The Champions League will soon be back for the last-16 stage, so we are taking a closer look at which of the team have the best chance of taking the title away from holders Real Madrid. The knockout rounds always provide lots of entertainment and it is the moment of truth for most of the teams that have been built specifically to go as far as possible in this huge competition.
European giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus have all won their respective groups rather easily, while the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have had some issues along the way and had to wait until their last group games to secure their spot to the last-16.
Italy lost Napoli and Inter Milan, who both dropped down to the Europa League in a disappointing fashion after being unable to see off the challenges of the likes of Liverpool and Spurs and falling short at the end of the group stage. Manchester United managed to secure the second place behind Juventus, but those were the final days of Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, so things could go better under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the last 16.
According to bestBettingSites.Online, all the top bookmakers have Manchester City as the favourites to win the Champions League. Current odds are in the region of 7/2. Pep Guardiola’s men haven’t yet won a European Cup and considering the strong squad at disposal, they have another fantastic chance. Guardiola has already won the tournament with Barcelona and will be keen to repeat the success with City. Landing the major trophy that has always eluded the affluent Manchester side would allow him to be remembered forever in the club’s history.
Guardiola’s former club Barcelona are the second favourite to win the Champions League at 9/2. The Catalans last won the title in 2015, defeating Juventus 3-1 in the final. This would be a great milestone to celebrate for Lionel Messi, who has taken the captain’s armband for the first time following Andres Iniesta’s move to Japanese side Vissel Kobe last summer. The Catalans looked strong in what was a rather tough group, which include the likes of Tottenham and Inter, and were the first team to qualify for he last-16 phase.
With Cristiano Ronaldo joining Juventus in the summer in a €100m transfer, it is not surprising to see that the Italian giants are now at 13/2 to win the Champions League. Ronaldo has won three consecutive European Cups with Real Madrid, and Juventus are hoping that he will help them to make the last step and finally lift their third Champions League. The Portuguese superstar has so far been unable to replicate his goal-scoring form of last season in Europe, but he could well make the difference in the knockout stages.
Defending champions Madrid can be backed at 12/1 to win their fourth European title in a row: if they do that they will match Los Blancos’ side of the 1950s. With the departure of Ronaldo and coach Zinedine Zidane, Madrid’s La Liga form has been very disappointing this season. It is therefore likely that they will turn their attention exclusively to the Champions League. They were able to win a rather easy group, but suffered a shocking 0-3 defeat to CSKA Moscow at home at the Bernabeu in their final group game.
PSG can be backed at 7/1 to win the Champions League. The Ligue 1 giants have lost Neymar for their knockout clash against Manchester United, but they still remain a powerful team that, on paper, can go all the way. Even though their Brazilian star will not be available, they do have other top players, like Kylian Mbappe, to replace him. That gives them plenty of firepower to decide the United tie in their favour.
German giants Bayern Munich can be backed at 14/1 to win the Champions League. Last season, they were eliminated by Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Niko Kovac’s side have been struggling in the Bundesliga so far this term and they seem to be a bit behind the top sides in Europe this time around. That is why bookmakers are quite sceptical about their opportunities to win in this season.
2018-19 Champions League outsiders
Liverpool finished as runners-up in the last campaign and they are currently priced at 8/1 to go a step further and win the Champions League. The Reds did well in the Group of Death, although they were close to be eliminated. Jurgen Klopp’s men showed great character in the final home match against Napoli to secure their spot to the last-16 of the competition.
Atletico Madrid cannot be ruled out and are at very decent odds of 20/1 to win the Champions League. Diego Simeone’s men won the Europa League last season and will be looking for Champions League glory after they finished as runners-up in the top-tier competition in both the 2014 and 2016 editions.
Manchester United’s odds have shortened significantly in the last couple of months thanks to the great work done by caretaker manager Solskjaer since he replaced Mourinho. You can back the Reds Devils to win the Champions League on the 20th anniversary of the famous 1999 victory at 28/1.
Another underdog in the Champions League outright market is Tottenham, who are 25/1 to win the title. The north London side have done well to progress to the last-16 from a tough group, which also included Barca and Inter.
Borussia Dortmund are at 25/1 to win their first Champions League title since 1997. Lyon, who finished second behind Man City in the group stage, are at 125/1 to win the Champions League. If you are looking for even bigger odds you can go forPorto at 100/1 or even Schalke at 250/1.
Ajax and Roma are also both 100/1 to win the Champions League. The Dutch giants did well in the group stage by holding Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw and have therefore progressed as runners-up. Roma, who made it to the semi-finals in the last campaign, advanced to the second round after finishing behind Real Madrid in what was a somewhat comfortable group.
