Five in Five 2013/14 season preview: Champions League

Part one, two and three can be found here, here and here but today we take a look at how City can progress in the Champions League.

Suffering Bruin: By trusting implicitly in the guy who came within a few specious if not entirely spacey referee decisions of beating Borussia Dortmund in last season's CL. Trust in Pellegrini and he'll take us there.

kmoney2405: Depending on our group draw, I think we can make it to the quarterfinals, hell maybe even the semifinals. We are acquiring depth at important positions, striker and midfield, and that will definitely play in our favor as we progress through a season that I hope is full of cup runs.

sonics097: I'm counting on Pellegrini here. Having a manager and new signings with CL experience means there really is no excuse. Unless we get drawn with Madrid, PSG, and Dortmund. Which is sadly still a possibility since we will likely be in Pot 3 again. Barring a situation like that, we have everything necessary to advance past the group stage.

Harkiano: So much depends on the group. Even allowing for a considerable improvement on previous campaigns, if we are sat alongside the likes of Real Madrid and Dortmund again then obviously it will be a struggle. I found that Mancini's City especially in Europe tended to be too reactive, a little tentative or nervous perhaps even in home games. The key will be our form at the Etihad and if we set out with the right tempo and attack teams early on then one would hope we will get the 2/3 victories that go a major way towards securing qualification. To get out the group stage would be satisfactory for most Blues after what has gone the last two campaigns.

lafaitele: I think we have a squad to get out of the group stages easily this season. Our draw will be easier this season (it has to be). Pellegrini is going to get this team ready to play on all fronts, and I would be shocked if we didn't make it to the quarter-finals at a minimum. If I were a betting man, I would put money on City making it to the semi-finals. I think we have the balanced squad that can play multiple styles.

Zac MacPhee: By simply following the Pellegrini way. This is a manager who has taken Villarreal and Malaga into the semis (although strangely crashed out in the round of 16 with Real Madrid in 2009) - and I think his European resume is the primary reason he is now the City manager. With great depth in every position save central defense, this team looks primed for a deep Cup run. The only difficulty will be navigating a difficult group as City will be coming from Pot C and could again see themselves placed in the so called Group of Death. And how Pellegrini navigates this will surely go a long way in determining his first season at the helm.

Danny Pugsley: The new manager will surely help in this regard. He is a guy who has probably overachieved with the resources he has had available and knows how to take teams deep in the competition. Luck will play a huge role though in terms of the draw. Yes, City played poorly the past two seasons, but if not for the strength of the groups they found themselves in they may well have got through to the knock out stages. Once you do, the competition really opens up.