Can an English team win the domestic and European double? Bet here

Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does a trophy cabinet. Professional football clubs which have successfully kept success at arm’s length for decades still manage to cram the display case with all manner of cups and shields (I know this from a glimpse inside QPR’s well-stocked vitrine.) It doesn’t matter that it’s a plaque to commemorate a pre-season tour to Finland or an achievement by the reserves, in it goes, conveniently ignoring the fact that most teams’ best shot of getting their hands on some silverware would be to hide behind the curtains at Blenheim Palace and emerge at night to caress the salvers.

Yet while most clubs exist in a state of permanent trophy famine, others expect years of endless feast. This season, Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal all have their beady eyes on the League title and the Champions League, with no intention of sharing. But what are the chances of any of them getting both pots in the cabinet?

The statistics

* An English team has won the European Cup on ten occasions (Nottingham Forest 1979, 1980; Aston Villa, 1982; Man United 1968, 1999; Liverpool 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005), but on just three occasions the win has gone hand-in-hand with the domestic league (Liverpool 1977, 1984; Man United, 1999).

* Only eight of the last twenty big European winners have also won their domestic leagues in the same year, and only three from the last ten (Man United 1999, Porto 2004, Barcelona 2006).

* That said, fourteen of the Champions League winners won their domestic league the year before winning in Europe, which would bode well for last year’s Premier League champions, Manchester Utd.

For more stats on the domestic and European double, head to chickendinner

To check out the facts and figures for virtually every professional team in the world, head to the ingenious chickendinner Stats Centre