Wednesday night will be a historical night for Leicester City, as the club takes part in the Champions League for the first time since it was founded in 1884.
This isn’t the club’s first time in Europe, though, having made appearances in the European Cup Winner’s Cup and the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in the past.
it is, however, their first time taking on the elite competition.
Representing the Premier League as well in the competition are Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal, all clubs who are now fairly accustomed to mingling among Europe’s best.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport’s weekly supplement, Extra Time, Leicester City’s manager, Claudio Ranieri, shared his thoughts on Tottenham, and their return to the competition after five years out.
He said: “Returning to the competition was their objective for many years, and they always missed it by a whisker. Now that the goal is achieved, I expect a remarkable run. Playing at Wembley, a stadium with 80,000 seats could give them that extra edge.”
The White Hart Lane contingent reached a deal with the FA to play there for the next two seasons, as well as home games and cup games next season as they wait for their new stadium to be built in time for the 2018-19 campaign.
This isn’t the first time a club from London has ‘borrowed’ Wembley in the past, with Arsenal playing Champions League games there in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
Considering Arsène Wenger’s team failed to make it out of the group stage in both those seasons, Tottenham will be hoping to do one better in front of their fans at Wembley this season.
