Bookies scramble to find their favourites for Champions League

After what feels like forever, Champions League is finally back on the menu. Bookmakers have had plenty of time to prepare, but are now scurrying to get their numbers right, and clearly unwilling to pick a clear favourite out of the sixteen remaining teams. The playoffs start February 18.

Champions League odds at this stage are usually a clear reflection of the standings in the local leagues, but Guardiola’s Manchester City is actually ahead of Klopp’s Liverpool according to the odds to win this edition of the Champions League, but not by much. The best odds on City to take home the trophy currently sits at 5.0 (4/1) while the best odds for Liverpool are 5.5 (9/2).

With Atletico Madrid currently facing an injury crisis ahead of their tie with Liverpool though, those odds could be set to change as the Reds will hope to advance in style.

Further, even an ex-Man Utd star in Dimitar Berbatov has installed the Merseyside giants as his favourites to win the competition in back-to-back seasons, as per the Daily Star.

Barcelona trails the two English teams above in a similar reversal of positions with the current leader of the Spanish league Real Madrid. Although they are almost head-to-head at the top of La Liga we find PSG, Bayern Munich and Juventus wedged between the Spanish rivals. Barcelona to win CL can be played to 7.0 (6/1), and Madrid at 15.0 (14/1).

A lot that can happen on the road to the final in Istanbul on May 30 and odds are sure to change when we get past the round of 16. There is also a plenty more to bet on than the outright winners.

Top goalscorer, another popular betting market, have Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski at an unexciting 1.04 (1/25), but many would probably rather see Borussia Dortmund’s wunderkind Erling Braut Haaland win this one. The nineteen-year-old Norwegian currently sits at 15.0 (14/1), ahead of Messi at 21.0 (20/1).

Odds table compiled and provided by theplayer.com’s CL betting guide.