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After the completion of the Group Stages, the Champions League Draw is next on the agenda for the ultimate domestic prize in European footbal. Although the Champions League does not resume until next February, the draw for the last 16 takes place on Friday, December 18th at the headquarters of UEFA in Switzerland. The line up for the for the final 16 was completed on Wednesday night, with defending Champions Barcelona joining the fray along with Inter Milan, Stuttgart and Olympiacos, courtesy of their win over Arsenal. Incidentally, the draw for the last 32 of the Europa League, of which the 8 third placed teams from the Champions League groups enter, which includes Liverpool and Juventus, will take place after the main event of the Champions League fixtures.

The first legs of the Champions League Knock-out stage will take place on February 16/17th and 23/24th, followed by the second legs on March 9/10th and 16/17th. The Group Winners will all be kept separate in a seeding system, but that still leaves some big potential for a major clash. Let us look at the list of Group Winners and Group Runner’s Up.

As you can see, the two Milan clubs will be floating around the draw, and pose a big threat to any of the Group Winners. One stipulation is that they won’t be able to be drawn against the winners of the group which they were in, which means that there will be no repeat of Inter Milan vs. Barcelona, nor Real Madrid vs. AC Milan. At least not at this stage. So who is looking favourite after the qualifying Groups? A look at the odds right now will give better prices on teams than they will after the draw next Friday. Obviously once the Champions League draw has been made, and pairings have been decided, then the chances of winning the competition outright will change. For example, Fiorentina, who topped Liverpool’s Group, will have a better chance of progressing if they draw CSKA Moscow, than they will if they draw Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

Now is a good time to back your winner from the last 16, even if it is as an each way bet, which would guarantee you some return on your team, just for them reaching the Champions League final. Here are a list of the best Champions League Outright Winner prices available at the moment, as we rate the chances of the big teams. One thing is for certain, is that the Group Stages have shown that the competition may just be a little closer than expected this year. The major players from Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid had their hiccups along the way, so did Manchester United, Chelsea and both Milans.

Barcelona – 7/2 at SkyBet
Will be a threat, simply because they have the money to throw at problems, as well as being able to field the most accomplished set of players in the world at the moment. They are a threat simply because of their attacking prowess, but showed some vulnerability when they suffered a shock defeat in the Group Stages at against Russian Champions Rubin Kazan, and could only manage a 0-0 draw in the return fixture. Even in their final game they had to muster a comeback after falling behind to Dynamo Kiev. But they showed resilience, despite being on the brink of being eliminated at one point, coming back to win the Group by two points ahead of Inter Milan. The title holders are favourites, as with Lionel Messi and co, they have an awesome outfit, as they showed in last year’s final when they made Manchester United look like a Sunday league team.

Chelsea – 4/1 at Coral
Won their Group without looking anything too spectacular, although to be fair the opposition was not as high in standard as some of the other Groups. Their main threat, Porto, they beat twice, and the Blues did thrash a very poor Atletico Madrid 4-0. Chelsea will probably welcome the break until February to resume their Champions League dreams, as they have not won a game in their last four matches. Their final Group Match showed them being wasteful in front of goal at home, allowing the lowly APOEL to steal a 2-2 draw. By the time it comes back around, Carlo Ancelotti will have the likes of Didier Drogba back from duty in the African Cup of Nations, and they should be a good bet to reach the semi finals at the very least, and have the potential to win it, if they can iron out their problems in defending set pieces.

Real Madrid – 6/1 at Bet365
The Galacticos are another team who should be a shoe-in for a semi final appearance. Even during Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, they had Gonzalo Higuain step in from the bench, and subsequently blitzed a hatful of goals. They have Kaka, Raul, Benzema, Alonso and Guti to name but a few, on their books. They are a serious threat, but again, like Barcelona, had their problems against one team in particular. In Real’s case it was AC Milan who beat the Spaniards and held them to a draw. Real Madrid, like Barcelona though, will score goals with the wealth of talent available to them, and the runner’s up will want to certainly avoid them in the Champions League Draw.

Manchester United – 15/2 at Boylesports
Manchester United have not looked at their best this season, and are undergoing a lot of problems with injuries to their defence. Nonetheless, Alex Ferguson’s experience has guided his team to the top of the group again, even affording the luxury of putting out a side of youngsters with a couple of games to spare. That was a calculated risk which back fired as they lost at home to Besiktas, but bounced back to thrash Wolfsburg 3-1 away in their final match to secure top spot, and dump the dangerous German side out of the competition. Should be a stronger side come February, which will make them a threat. It will be surprising if they don’t get to the semi finals. As for winning the competition, they don’t look in the same class as Barcelona, or Real Madrid at the moment.

