 2012/13 and 2010/11, drawing Bayern Munich twice and Barcelona once, so will feel they are due a gentler pairing despite finishing as runners-up once more.

While any of Spain's big three or Bayern Munich could lie in weight again, there is also roughly a one-in-three chance that they will be coupled with Porto or Monaco.

Man City of course can't be drawn with Bayern having just opposed them, so it will be a Spanish side that they are keenest to avoid, especially after being felled by Barcelona at this stage last term, while they too will likely judge Porto or Monaco as the best case scenario.

Chelsea have the comfort of knowing that all eight group winners advanced to the quarter-finals in 2013/14, but there are still a few dangers lurking even for them as table-toppers, with Paris St-Germain and their 2012/13 conquerors Juventus perhaps the most threatening.