The favourite for the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League comes as a surprise. It’s not Real Madrid or Barcelona or Juventus. It’s Manchester City, according to the bookies.
The UEFA Champions League gets underway on Tuesday. And the group stage draws have some fantastic clashes.
How will Paris Saint-Germain cope on an electric European night at Anfield? Will Cristiano Ronaldo score on his return to Old Trafford? And who will prevail in that Group of Death containing Barcelona, Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund? There are many questions in our mind right now.
But the most important question going on in our mind now is that who will win the UCL?
The bookmakers have answered this question right now. They have backed Manchester City to win this season’s UEFA Champions League. Despite the fact they’ve never won the UCL or even made it to the final before. Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions are 9/2 favourites to win European club football’s biggest prize.
It’s a saying you never see a broke bookie and when it comes to football forecasting, they get it right more often than not. Last season, Real Madrid were priced at 4/1 favourites to win the Champions League. And they successfully completed a hattrick of UCL trophies.
Barcelona are second on the list at 6/1. Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Turin has seen Juventus well backed. The Italian champions have contested two of the last four finals in this competition. And they are priced at 13/2 by some bookmakers while some are also hailing Juventus as the co-favourites. But the question is can Ronaldo, the top scorer of UCL, rediscover his magic for his new side?
Paris Saint-Germain are at 7/1. PSG were all the rage last year and the Ligue 1 side went into the last 16 draw as favourites. They dominated their group but came unstuck against the eventual winners in the first knockout phase. Despite still having plenty to prove on this stage, the club that can boast both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in attack.
Title Holders Real Madrid are priced at 8/1 to make it four Champions Leagues in a row. After Zinedine Zidane left the club and also the competition’s leading scorer joing Juventus, it’s no surprise to see Real Madrid a little further back in the betting.
While 2013 winners Bayern Munich are priced at 10/1. Last year’s finalists Liverpool are at 12/1, same as Atletico Madrid. But interestingly, the bookies reckon Spurs (20/1) have a better chance of winning the UEFA Champions League than Manchester United (28/1).
But among the top 4, Barcelona is probably the best bet. They have a complete squad this time, though they lost Iniesta. At 6/1 it could well be Barcelona’s year.
Do check out : UEFA Champions League 2018-19 groups have been drawn
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