The Champions League season 2019/2020 is reaching its climax. There are still 16 teams left in the race for the title of Champions League winner 2020.
We’ll discuss their odds, their chances of winning and their matchups. Predicting outright winner at this stage of the season can be very lucrative; a small bet on Valencia or Lyon could turn out to be enough to go on a 4 week holiday!
Highely Unlikely, but not impossible. That is what is so great about sports and sports betting! So let’s go over the teams and evaluate their chances:
Manchester City
According to most bookmakers, Manchester City has the best chances to win the title? But why? They are 20 points behind in the Premier League on Liverpool; what would give them the edge in this competition?
Two things come to mind. Guaridola has made it clear that they have forfeit in the race for the Premier League title. With Leicester City and Chelsea being comfortably behind, there is not much to gain nor to lose. Meanwhile, Liverpool will have its focus on the Premier League even when they are crowned champions.
There are records to be broken and Klopp will try to leave a record that will survive for centuries to come. Even though he won’t admit it in public. Pep on the other hand has made it clear that without a Champions League win, he considers his time at Manchester City a failure.
The opponent for City in the first round of the knockout stage will be Real Madrid. The Galacticos are facing City crippled with their new star Eden Hazard being injured again. We do expect City to go through.
Bayern Munchen
Next in line in terms of odds is Bayern Munchen. After a rough start this season (like last season) the german engine has started to run. And when german machinery starts working, it usually does not stop anytime soon.
With Chelsea they meet a young group that is not as far in their team stability as Bayern currently is. We expect Bayern to struggle in their away game, but stay cool and win at home. If they keep their form, they are at least a candidate for the finals.
Liverpool
Last year’s winner and current record breaking Liverpool is an absolute favourite candidate for this year’s title again. With all the games they have to play, you’d expect they are out of gas for the end of the season, but that logic does not appear to this team.
Liverpool is the best team in the world and though they are focussing on shattering every possible Premier League record, it would not surprise anyone if they’d win the Champions League 2020 ‘on the side’. They first have to break the Madrilen wall, where they are one goal behind.
Barcelona
Barcelona was the best team in the world. And for some reason you still have the feeling that they are, or they at least could be. And that reason is Lionel Messi. Never underestimate a club with arguably the best footballer ever lived. However, it appears that this season the magic is interrupted by peripheral matters.
There was a change in trainers, there was an argument between Messi and director of football Eric Abidal. With their opponent Napoli next round they have a relatively easy job of progressing in their quest to become the Champions League 2020 winner.
Paris Saint-Germain
For many clubs, winning the Champions League has become an obsession. This certainly counts for PSG, for whom becoming the next Champions League winner has become as much of an obsession as a frustration.
As dominant as this club is on a national level, the results in Europe have been mediocre for years. The odds are still relatively good for this team, because the potential to win it all is certainly there!
Juventus
Another team with a healthy Champions League obsession is Juventus. The Italian equivalent of PSG in terms of national dominance has invested a lot in getting the cup to Turin this year. Ronaldo, De Ligt, Sarri; this could be the year Juventus will pull this off.
The odds for this team are pretty good as well. We do fear Juventus is lacking creativity to compete with City and Barcelona in the midfield. But their incredible defence and attack may compensate for that.
Real Madrid
Never underestimate Real Madrid in this tournament. The record champions with 13 titles instinctively know how to survive in this arena. Messi also named this club when referring to the title candidates of this year in an interview. It won’t be a walk in the park though. Far from it.
Not only do they lack their star purchase of last summer Eden Hazard, they are also paired up against the title favourite Manchester City. But we end where we started: never-underestimate-Real-Madrid. If they beat City, you might want to look for outright winner bets on this club.
RB Leipzig
The new kid on the block impresses. RB Leipzig is the real deal and the true challengers of the Bayern Munich hegemony in Germany in the long run. The way they dominated against Tottenham Hotspur was really impressive in the first leg and it is most unlikely that the club from London will recover.
