Gordon Strachan's Champions League predictions as league stage starts

Gordon Strachan knows all about managing in the Champions League.

The former Scotland boss oversaw some magical European nights during his time in charge at Celtic Park, including famous wins against Manchester United and AC Milan. The league stage of the competition gets underway on Tuesday night, with Liverpool's trip to Milan the pick of the games, while Aston Villa open their campaign on the road against Young Boys.

Celtic and Manchester City kick off on home turf on Wednesday against Slovan Bratislava and Inter respectively, while Arsenal visit Atalanta on Thursday to wrap up the first week of fixtures. Here, Strachan looks into his crystal ball as he rates the chances of the five British clubs in action this season.

Man City

I don't think anything changes for Manchester City. Whether this is Pep Guardiola’s last season or not, the ambition will be the same and that is to win the competition because that’s all they know over there. The mentality at City under Pep is to win everything and that’s it. They won four Premier League titles in a row; it had never been done before. They’ll be favourites to win the title again.

I think the reason why some are tipping Arsenal to win the Premier League is because people are thinking, ‘can this lot do it again at Man City?’ I understand that opinion, but it’s so difficult to look past them in any competition they compete in, and that goes for the Champions League as well.

Have the City players got the mentality to do it all again? Has the manager got that mentality to do it again? The answer is a resounding yes, and that’s a scary thought for anyone that is trying to compete with City both domestically and in Europe. The standards at City are simply ridiculous.

Arsenal

I think that Arsenal will be looking at that Premier League title this season. It would be an unbelievable achievement for Arsenal to win the Champions League; history-making. My only concern about them is that it takes a little bit of time to build that understanding between challenging for the title and also attempting to win the Champions League. Arsenal aren’t new to the tournament as a club, but this group of players is.

You would think that their experience last season will help them, and I would expect them to make it into the knock-out rounds, but I don’t think they will have the resources to mount a title challenge and go deep into the Champions League. I hope I'm wrong about them. I hope Mikel Arteta proves me wrong.

Liverpool

Liverpool are a good team, but is this Liverpool team as good as the team that won the Champions League a few years ago? I don’t think they are. The midfield isn’t nearly as strong as the one from that team.

They’ll have the mindset of wanting to win it. Anfield is obviously a very special place to play your football on those Champions League nights. I expect them to get into the knock-out rounds, but I don’t think the midfield is good enough for them to win it this year.

Aston Villa

They’ve got such a brilliant manager when it comes to European football in Unai Emery, that I actually think Villa will do incredibly well in the Champions League. Emery’s Europa League record is outstanding, and, when he’s managed in the Champions League, he’s done alright too.

I'll be very surprised if Aston Villa don't get to the quarter finals. They are the one team in tier four that nobody will want to play. There’s a lot of variety to the way that they play the game. In behind, on the counter. They press high. I really like them as a team.

Celtic

The extra game at Celtic Park could give them an advantage. Brendan Rodgers has mentioned that he wants to have a real go in the competition this season, and that could help him.

In the previous format, I always believed that you needed at least one big scalp to get through. We managed to beat AC Milan, and this was when Milan were at their absolute peak. That was a great Milan team we beat in 07/08, we beat Manchester United the season before.

When you’re playing the best teams with the best players, when you can give your fans a victory, those are the special nights that live long in the memory. That’s what you need to get through, and I imagine it will be the same with the new format.

Gordon Strachan was speaking on behalf of Lord Ping.