UEFA Predict 2016/17 UCL Winner

UEFA have predicted the 2016/17 Champions League winners after correctly foreseeing last season's champions – find out who it is here!

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The mother body of Europe’s elite competition predicted Real Madrid as the 2015/16 UCL winners after the 16 teams for the knockout stages were confirmed, and they have now used a similar approach to calculate this year's winner.

UEFA came up with four criteria of exclusion, and only one team left in the competition passed all of them.

1) Top your group

Ten of the last 11 champions finished first in their groups. The exception came in 2010 with Inter Milan, who finished runners-up. Bad news for: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, FC Porto, and Sevilla

2) Get errors out of your system

No side has lifted the trophy after shipping more than eight goals in the group stage. Bad news for: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Manchester City, and Real Madrid

However, the team with the best defensive record after the group stage has not won the competition since the current format was introduced in 2003.

3) Experience counts

No club advancing from the group phase for the first time have reached the final under the current format. Bad news for: Leicester City

4) History lessons

Only 21 different teams have claimed the European Cup over the course of its first 42 campaigns; 19 seasons later and Chelsea is the only new side added to the list of teams who have lifted the trophy. Bad news for: Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Leicester City, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City, Monaco, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, and Sevilla

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According to this "highly scientific survey", the side that will win the trophy this season is... FC Barcelona, who have matched all the requirements.

Who do you think will lift this year's UCL trophy? Have your say in the comments section below.