The UEFA Champions League returns after its winter break, with the knockout round beginning this week. Four of the first legs of the Round of 16 will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with familiar names topping the odds.
On BetMGM, the defending champion Manchester City is favored with +200 (2-to-1) odds to win the event. The next club in the odds is German powerhouse Bayern Munich (+400; 4-to-1), which is quite surprising given that Bayern isn’t even leading the Bundesliga. Bayern fell 3-0 to league leader Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday and is now five points behind. Bayern has won the previous 11 Bundesliga championships, and although the league race has no bearing on the Champions, it does not bode well for the quality of this Bayern squad.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid leads La Liga by five points and has odds of +550 (11-to-2) to win the championship. Madrid may not have a real dominating goal-scoring striker, like it had in previous years with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, but there is still enough of talent on this squad. Furthermore, Madrid’s reputation in this event cannot be questioned. The Spanish club has won the competition 14 times, including five in the previous ten years.
The Round of 16 draw was generally favorable to the top contenders. Arsenal was among the top four favorites, and all received fairly advantageous draws to begin the knockout round. Man City will play FC Copenhagen, perhaps the smallest team left in the competition. Bayern faces Lazio, who is presently ranked ninth in Serie A. Real Madrid is up against RB Leipzig, who are presently seventh in the Bundesliga. Arsenal drew FC Porto, who are now third in Portugal and fear losing out on the Champions League next season.
Madrid is the weakest favorite among the four Round of 16 opponents, at an incredible -500. It would be shocking if any of these teams were eliminated. Even the fifth-favorite, Paris Saint-Germain, is significantly favored (-225) to defeat Real Sociedad, who is seventh in La Liga.
However, three of the eight Round of 16 ties are competitive on paper. Let’s take a look at the odds for those contests, which begin next week.
Borussia Dortmund vs PSV Eindhoven
Odds to advance: Dortmund -175, PSV +125.
PSV will host the first leg of this match and is the favorite, although Dortmund is expected to progress. PSV is +110 to win the opening leg and has an unblemished league record. With 19 victories and two ties in 21 Eredivisie matches, PSV is 10 points clear of second-place Feyenoord and can focus on the Champions League. Meanwhile, Dortmund sits fourth in the Bundesliga and has no guarantee of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
P SV last reached the Champions League knockout stage in 2016, and the quarterfinals in 2007. The only previous meeting between these clubs in European play occurred in the Champions League group stage in 2002. Dortmund drew at home but won away.
Barcelona against Napoli
Barcelona -185; Napoli +130.
Neither of these clubs is presently in strong form. Barcelona is facing additional upheaval as manager Xavi prepares to leave at the conclusion of the season. The Spanish heavyweights are just third in La Liga, although their fall from grace is minimal in comparison to Napoli’s. Napoli ranks seventh in Serie A and is on its second manager of the season, having won the league last season. The odds are tight, although Barcelona is the small favorite in the opening leg in Naples (+150 to win, vs +165 to win). Neither is considered a significant contender to win the tournament, but this should be a close match.
Inter Milan vs Atlético Madrid
Odds to advance: Inter -135; Atlético -105.
This is the closest Round of 16 tie in terms of odds. Both clubs have negative chances of advancing (yikes, that’s a hefty hold), but Inter is the favorite. The opening leg is in Milan, where Inter is a clear favorite (-115 to win). It’s a difficult draw for Atlético, which won its group but faces last year’s runner-up. Inter is beginning to pull away as the leader in Serie A, while Atlético is fourth in La Liga, but Diego Simeone’s teams are difficult to face in Europe. Since Simeone took over the team in December 2011, Atlético has reached six Champions League quarterfinals and won the Europa League thrice. Given the difference in league results between the two teams this season, it looks that the odds reflect this.
Erling Haaland is tied for the most goals in the Champions League this season, with five. Atlético Madrid’s Álvaro Moratá and Antoine Griezmann share the lead. Haaland is already the tournament’s leading scorer and is part of the side that is favored to win. It’s understandable that he’d be the odds-on favorite to be the top goalscorer for the second season in a row. Moratá and Griezmann are not among the favorites, owing mostly to Atlético’s underdog status in the Round of 16.
There are other players with four goals slightly below the top group, including Bayern’s Harry Kane (+225). PSG’s Kylian Mbappe (+600; 6-to-1) scored three goals, and although PSG isn’t among the top contenders to win the tournament, he remains one of the most dangerous players
More in Sports: https://buzzing.today/sports/
Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/