The time for wrapping up your ante post betting on the UEFA Champions League is here as the competition proper starts this week. From the Premier League it is Man City, Arsenal, Spurs and Leicester who are taking part but all of them are running at a long price to go and take the title. Not too surprisingly the usual faces of the three main powerhouses of Europe are right at the head of the market and it is Barcelona who are running as 3/1 outright favourites to take the title.
Barcelona have won the tournament four times in the last eleven seasons so certainly have a good enough track record and no-one is going to argue that. Their last title came in the 2014/15 season when they took a 3-1 win over Juventus in the final. On top of their own brilliance of course, you have a strong trend towards Spanish clubs in taking the title in the UEFA Champions League. Each of the last three winners have come from Spain (Real Madrid 2, Barcelona 1) and in total six of the last eleven winners have been from Spain. You can take a punt on Spain as the winning nationality at a price of 11/10 with online betting site Bet365.
Then you have a quote of 11/4 on a German side winning it, followed by a 5/1 punt on one of the English sides lifting the trophy. The thing about this is that you have the power of both Barcelona and Real Madrid on the Spanish side of things, along with Atletico Madrid who have lost two of the last three finals let’s not forget. Whereas from Germany you are pretty much baking on Bayern Munich coming through the pack and from England, it genuinely looks as if only Manchester City are going to be able to raise themselves to get anywhere near close enough.
Bayern Munich are second favourites and now are under the tutelage of Carlo Ancelotti, no stranger to this competition of course being a previous winner. They appear to be a strong, if not stronger than ever at the moment. They have quality in spades in every position you look and with the goals from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, then you really can’t count them out and they are the ones most likely to split the the Spanish dominance in the competition. They actually look a very good punt here to follow up on their 2012/13 season victory in the tournament, when they beat rival Borussia Dortmund in the final.
You will have to take Real Madrid into consideration as well of course then with them having won two of the last three editions of the UEFA Champions League. Nothing much changes with them and their setup and they should be looked at of something as a banker for a berth in the semi finals. Real Madrid have the goals to go all of the way, but they perhaps aren’t as strong overall in all departments when you stack them up against Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Their defence is a little more susceptible and if Ronaldo isn’t running the show then they are naturally not going to be as strong.
Last Ten UEFA Champions League winners
06/07 – Milan, Italy
07/08 Manchester United, England
08/09 Barcelona, Spain
09/10 – Inter Milan, Italy
10/11 – Barcelona, Spain
11/12 – Chelsea, England
12/13 – Bayern Munich, Germany
13/14 – Real Madrid, Spain
14/15 – Barcelona, Spain
15/16 – Real Madrid, Spain
Barcelona and Bayern Munich have more a united feel about them, they just appear on the surface to be a little stronger as a whole. So what of Manchester City and their chances under Pep Guardiola? The Spaniard has won the UEFA Champions League twice before of course, so he knows what it takes to get the win on the board. But this is his first season with Manchester City and it would take something special for them to step up to the level of the likes of the big three at the head of the market. The defence of the Citizens is probably going to be their achilles heel at the end of the day, but they are a hefty 12/1 quote at Bet365 to take the title but are just going to be far better value in finishing as the top English side.
Our prediction would be Bayern Munich. They look immensely strong and their defensive strengths under Ancelotti could just be the tipping point. The German powerhouses are never going to be short of goals, but they look very well drilled and organised at the back under the new boss and should have a pretty decent shot at landing the title.
UEFA Champions League Winner Odds
Barcelona 3/1, Bayern Munich 4/1, Real Madrid 5/1, Juventus 9/1, Man City 12/1, Atletico Madrid 14/1, PSG 14/1, Borussia Dortmund 20/1, Arsenal 25/1, Tottenham 33/1, Napoli 66/1, Sevilla 66/1, Porto 66/1, 80/1 bar
It is the much anticipated return of the UEFA Champions League and of course you will want to enjoy a great promotion on the matches. For that, head over to online betting site Bet365. Just build a winning accumulator from selected markets of three selections or more and earn up to a 100% win bonus! This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the Premier League, Serie A, Primera Liga, Bundesliga 1 or Champions League. Register an account with online betting site Bet365 and earn a 100% matched deposit bonus from them.
