Champions League Betting

Champions League Betting – Best Picks, Odds, Predictions

You’ll find out everything from how the tournament is structured, to which teams are worth looking out for in this year’s edition, to how we come up with our Champions League predictions.

Here, you won’t need a passport and a trip to Europe to find all of the information you need to successfully bet on the Champions League.

Best Sportsbooks to Bet on Champions League

Given the massive media attention that the Champions League gets, there are predictably several Champions League betting sites available on a regular basis. These Champions League betting sites in particular are worth your time, as they offer a nice mix of betting markets to choose from and promotions that allow you to get the best bang for your buck.

When it comes to the Champions League, these sportsbooks are serious contenders to be the best:

1. DraftKings

2. BetMGM

3. Pointsbet

4. Betway

Champions League Previous Season Recap

Last season, Chelsea managed to overcome the Champions League betting odds to win the tournament with an incredible run through multiple elite teams. They beat Atletico Madrid, Porto, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the knockout stages, beating City in an all-England final. The Blues’ run to the title ended a tournament where City’s side of the bracket was expected to be where the champion came from.

In addition to the Champions League betting favorites in Manchester City being in the half of the draw opposite Chelsea, contenders Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain were also in that half. That set up a dream semifinal between City and PSG, which the English side won to set up the final with Chelsea. But Pep Guardiola’s side couldn’t clear the final hurdle, falling to the eventual champions in a dramatic 1-0 match. Kai Havertz scored the lone goal of the match. 

Summer 2021 Transfer Window Recap

Champions League betting can be drastically impacted by the moves that are made by each team in the transfer window before the season. And this season in the Champions League is no exception, as several contending teams made moves that could greatly alter the complexion of this year’s competition.

Messi is one of the all-time greatest players, leading Barcelona to multiple Champions League titles during his time there. But issues of a financial nature in Barcelona forced them to offload Messi to PSG before this season kicked off.

That move has made PSG one of the top contenders for the Champions League title this season, as they have combined Messi with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar for a fearsome strike force.

Another move that could make an impact in the Champions League betting markets this season is the move of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United. Ronaldo flirted with Manchester City and PSG during the summer before landing on United. With all of Ronaldo’s experience making winning plays in the Champions League, he will look to lead his home club to an unexpected title.

Winter 2022 Transfer Window Recap

The transfer window is often the difference between winning and losing in the Champions League, where every team has so much quality in the later rounds. This season in the Champions League, several teams have tried to make a splash in the transfer market to boost their chances of coming away with the title. But the biggest signing among the remaining Champions League teams is a player who may not be a household name to everyone.

It’s possible the biggest transfer market move this winter was the move to bring Dušan Vlahović into Juventus from Fiorentina. Vlahović is one of the top scorers in Serie A this season and was scoring those goals for a team that lacked the all-around quality of Juventus. Whether Vlahović can help Juventus make a deep run in the Champions League remains to be seen, but the acquisition should improve their chances.

Elsewhere, Villarreal bringing in Giovani Lo Celso from Tottenham could be a signing that helps them in the knockout rounds of the Champions League. Last season’s Europa League winners have an uphill climb to avoid going out early in the knockout stages of the tournament, and relatively affordable players like Lo Celso could be a big help as many Champions League teams declined to make substantial upgrades in January.

Who are the Favorites to Win the Champions League this Season?

This season’s Champions League betting favorite is, once again, Manchester City. The top team in the Premier League again after the first half of the season, City is expected to make another deep run in the Champions League like they did last season. The only question is whether they can finish the job and cash in this time around, which they failed to do at the final obstacle last season.

What makes City so dangerous on the field and in the Champions League betting markets is the fact that they have so much depth in the midfield. They were without Kevin De Bruyne for an extended period of time due to COVID-19 and still finished at the top of their Champions League group while moving to the top of the Premier League. Their ability to rotate their squad with world class players will make them the team to beat this year.

Also on the short list of Champions League betting favorites this season is Paris Saint-Germain. PSG is a team that was dangerous last season, and they’re even more so in the 2021-2022 campaign. With Messi joining one of the most dangerous attacks in the world, PSG should be one of the last few teams standing when this year’s tournament gets down to the end.

Bayern, like PSG, doesn’t have a very competitive domestic league and should have it sewn up well ahead of the end of the season. That, combined with all of their talent, will allow Bayern to fully focus on the Champions League late in the season and possibly win it.

Who is in Danger of Relegation?

