The League Phase for the new Champions League season is set with the first matches starting on Tuesday, September 8. PSG is the defending champion of the competition and they have actually won it the last 2 straight seasons, but there has not been the same winner for 3 straight years since Real Madrid did it from 2015-2018. Now with the start of the competition just around the corner, it is time to see who has the best chance at taking home the Champions League Title this season.
To Win Outright
Paris Saint-Germain +500: PSG is coming into this competition as the team with the best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. PSG is the defending champion of the competition and they have won the title the last 2 straight seasons. They were one of the more dominant teams in all of Europe over the last 2 years, but they only beat Arsenal in penalties in the Champions League Final last season and they are due to start taking a step back this year. They are already off to a poor start in their domestic league and their defense has been awful to start the season as well, conceding a lot of goals in their matches. These players are starting to feel the fatigue from being so dominant for 2 full seasons, and playing in the World Cup this past summer is not going to help either. They still have a very talented team this season, but they did lose some of their quality and they do not have the best squad in this competition either. PSG is in line to take a step back this season with their fatigue as well as a poor defense, and now they also have to worry about clawing their way out of a hole in their own domestic league already. PSG has shown that they clearly have the quality to win this competition and they are not a team to be doubted, but there are much better options to go with this season as there will likely be a new champion. There is no real value in taking PSG at this price as the favorite when there are better squads in the competition and hungrier teams as well.
Arsenal +600: Arsenal is coming into this competition as the team with the next best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. Arsenal is coming off of a very good season finally getting over the hump in their own domestic league. They are the Premier League champions from last year and they even made a trip to the Champions League Final, losing to PSG in penalties after a 1-1 draw. They once again have the best and deepest squad in the Premier League this season and they are going to be one of the better teams in the league again. That is going to translate to Europe as well with the success that they had last season. They are already in great form to start the new season with a great defense that is not going to concede many goals all year. Defense was a big strength for them last season as well, so their defense is going to once again carry them deep into this tournament, but they also have a lot of quality in their attack to find the back of the net with. This is going to be the competition that they are a lot more focused on winning this season as well. They already checked off the Premier League Title on their list and although they would love to win the title again this season, there will certainly be more of an emphasis on checking off this box this season, especially after getting so close in the Final last season. Arsenal has the quality as well as the depth to beat anyone in Europe and they have proven that over the last year. PSG has been the team in the way over the last 2 years, but if they really do take a step back this season, then Arsenal is going to sense blood in the water and will only be more motivated to get the job done here. Arsenal is going to be one of the better teams in this competition this season and they have the hunger to win it all. There is some good value in Arsenal at this price considering their hunger to win this competition and coming so close last season.
Barcelona +600: Barcelona is coming into this competition as the team with the next best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. Barcelona has been the most dominant team in Spain over the last 2 years despite Real Madrid having a very talented squad. They have dominated the league, but they have also fallen short in this competition. They ended up going to the Champions League Quarter-Final last season where they were knocked out by a team from their own domestic league, losing to Atletico Madrid 3-2 on aggregate. They once again have one of the better teams in Spain with a very potent attack and a great defense as well. They have been in great form to start the season with their attack scoring a lot of goals, but their defense has not been conceding many goals either and their defense was a big strength for them last season. That defense was not as good in this competition though. They are certainly going to be more motivated on this competition this season after winning the La Liga Title the last 2 straight seasons, but they have not been able to prove themselves on the European stage during that time. Even when they won the league 2 years ago, they still got stopped by Inter Milan in the Champions League Semi-Final, their defense once again being a big problem for them. They certainly have the quality to be a threat in this competition, but they have not shown it over the last few years and as good as that defense has been, they have struggled against stronger attacks on the biggest stages. Barcelona winning this competition is asking for a lot considering how they have not won the Champions League Title in over a decade. There is no real value in taking Barcelona at this price as they are not a team that can be trusted in the later stages.
Bayern Munich +600: Bayern Munich is coming into this competition as the team with the next best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. Bayern is coming off of a great season as the Bundesliga champions and they have won their domestic league the last 2 seasons. They have been the dominant team in the Bundesliga for years, but there is not a lot of quality away from the top of that league. They have a very talented squad with a lot of quality in their attack and they tend to score a lot of goals, but their defense also concedes a lot as well. Their defense has been a big problem for them for years and was a big reason why they were kicked out of this competition last season. They have had some success in this competition with some deep runs over the years, but they have not won the competition since the 2019/20 season. They ended up going to the Champions League Semi-Final last season and lost to PSG who went on to win the whole thing, but they also lost that round 6-5 on aggregate with their defense once again being a major problem. They have been in great form to start their new season, but this team is the same very year and they have made no strides toward fixing that bad defense. They are always going to be a threat to go deep into this competition with the quality that they have, but their defense is always going to be a problem that gets in the way and that will eventually be their downfall as there are much better teams in the competition. There is no real value in Bayern Munich at this price with a bad defense that is going to be more of a liability the deeper they go.