It is probably a season too early for RB Leipzig to already win the whole tournament in their second appearance on the stage. But third time’s a charm and you might want to place a small bet at the start of next season of RB Leipzig winning either the Bundesliga or even the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid
Although not many teams would let Atletico look like David in a match, Liverpool really is the Goliath between these two. Though after the first leg, they are ahead with 1-0 against the giant. The scary thing is Klopp does not seem worried at all.
The memory of the great escape against Barcelona of last season is still alive and well on Anfield and the Reds will draw confidence from that result in the return against Atletico. If the team from Madrid manages to come out on top however, who dares to say they won’t stand a chance of winning it all?
Borussia Dortmund
Germany is doing great this season in the Champions League. Borussia Dortmund is the team with the best odds, and they are already almost certain of going to the quarter finals. That says a lot about the (increasing) quality of the German Bundesliga.
Why does Borussia Dortmund have a chance of winning the Champions League 2020? One reason above all: Erling Braut Haaland. Europe is not prepared for this nineteen year old phenomenon. Did Paris Saint-Germain get surprised in their first leg or did they simply not have an answer against this lightning quick teenager?
Atalanta Bergamo
Who said this competition was boring with only the biggest clubs having a shot at winning the title? Last year we saw a young and dynamic Ajax making it close to the finals. This year it is Atalanta Bergamo with fast paced, attractive football.
Valencia, a team that is no stranger to the Champions League, has been flooded in the first leg. Losing 4-1 to Atalanta. A bet on Atalanta would be a bet for the beauty of football and a bet on a dream. Something that will still be royally rewarded at this stage of the competition.
Chelsea
Talking of fast paced attractive football by a young team. Meet the new Chelsea. Lampards version of this formerly ‘hated by many’ club due to its owner and defensive playstyle is now doing an image overhaul. Are they favourites to win the 2020 Champions League? Far from it. Could they be underestimated and might they surprise you? Possibly!
The blues were banned from the transfer market and it was actually a blessing in disguise. Many young homegrown talents are getting chances they wouldn’t have gotten and they are taking the chances! And now that the transfer ban is over, we are anticipating a lot of fireworks from Chelsea this summer.
Tottenham Hotspurs
The club with the new and improved Mourhino. Have we ever seen this coach smiling as much as he did the first weeks with the Spurs? Can’t remember we did. His smile is slowly fading though as the injuries and suspensions of key players such as Kane and Son are presented to him. Can’t blame the special one.
The chances for the COYS to advance to the next round are slim, the chances of winning this year’s edition of the Champions League are close to zero. Or are we too quickly to forget the Houdini like escape of last season against Ajax in the semi-finals?
Napoli
Messi meets Maradona. Will the spirit of the former legend strengthen Napoli against the legend from Barcelona? Looking at Serie A, we are inclined to say no. But this is no Serie A and the Champions League is always something special.
Chances of Napoli winning this tournament is really small, but a stunt against Barcelona is not unthinkable. It would not be the first time the club from Valencia walks into a defensive Italian trap.
Olympique Lyon
Olympique Lyon is highly unlikely to win the Champions League 2020. Unlike Atalanta, there is no feeling of stunt excitement. Star player Memphis Depay is out of the running for the rest of the season due to knee surgery.
Nonetheless, Olympique Lyon is holding his own thus far against Juventus winning 1-0 at home, just like Napoli advancing a round would already mean killing a giant and possibly sparking something special.
Valencia
Valencia received a Masterclass modern football from RB Leipzig. Unless they are willing, prepared and able to return the favor in the second leg, it is over for the club that advanced by beating Ajax with one point. A bet on Valencia is probably the result of watching too many Hollywood movies.
Champions League 2024 winner bet update!
You might ask yourself: why do they write two Champions League seasons into one article? Sure, we could have deleted the above. But we rather leave it here as a testimony that our betting tips have some value in predicting the winner of the Champions League 2024.
For this year we predict that we might have an unsuspected finalist in Chelsea as they are in the easier bracket, if there is such a thing at this stage of the Champions League of course. They have to face of against Porto and if they win, against the winner of Real Madrid or Liverpool.
All these three opponents are strong, but not in their best form and not as strong as PSG, Bayern and Manchester City playing at the other end. If Chelsea can win this all though, that is one prediction we do not dare to make. Or well, we dare against the right odds of course 😉