In the UEFA Champions League, there’s no relegation, as the teams that don’t qualify for the next stage of the competition are simply eliminated from the tournament. As a result, there are also no Champions League betting markets related to relegation each season, as that isn’t a possibility during this event. However, there’s an interesting format to the group stage to which you should pay attention.

In the group stage of the Champions League, the top two teams in each group move on to the knockout round. But the third place team is dropped into the Europa League, where they compete in the knockout rounds of that tournament. While the Europa League designation doesn’t impact Champions League betting at all, it’s something to keep an eye on as teams fight to finish in the top-two of their groups.

Outright Predictions for Champions League 2021/22

The best Champions League betting selection may just be the favorite to win the tournament. Manchester City is simply built differently than most teams in the tournament, and they seem to have found a way to achieve success without a traditional striker. If they can bring in a striker during the January transfer window, they could really become the clear favorite to win the tournament despite being at a plus price heading into the knockout rounds.

Elsewhere in the outright Champions League betting markets, Chelsea may be a team worth backing as a relative longshot when compared to the major powers in the sport right now. The Blues finished second in their group behind Juventus, which could mean a tougher road to another final. But Chelsea proved last year that they’re more than capable of taking on the difficult fixtures that must be won in order to lift another European championship trophy.

Finally, Real Madrid might just be flying under the radar and could come away with this year’s Champions League. Los Blancos gave up just three goals during the group stage of this year’s Champions League. And while they won’t be the Champions League betting favorites compared to the Manchester Cities and PSGs of the world, Madrid is more than capable of adding to their incredible collection of Champions League trophies.

Players to Keep an Eye on in Champions League this Season

1. Lionel Messi
2. Kevin De Bruyne
3. Robert Lewandowski
4. Mo Salah

There are several players to keep an eye on when doing your Champions League betting for the remainder of this campaign. Chief among them is Lionel Messi, who’s looking to solidify his legacy as possibly the greatest player to ever take part in the sport at this level. If he can deliver PSG to the Champions League title that’s eluded them to this point, he would further his argument as the best player to ever take the pitch.

Kevin De Bruyne is another player worth paying attention to for the rest of this campaign. As the driving force of the Champions League betting favorites in Manchester City, De Bruyne will have to be on point with his passing to create scoring opportunities against the elite teams left in this competition. His health will also be something to keep an eye on the rest of the way, as De Bruyne has dealt with injuries and COVID over the last couple of years.

And in terms of strikers, Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich and Mo Salah of Liverpool will have the eyes of the world on them. Lewandowski and Salah might be the top two goal scorers in the world right now, and they’re both playing for teams that finished atop their Champions League groups. It’s now up to them to deliver in the knockout rounds for their teams to have a genuine chance to win the title.

How do we Provide our Expert Picks for Champions League?

Our Champions League betting picks are the product of dedicated handicapping of the Champions League and its clubs.

We look for the best possible situational spots to take teams with good value, evaluating the form, health and schedule of each team to determine where the best spots are to bet on each match.

When it comes to Champions League betting, there’s more strategy involved from match to match than during each team’s club campaign where there are more games to win the title. We determine which spots are worth betting on based on the strategic elements that can impact the outcomes of each match, and combine them with persistent statistical analysis to help you determine what to bet.

Best Sportsbooks that Cover Champions League Games

In terms of the best sportsbooks for Champions League betting, it’s important to remember that the criteria that makes a bookmaker the best can vary from one bettor to the next. For example, you might care about which betting markets are available, while someone else might care more about the bonuses that a sportsbook offers. With all of that said, there are several sportsbooks that stand out above the rest.

Fanduel Sportsbook

Fanduel Sportsbook tends to post their betting odds before many other American bookmakers, allowing you to get the most favorable prices possible on each match. Combine that with some of their promotions that are among the best in the industry, and you should enjoy what FanDuel has to offer whether you are looking to bet on the Champions League or another other sport.

FanDuel

Caesars Sportsbook

Another top notch Champions League betting site is Caesars Sportsbook. Caesars is from the same company responsible for William Hill, which has a long history of being a leading sportsbook brand in Europe. As a result, their soccer betting markets can be trusted to be among the best in the United States marketplace.

Caesars Sportsbook

Sportsbook Promo Codes and Best Bonuses for Champions League

Some of the best Champions League betting promotions come in the form of risk-free bets, like the one that FanDuel Sportsbook offers to its players. You can take advantage of a risk-free bet worth up to $1,000, which allows you to place a first wager worth up to $1,000 on their site. If that bet wins, you keep your profits and move along, or you’re reimbursed for the amount you wagered up to $1,000 on that first bet.

