As we venture into a brand-new season of football, we can eagerly anticipate the return of Europe’s most competitive competition – the UEFA Champions League. With that in mind, bookmakers have released their odds, and you may or may not be surprised at this year’s most favourable teams. Let’s take a close look at this year’s Champions League odds and future bets that could be worth wagering on.
Paris Saint Germain made the most significant transfer acquisition of the summer when they snapped up our generation’s most incredible footballing talent, Lionel Messi. The former Barcelona has never experimented with his skills outside of the Spanish La Liga until now. This significant move to PSG has shifted the French club into the odds of the best sportsbooks online most favourable team to win the Champions.
The current Top-10 UEFA Champions League Winner Odds are as follows:
PSG – 3.75 [+275]
Manchester City – 4.50 [+350]
Bayern Munich – 7.50 [+650]
Chelsea – 10.00 [+900]
Liverpool – 10.00 [+900]
Manchester United – 15.00 [+1400]
Real Madrid – 17.00 [+1600]
Juventus – 21.00 [+2000]
Barcelona – 21.00 [+2000]
Atletico Madrid – 26.00 [+2500]
Borussia Dortmund – 51.00 [+5000]
Manchester City dropped from the first position in odds when the Parisians upgraded their attack force with Lionel Messi. A powerful front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Messi are expected to conquer the competition. PSG made the final in 2020 and the semi-finals in 2021 but failed at the final hurdle.
The original opening odds for PSG were 10.00 [+900]. Still, their latest additions have moved the odds significantly, and despite never winning the Champions League before, PSG and Manchester City have been knocking on the door for some time.
Manchester City lost to Chelsea in the most recent final, reached the semi-finals in 2016 and have played in the quarterfinals for the previous four years. The Citizens’ record transfer signing Jack Grealish, who joined from Aston Villa for £100 million, could assist City in achieving their UCL hopes.
Bayern Munich @ 7.50 [+650] are next up. The 2020 Champions League winners have brought Julian Nagelsmann on board as the new manager and reinforced their defences with Dayot Upamecano. The loss of Jerome Boateng and David Alaba will provide a completely new look for the German’s back four.
The power of the English Premier League has more teams in the top-10 favourites than any other nation. Chelsea 10.00 [+900], Liverpool 10.00 [+900], and Manchester United 15.00 [+1400] slightly trail behind Bayern Munich in the odds.
Defending champions Chelsea have added Romelu Lukaku to an already talent stack squad, and they could certainly do the unthinkable by capturing the UCL in consecutive years. United have signed Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, but the boys from Old Trafford have failed to reach a UCL semi-final game since 2011.
Historically, Spanish clubs have played a considerable role in this competition, but their hopes of obtaining European glory on the biggest stage of them all is slim. Real Madrid is holding such disrespectful odds of 17.00 [+1600] because they’ve failed to make any marquee signings this summer; following a trophyless season last year, it doesn’t look suitable for the Spanish giants. With that said, Gareth Bale has returned from his loan at Tottenham, and Alaba can assist in the loss of Varane and legend Sergio Ramos. And although Real Madrid has been severely overlooked recently, they still managed to reach the semi-final in last season’s tournament.
Barcelona odds 21.00 [+2000] shouldn’t come as a surprise with their immense loss. Without Messi, Barcelona could take a dramatic collapse in confidence, especially when he showed an abundance of flaws present last season. Barcelona has been among the top favourites for decades, but the expectations in Catalonia are at an all-time low.
The UCL qualifiers begin with six of the 32 positions in the group stage still up for grabs. The draw for the group stage will commence on August 26th, and the first set of fixtures are underway on September 14th.
The best underdog position should be given to Chelsea at 10.00 [+900], it won’t be easy to defend the most prestigious trophy in football, but since Thomas Tuchel has steered the ship, the Blues have looked almost untouchable. Chelsea has proven their dominance during the first two matchdays of the Premier League domestic season. With the arrival of last season’s Serie A top goalscorer, don’t be shocked to see London’s most refined team to lift the trophy once again.
With that said, rightful favourites PSG and 2nd favourites Manchester City are in the appropriate position. Nothing will drive a team more than not having etched their name in Champions League history, and we believe the best future tickets will be on one of these two squads.