Arsenal – 10/1 at Coral
From a neutral stand point, Arsenal are probably the most pleasing football team to watch, certainly from the Premier League. They can be dangerous, but are unlikely to be dangerous enough to win the tournament. This season they have shown that they are still behind Manchester United and Chelsea in the domestic league, and Arsene Wenger, while he enjoys blooding his youngsters, does not quite have the robust team which can take on physical sides. If they cannot get their passing game going, they will struggle. They are also missing an enigmatic figure like a Thierry Henry up front. Robin Van Persie staying fit will be vital to them progressing very far in the competition.

Inter Milan – 16/1 at Coral
A decent bet at 16/1, even at each way. Coached by Jose Mourinho, they are a good side who will always be a handful. They proved to be a difficult team to beat in the Group, but by the same measure were guilty of not being ruthless enough. They did manage to neutralise Barcelona in one game, but then were given a bit of a footballing lesson in losing to them in the reverse fixture. Inter had the chances to win the Group, especially with Barcelona’s slip up against Rubin Kazan. The Group Winners will want to avoid them, because they do have Samuel E’to. Maybe not the household names of Barca or Real Madrid, but Mourinho is a determined man, and a winner. Good outside bet.

Bayern Munich – 22/1 at Totesport
Coming from probably the toughest league Europe, the mighty Bayern have not looked as mighty as they have done in the past. They are in a dog fight at the top of the Bundesliga, and it was only a Match Day six victory over Juventus which kept them in the competition. Both they and the Italian giants were given a lesson by French side Bordeaux in their Group, and now the competition loses Juventus, while all along it looked as if it would be Bayern Munich falling back into third. They are better than they were when the competition started, but unlikely to be good enough.

Sevilla – 22/1 at Bet365
A strong Spanish side, which were keeping pace with Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, but have recently fallen back. Regardless of that, they have looked fairly impressive in their Champions League campaign, but were in a weak group. Could be one of the surprise teams of the tournament, if they can keep their form together. Only suffered one bad blip, losing 1-0 at home to Dan Petrescu’s Unirea Urziceni.

AC Milan – 25/1 at Sporting Bet
Surprisingly a little far out at 25/1, but this makes them a great bet. One thing with Italian teams, is that you know they will be resilient and hard to break down. AC Milan took a long time to get out of first gear in their Serie A season, and some of that poor early form translated to the Champions League. They suffered a rather embarrassing 1-0 home defeat against FC Zurich, and finished their last three games in the Group stage by drawing them all 1-1. Perhaps not the form of a side which can win the tournament, but they represent a good outside chance. Their form has picked up a lot, and they have climbed from mid table mediocrity to second in the league, and hot on the tails of San Siro rivals Inter Milan. Despite being such a big name, a favourable Champions League draw could see them as a real dark horse.

Others: Bordeaux – 33/1 at SkyBet, Lyon – 40/1 at SkyBet, Fiorentina – 50/1 at William Hill, Porto – 66/1 at Boylesports, Stuttgart – 100/1 at Coral, CSKA Moscow – 100/1 at Stan James, Olympiacos – 125/1 at Skybet. Looking at the quality of the teams on the outskirts of the Champions League market, it is hard to see a winner coming from any of these. Bordeaux have had a fantastic campaign, as well as looking as if they are flying in the French domestic league. The same can be said to some degree of Italians Fiorentina, who beat Liverpool twice in their Group matches. Whether either have them have enough to make it even to the semi finals is another matter though, especially as they will have to come up against some real top quality teams. Bordeaux though, did that in overcoming both Juventus and Bayern Munich, while Fiorentina topped the Group ahead of Lyon and Liverpool. Lyon have a good tradition of being a handful in the Champions League, but still look as if they are trying to rediscover some of that real strength and class.

Again, these are just early prices, which will change when the Champions League draw is made, and when the time comes in February to play the matches. A lot of form can change between now and then, both for good and for bad. The tough winter months are ahead for a lot of the teams, and usually it is the time when the most resilience and class shines through. For now though, it is a good opportunity to back your team, or back a team who are at longer odds now, than they are likely to be come the first stage of the kncokout section of the Champions League.