The Champions League is back this week and the Round of 16 has some big time match-ups to get fans excited for. The premier match-up is Manchester City vs Real Madrid, but Borussia Dortmund vs PSG, Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool and Tottenham vs RB Leipzig are all big games on their own. We are definitely going to lose four teams who thought they would have a chance to lift the title in June, but teams like Bayern Munich and Barcelona also face tough games in their Round of 16 clash.
Top 10 Odds to win Champions League – odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Manchester City +340
- Liverpool +400
- Bayern Munich +600
- Barcelona +650
- PSG +700
- Juventus +1200
- Real Madrid +1600
- RB Leipzig +3100
- Tottenham +3100
- Atletico Madrid +3300
The favorite to win this tournament, Manchester City, is a little controversial considering they are not even in first place in the Premier League and there appear to be three or four other teams around Europe in much better form. Another wrinkle is it is unknown how the players on the field will be affected by the news that they have been banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons. That news came down Friday night, and will certainly be appealed, so it may not affect City at all, but it is still something that needs to be mentioned. City have two more games before their match-up with Real Madrid, but are currently on a two match losing streak and have won just two of their last five games overall. Interesting times for the team considered the Champions League favorites. Their opponent, Real Madrid, would probably be the second of third favorite if they did not draw City in the Round of 16. Los Blancos are currently three points clear of Barcelona in La Liga and have been flying high for the last few months. Whoever gets out of the match-up could find themselves lifting the trophy in June.
Liverpool, the team that should be considered the favorite, may be the best team we have ever seen and should be a prohibitive favorite in my opinion. Liverpool won the Champions League last season and have dropped just two points all season in the Premier League. They also received a pretty favorable draw considering the poor form of Atletico Madrid this season. Atleti are currently in fourth place in La Liga, but have won just one time in their last five games heading into their leg one clash with Liverpool. Atletico could find themselves as low seventh place in La Liga depending on this weekend’s results.
The reigning German champions, and currently top of the Bundesliga table, Bayern Munich are third favorites and scoring a lot of goals. Despite a 0-0 draw against RB Leipzig last weekend Bayern are still flying high and look like they could be a big factor in this Champions League race. They have a nice Round of 16 opponent as Chelsea have won just one of their last five games and are just barely hanging on to their Champions League spot in a weak Premier League this season.
Barcelona may be rounding back into form a little bit after a bit of a rough patch hit in the beginning of 2020. They have a big game against Getafe this weekend, but could pull level on points with Real Madrid, at the top of the table, if they beat Getafe and Real Madrid lose to Celta Vigo. Barcelona faces a confusing Napoli squad that can lose to relegation candidate Lecce one weekend, but beat Serie A title contender Inter Milan the next weekend. Napoli is also one of two teams to beat Liverpool this season, so it can be said if they put it all together they can beat anyone in Europe.
The final two teams with a chance to lift the trophy are PSG and Juventus. Once again PSG are running away with Ligue One and health seems to be the only thing that could hinder them from winning the elusive Champions League trophy. PSG also have a tough Round of 16 clash with high flying Borussia Dortmund in what could be a two leg match-up for the ages. Borussia Dortmund can score on anyone, but PSG seem to be the better all-around team.
Juventus are a weird team as they just don’t seem all bought in on manager Maurizio Sarri’s system just yet and it is causing some interesting results this season. Despite them not buying in, Juventus sit tied atop the Serie A table and have a favorable Round of 16 draw against Lyon. Juventus will definitely have something to say about who wins this trophy, but I am not sure they have what it takes to win it all this season.
I am very excited the Champions League to get started again and would put my money on Liverpool at +400 to win their second consecutive title. Real Madrid at +1600 is also a team to put something on because they will move to the second, or third, favorite if they knock out Manchester City in the Round of 16. Another interesting number to throw something on is Borussia Dortmund at +4500 because if they can get by PSG they can get beat anyone and their odds with shrink come the quarterfinals.