Champions League 2018 Last 16 – Betting Odds & Predictions

City cut for title after favourable draw

Champions League Betting

History was made in the UEFA Champions League this season with five English teams making it through the round of sixteen.That was the first time in the history of the tournament that five teams from the same nation had made it through to that stage. So how many of them will march their way through to the quarter finals? Chelsea, who were the only ones of the English sides to not win their group get the toughest draw of the lot as they have to play host to Barcelona, while Tottenham will be tested against Italian champions Juventus. Manchester City, after receiving the most favourable draw that they could have gotten against FC Basel are now 3/1 outright favourites wtih William Hill to collect the title.

Looking ahead to an interesting betting stat ahead of the round of sixteen, the group winner (who are the teams who play the second leg of the tie at home) have progressed in 72.3% of round of 16 ties since the current competition format was introduced.

Champions League Round of 16 2018 Infographic

Juventus v Tottenham (13 February and 7 March)

A tough draw for Tottenham, especially in the first leg in Turin. But the Lilywhites showed that they are contenders by taking four points away from their two group stage meetings with Real Madrid. Tottenham will be underdogs at 11/4 with William Hill to win the first leg, with the Old Lady in at even money. This will be the first time that these two clubs have met competitively and Juventus are 4/6 odds on favourites To Qualify from the tie.

Basel v Manchester City (13 February and 7 March)

Manchester City got the best draw that they really could have asked for and they should find themselves getting through to the quarter finals. They are now the outright favourites to win the title because of how the draw for the last sixteen has panned out. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs and for Basel, it will be somewhat of familiar territory for them as they were up against Manchester United in the group stage, losing 3-0 at Old Trafford but winning 1-0 at home. City are 1/12 odds on favourites to go and qualify from this tie.

Porto v Liverpool (14 February and 6 March)

There is a little history between these two but not too much. They were together in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup quarter finals and in the 2007/08 Champions League league group stage. From those four matches, Liverpool won both of their home games against the Portuguese outfit, while drawing the two away games against them. The last time that Porto faced an English side they hammered Leicester on match day six of last season’s group stage. Liverpool have their big attacking threat in Mo Salah, but Porto’s Vincent Aboubakar could trouble the Reds. Still, the Premier League side are 2/5 odds on at William Hill to qualify.

Sevilla v Manchester United (21 February and 13 March)

This is a tricky tie for the Red Devils as they will have seen Sevilla collect two draws against Liverpool in the group stage of the competition. Sevilla are a good home side and this will be a good test for the Red Devils. Sevilla, of course, won three consecutive Europa League titles between 2013/14 and 2015/16 before United swooped in and took it last season. They have a good goalscoring threat in Wissam Ben Yedder, but the strength of the English Premier League side is expected to win out.

Real Madrid v PSG (14 February and 6 March)

This is the heavyweight tie of the round and this has happened because Real Madrid only finished second in their group to Tottenham. Things are even from the previous meetings with two wins and two draws each from their six previous comings together. This should be an epic affair and it will be interesting to see how PSG, who invested heavily in the summer handle the reigning European champions. PSG are 4/5 odds on favourites at William Hill To Qualify and you can’t argue with that. Real Madrid haven’t looked anywhere near as strong this season as last and are there for the taking as Tottenham proved.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma (21 February and 13 March)

While this may be the tie that gets the least attention, both of these will be happy enough with the draw. The two of them have met before as they were paired up in the 2010/11 round of 16 and it was the Ukrainians who won through 6-2 on aggregate on that occasion. Roma held off Chelsea for the top spot in their group campaign while Shakhtar battled through behind Manchester City in theirs. This may be a pretty even tie and Shakhtar are a tough side to get the better of on home soil but at the end of the day, the superior quality of the Italians sees them go as 4/9 favourites at William Hill to qualify.

Chelsea v Barcelona (20 February and 14 March)

The rough draw that Chelsea feared has happened. Because a team can’t face a side from their own nation or someone who they were within the group stage in the round of sixteen, then the options as to who Chelsea could face were really limited. The Blues famously got past Barcelona on their way to winning the title in 2012 and they beat Barcelona 5-4 in the 2004/05 round of sixteen as well. The Blues actually hold a head to head lead against the Spaniards in UEFA Competition with four wins to the three posted by Barcelona. Lionel Messi has incidentally never scored in eight previous appearances against Chelsea but still, the Catalans have been in great form this season and are 3/10 odds on favourites To Qualify, with Chelsea 5/2 underdogs at William Hill. The Blues start at home to make this even more difficult.

Bayern Munich v Besiktas (20 February and 14 March)

The German powerhouses will be happy enough with this tie. Besiktas were one of the surprising group stage winners while Bayern could only finish second behind PSG in their group. Still, Munich are going as very strong 1/8 odds on favourites to qualify from the tie. The only previous time that these two game together was in the 1997/98 group stage with Bayern winning both of those games in the tie by a 2-0 scoreline.

Champions League Winner Odds

Manchester City 3/1, Bayern Munich 9/2, Paris St Germain 5/1, Barcelona 15/2, Real Madrid 8/1, Manchester United 14/1, Liverpool 16/1, Juventus 16/1, Tottenham 25/1, Chelsea 33/1, Roma 33/1, bar 100/1

Champions League Winner Odds price changes

Of the sides going into the round of sixteen the team who saw the biggest odds movement because of the draw was Shakhtar Donetsk as they line up against Roma which is a draw that was favourable to them both really considering what they could have gotten instead like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Of the English teams left in the competition, Man City were at 5/1 before the draw and have been slashed to 3/1 to win the tournament while Liverpool took an even bigger cut coming in from 25/1 to 16/1 thanks to their draw against Porto. Both PSG and Real Madrid fdrifted because of their impending coming together, while Tottenham and Chelsea both drifted as well. The Blues were the English side who drifted the most, from 22/1 to 33/1. The team with the biggest odds drift overall after the draw was FC Basel after being paired against Manchester City.