Could an English side win the Champions League this season?

As things stand, the Premier League is on course to have five representatives in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in its history.

English sides have struggled in Europe's premier European competition of late, managing just two semi-final appearances since 2013, compared to eight between 2008 and 2012.

However, with all five English teams sitting in the top two in their groups, there is reason for English football fans to be optimistic.

Chelsea's defeat to Roma on Tuesday was the first time an English side had been beaten in the competition this season with English teams having racked up 12 wins, four draws and a solitary defeat.

Speaking to 'Sky Sports', former England international Gary Neville believes that he knows the reason behind the turnaround. 

"The reason our Champions League performances have been so poor in recent years is because our teams can't defend," he said on 'Monday Night Football'. "We're now back at a point where Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City are actually doing what they should be doing. They are conceding fewer goals - a lot fewer goals."

The stats certainly back up Neville's point, with the Top 4 having only conceded 27 goals after 10 games so far this season in the Premier League (an average of just 0.68 per game), the least in any of the last five campaigns.

That form has been carried onto the European stage (where they concede on average 0.7 goals per game), with managers such as Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino, Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte ensuring that English sides can compete once again.

Could this be the year an English side manages to take home the title? Well, if they can continue to put in performances like Chelsea's at the Wanda Metropolitano and Tottenham's at the Bernabeu there is plenty of reason to believe they could do just that.