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We are just a couple of weeks away from discovering who will face who in the group stages of the Champions League, but already fans are weighing up the possibility of Real Madrid being dethroned for the first time since 2015. The defending champions have lost Cristiano Ronaldo and while the Spanish giants will still be fancied for the trophy, the likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will recognise that their chances of winning the competition have improved.
This year and every year, the UEFA Champions League is the main target for each of the top clubs in European football as they look to become recognised as the best team on the continent. The competition is so fierce and intense that in the earlier matches, it is very difficult to predict which teams will enter the knockout stages due to the quality on show in each of the eight groups. That was proven during last season's tournament as Roma progressed through a group involving Atletico Madrid and Chelsea to reach the semi-finals, and the success of the Italian side may lead to bets being placed on a wide variety of clubs ahead of this season's competition. Let's have a look at some of the favourites for the competition so far.
Paris Saint-Germain
The recent additions of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe mean that PSG will be regarded as one of the teams to beat this year. The club's wealthy owners had been hoping to land this competition before now, but exits to both Barcelona and Real Madrid have occurred in recent seasons.
Still, they are considered to be a star-studded team with some famous players. They have a charismatic defender in Thiago Silva, along with experienced goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. They have plenty of ingredients required to win this trophy for the first time, but they will also require some luck to go the distance.
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Manchester City
Like PSG, Manchester City are in a position where they are desperate to become European champions, and it appeared like their time to achieve that feat was last season. However, a defeat to eventual finalists Liverpool came in the last eight, but that will only lead to Pep Guardiola's team placing a greater emphasis on winning this year's tournament.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have become synonymous with the Champions League from both a historical and recent perspective, with three of their 13 trophies being won in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and will most likely remain as the most popular bet for punters. Real have lost both Ronaldo and coach Zinedine Zidane, but it is still difficult to write off a team who have enjoyed so much success on the European stage.
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Barcelona
Barcelona has always been dependent on Lionel Messi, but even if the Argentine maestro is not on form, the Catalan giants still have the likes of Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele at their disposal and are capable of defeating any team on their day.
As we have seen this year, there is rarely any surprise to the teams who are predicted to win. Also, there are many betting offers available that you can benefit from. Ronaldo's exit from Real has resulted in the odds being stretched out somewhat, and it might help you earn a handsome amount. The next groups in the future markets are Bayern Munich with odds of +500, Paris Saint-Germain with odds of +500 and Barcelona has +550 odds. However, we can also see Liverpool is also giving a run to other teams for their money. Last season, each of the five Premier League sides all reached the last 16, and Manchester City is the favourite team to win the tournament at +333. The team are trying hard to run away with the Premier League - as they did last season - but expect their star-studded squad to be fresh if they reach the latter stages. Bayern are in a similar position regarding their dominance of the Bundesliga.
Winning the Champions League is the most elevated accomplishment a European club can achieve, and some big-name managers and players are as yet looking for their first trophy. The competition resumes Tuesday with the beginning of the two-legged knockout stage, and Covers is here to give bettors a breakdown of what you have to think about the competition and the groups included.
