The Champions League returns as the knockout stage is ready to begin.
There are 16 teams left in the competition, with a collection of European powerhouses and new challengers ready to begin a charge through the knockout rounds.
With Barcelona and AC Milan the only big names eliminated in the group stage, fans can look forward to a series of high-profile clashes between every other European powerhouse up and down the fixture list.
MORE: Champions League Round of 16 bracket and schedule
Here we break down everything you need to know about betting on the Champions League Round of 16.
Who will win the Champions League 2022? Latest odds
Currently dominating their respective domestic leagues, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are the clear favorites for the title. Both received relatively easy Round of 16 matchups.
Real Madrid and PSG, despite boasting star-studded line-ups, are further down the list due to the round of 16 draw that pitted the two title contenders against each other. One is guaranteed a devastating early exit in March, with their European hopes dashed with months left in the season.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings
| Team | Country | odds of winning | Titles (last) |
|---|---|---|---|
| city man | England | +250 | — |
| Bayern Munich | Germany | +350 | 6 (2020) |
| Liverpool | England | +550 | 6 (2019) |
| chelsea | England | +700 | 2 (2021) |
| Paris Saint Germain | France | +1000 | — |
| Ajax | Netherlands | +1200 | 4 (1995) |
| Real Madrid | Spain | +1400 | 13 (2018) |
| manchester united | England | +1800 | 3 (2008) |
| juventus | Italy | +2500 | 2 (2006) |
| Atletico Madrid | Spain | +3500 | — |
| Inter de Milan | Italy | +5000 | 7 (2007) |
| Villarreal | Spain | +10000 | — |
| benfica | Portugal | +15000 | 2 (1962) |
| lila | France | +20000 | — |
| Sporting Lisbon | Portugal | +25000 | — |
| RB Salzburg | Austria | +25000 | — |
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The best bets to win the Champions League 2022
Favorito: Manchester City (+250)
Although the winner of Real Madrid vs. PSG remain well positioned to win the crown, Man City have a much weaker round of 16 matchup and therefore a quieter route to the final.
MORE: Can Man City break the Premier League points record?
Also, City seem unbeatable in the Premier League. That hasn’t always translated to Champions League success – just ask the 2017-18 team, which set the Premier League points record that season but were knocked out of the competition 5-1 on aggregate by his fellow Premier League side Liverpool, but this year, he very well may.
Man City’s expected goal differential (xG) is +40.17 in the Premier League this season, the best in the English top flight and second best among the Champions League favourites, behind only an outrageous +47 .45 from Bayern with Robert Lewandowski eating the German Bundesliga alive.
Kevin De Bruyne is in top form, Riyad Mahrez can’t stop scoring, Rodri makes a heat map light up like a Christmas tree and the defense is perhaps the best in all of Europe. This is the most complete team in the competition, and if manager Pep Guardiola can stop fooling himself in big games, this could be the season that City overcomes the Champions League doldrums.
🔥 Riyad Mahrez’s last seven appearances for Manchester City:
⚽ vs Brentford
⚽⚽🅰️ vs Fulham
⚽ vs Arsenal
⚽🅰️ vs Leicester
⚽🅰️ vs Newcastle
⚽🅰️ vs Leeds
⚽ vs RB Leipzig pic.twitter.com/weRH0r4LjW— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 10, 2022
Sleeper: Juventus (+2500)
Juve have had a difficult season, but the Old Lady is on the rise, in a big way.
The Italian team started the season in brutal form, unable to create chances up front as Paulo Dybala, Moise Kean and Álvaro Morata were unable to take on the additional goal-scoring responsibilities in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence.
Dusan Vlahović enters. As manager Massimiliano Allegri searched for a formula that would work, the club went out and brought in the fittest striker in the world to fix his problem. Don’t be fooled by Juve’s Serie A table position – this is a dangerous side with a 10-match unbeaten run in Serie A and they’re ready to show Europe they’re for real.
Overrated: Man United (+1800)
The odds for the Red Devils aren’t quite the +250 of their rivals across town, but even this number might be giving the Premier League giants too much respect.
MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo’s decline at Manchester United
The engine is turning, but the spark plug is broken under Ralf Rangnick, unable to make the pistons move. Having Paul Pogba back and Jadon Sancho in better shape is good, but United are not a contender. The defense is leaky with Harry Maguire not living up to his massive transfer fee, and his 34 expected goals allowed (xGA) in Premier League play ranks an abysmal 14th in the English top flight. Add the decline of Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, and the club have not found a formula that works.
The Red Devils have a soft round of 16 matchup against another team struggling to rediscover their previous dominance at Atletico Madrid, but even if the English side progress to the quarter-finals, don’t back United to make a run.
Surprise in the second round: Inter (+240) vs. Liverpool (+110)
Inter have odds of +240 in the first leg of this home matchup, which is reason enough to jump on that number.
Liverpool appear to be in top form after a slip-up in the Christmas season, but Inter have plenty of firepower to challenge a Reds team still too reliant on midfield duo Jordan Henderson and James Milner. Curtis Jones has come to the side and given life, but is the 21-year-old ready for the Champions League?
Inter, meanwhile, are on an absolute hot streak. The club was on a 10-game unbeaten run in Serie A (9W-0D-1D) until it had a slight problem in the recent Milan derby. Still, this club has scoring power and solid complementary defense. Watch out for the Italians.
Round of 16 match to avoid: PSG (+100) vs. Real Madrid (+250)
While it may be difficult for some to stay away from that number at Real Madrid, this is a matchup to stay away from.
These may be the two best teams in Europe, and it’s a shame they meet in the round of 16. In a matchup with a final feel, where the margins are razor-thin, this one doesn’t sit.
Top Scorer: Robert Lewandowski (-225)
This is an incredibly boring choice. Lewandowski, with nine goals, is one behind current leader Sebastian Haller (10 goals, +300). While the Ajax man lit up the group stage, his team isn’t equipped for the deep run needed to maintain his lead.
Bayern, meanwhile, are a top-three team in the competition and are going to make a real title challenge. Lewandowski is probably one of the two best fit strikers in the world alongside Vlahovic, and little will stop him in this competition.
Others behind him include Mohamed Salah (7 goals, +800), Cristiano Ronaldo (6 goals, +1600), Karim Benzema (5 goals, +2500), Lionel Messi (5 goals, +5000), Kylian Mbappe (4 goals, +4000). Christopher Nkunku, hilariously, doesn’t even appear on the DraftKings list even though he already has seven goals to his name.
The PSG stars have too many good teammates and they may not even make it past the round of 16. The latter is also true for Benzema. Bayern will eat RB Salzburg’s lunch, and Lewandowski will finish it from there.
Champions League Champion: Real Madrid (+1400)
Yes, I mentioned staying away from PSG vs. Real Madrid.
That said, you will never see a team as good as Real Madrid in this competition at these sorts of odds, attributed solely to the brutal heavyweight Round of 16 matchup. The team that survives this series will immediately become one of the three favorites to win the tournament, if not the best club overall, and Real Madrid is my choice.
In a La Liga season turned upside down, manager Carlo Ancelotti has steered a stable ship at Real Madrid.
While not as consistent at the back as one might perhaps expect from a Champions League title favourite, the team is strong defensively in runs as Eder Militao has developed into a world-class central defender and Luka Modric has not yet completely fallen. cliff despite the 36 years of age of him. Add in the club’s transformation into a dangerous counter-attacking team, and Real Madrid could make a deep run.
1 – @realmadriden have generated more shots after big turnovers than any other @LaLigaES team this season in all competitions (55), with only Getafe (7) scoring more goals after high turnovers than them (six, tied with four teams). Pressure. pic.twitter.com/ujXC5efMzx
– OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 7, 2022
While PSG is a star-studded team getting into Ligue 1 form, the French side are only now recovering Neymar from a months-long ankle injury and don’t have time to integrate him properly into the squad. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has done enough to quell the first whispers of a quick hook, but those haven’t really gone away all season, adding instability.
Real Madrid are a risky title pick given their upcoming game, but the odds here are too good to pass up. Madrid seem well-equipped to handle a PSG with plenty of questions yet to be answered, and if Los Merengues beat PSG, there would really only be two teams left in the competition – Man City and Bayern – who could really challenge the Spanish giants in a game. quest for European crown No. 14.
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today’s news | Who will win the UEFA Champions League 2022? Betting odds, futures and expert picks