Real Madrid +650: Real Madrid is coming into this competition as the team with the next best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. Real Madrid has been a very interesting team over the last 2 seasons. They have a lot of quality in their squad with one of the better teams in all of Europe, but they have not been able to win their own domestic league in that time. They have finished in 2nd place behind Barcelona the last 2 straight seasons despite having the quality to be the best in the league. They still have all of that quality as well, so the pieces are there for this team to be great, they just need to put the pieces together which they have not been able to do. They ended up getting knocked out of Champions League last season in the Quarter-Final by Bayern Munich and they have fallen short in this competition over the last 2 years, but now they have hired a quality manager in Jose Mourinho and he is going to get this team on the right track. Real Madrid has had a lot of success in this competition over the years as well, being the winningest club in Champions League over the last 2 decades. They are going to have the hunger to get back to the promised land this season and they have some of the best players in the world to do it with. Real Madrid has the quality in their attack as well as on defense to be a true threat to win it all. There is some value in Real Madrid at this price considering their recent history in the competition as well as having one of the better squads in the world.
Manchester City +900: Man City is coming into this competition as the team with the next best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. Man City has been one of the more dominant teams in the Premier League over the last few years. They dominated England over the last decade and some seasons were never close, but now they have not won the Premier League Title the last 2 seasons and they are undergoing a lot of changes this year. They still finished in 2nd place last season, but they are no longer that dominant team and now they are under new management with Pep Guardiola departing from the team. They still have the quality to be a great team and they have been in great form to start the new season, but their manager is still unproven. Maresca did turn Chelsea around the last 2 years, but he did not have them in a good spot last season when he left and Man City cannot be trusted as the same old team under him. Man City has also struggled a lot in this competition over the years, even when they were dominating England with Pep, only winning the 1 Champions League Title in his tenure there. They fell very short last season, getting knocked out by Real Madrid in the Round of 16, and they still have a lot to prove this year with their new manager. There are too many question marks surrounding this team this season. There is no real value in Man City at this price as they have been a team that has always struggled in this competition over the years, and there are much better options to go with as well.
Liverpool +1200: Liverpool is coming into this competition as the team with the next best chance at bringing home the Champions League Title this season, according to the oddsmakers. Liverpool is coming off of a poor season, finishing in 5th place and completely collapsing after having the best start to the season. They started to play better by the end of the season and salvaged a trip to Champions League in 5th place, but they were struggling a lot as a middle of the table team for a lot of the year. They still have a lot of quality in their squad, but they have also lost a lot of their quality and have a very different team now. Their attack has been very good, but they have not been in good form to start the season, struggling to get out ahead in their matches. Their defense has also been awful to start the season as they have been conceding a lot of goals and that defense has been a problem for them in recent years as they lack quality at the back and continue to concede many goals. Now they have hired a new manager this season, but they still have lots of work to do to get back to the top of their own league. They have not had a lot of Champions League success over the years either, last winning it in the 2018/19 season, and they also got kicked out last season by PSG in the Quarter-Final. Liverpool has a long way to go before they are a dominant team again like the days of Klopp and they still have lots to prove this season, already struggling in the Premier League. There is no real value in taking Liverpool at this price as they are not a true contender to win this season.
RecommendationChampions League has been dominated by PSG the last 2 seasons, but there is also a common trend over the last few years where the competition has been won by a team at the top of their own domestic league. That leaves a very small pool of teams that actually have the quality to win it all and even if a few smaller teams go on a run in the competition, the big clubs usually find their way to the end. Arsenal is coming off of a great season dominating the Premier League and they are certainly going to turn focus to this competition after going to the Final last year. Real Madrid has not been the dominant team in La Liga over the last 2 seasons, but that league is always a 2 horse race between them and Barcelona, so they are still a very dominant team in Spain and they certainly have the highest ceiling of any club in the competition with the quality that they have. Arsenal at +600 is the best option to go with here to win the Champions League this season, followed by Real Madrid at +650.
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