Another quality Champions League betting promotion comes from BetRivers, who offers a 100% deposit match worth up to $250. This means that you can deposit $250 into your BetRivers account and receive an extra $250 in bonus funds thanks to their dollar-for-dollar match. This offer guarantees that you’ll have more in your account than you deposited before placing your first bet.

All You Need to Know about Champions League Betting

Everything from the betting odds to the structure of the tournament itself has to be taken into consideration before placing your bets. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered so you don’t need to do much research in the way of learning about the Champions League.

Here are a few of the things to consider before doing your Champions League betting. The strategies and information provided here should help you become the best Champions League bettor you can be, as the goal is to make wagers that are as intelligent as possible at all times.

Champions League Odds and Betting Lines

The Champions League betting odds that you see before each match each mean one of two things. The odds that begin with a minus sign signify the amount that must be wagered to win $100, while the odds that begin with a plus sign signify the amount you would win if you put $100 on that market. This is the most important thing to know before doing any Champions League betting, as it dictates how much you stand to win or lose in each bet you place.

For example, let’s say that Manchester City and Bayern Munich are set to face off in a Champions League match. Manchester City is a -105 favorite to win the match, with Bayern at +250 and the draw at +175. In this example, a $105 bet on City would win $100, a $100 bet on Bayern would yield $250, and a $100 bet on the draw would yield $175.

Compare Odds for Champions League

One of the most important things that you can do when doing any form of Champions League betting is to compare the odds across multiple sportsbooks before locking in any wagers. Different sportsbooks might have slightly different Champions League betting odds, with those subtle differences impacting how profitable you can be on each wager. And while those differences may not seem like much over a one-bet sample size, they can really add up.

For example, let’s use our Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich match from above. One sportsbook might have Manchester City at -105 odds, meaning that a $105 bet would win $100. But if another book has them at +110 odds, where a $100 bet would yield $110, the book with +110 odds would require less of a risk to yield a superior profit.

While risking $5 less doesn’t seem like much, and winning $10 more also doesn’t seem like much, you have to think long-term in sports betting. Those slight differences, when multiplied by hundreds or even thousands of bets, could make a massive difference in the amount you make or lose over the course of years of sports gambling.

How do we Generate our Champions League Odds?

When it comes to Champions League betting odds, we look at the odds from several sportsbooks to determine which odds are the most favorable for you. We practice what we preach when making our Champions League predictions, looking at as many books as possible to find the best prices to maximize your profits. But we also make our own betting lines to determine where there’s value in each market.

In Champions League betting, we use statistical analysis to project the outcome of each match. Using those projections to determine what the odds should be for each match, our experts then compare their betting odds to the actual odds set by bookmakers ahead of each match. Where the biggest mismatches are where the biggest values are in the betting markets on each matchday.

Moneyline Champions League Odds

In the moneyline market in soccer, you can bet on either team to win the match, or for the match to end in a draw. Depending on the stage of the tournament and what each team needs to advance in each match, one side or the draw may be a clearly better option than the others.

For the purposes of the moneyline market in Champions League betting, the market is limited only to the 90 minutes plus stoppage time of a match. Should a match in the knockout stages go to extra time or penalty kicks, those tiebreakers would not be considered a part of the moneyline market. If the match is tied after regulation time, the draw would be the winning bet.

Champions League Over/Under Odds

Here, Champions League betting sites will post a number of goals for a match. It’s up to you to predict whether the number of goals scored in the match will be over or under that amount, hence the self-explanatory name for this betting market.

For example, sportsbooks may set our hypothetical Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich match with a total of 3.5 goals. If three or fewer goals were scored in that match, the under would be the winning side in the over/under. But if four or more goals were scored in the match, the over would be the winning side.

How Does the Champions League Work?

Before making any Champions League picks, you must know how to bet on the Champions League. That includes understanding how the tournament itself works, as the structure is different from the normal seasons that club soccer teams play in their domestic leagues. The Champions League is a much more concentrated dose of action than the domestic leagues, with a superior overall level of competition.

The Champions League consists of 32 teams starting out, including the top few teams from each of Europe’s top soccer leagues. The rest of the field is filled out by champions of smaller European soccer leagues, and teams who get through the tricky qualifying stages. Those 32 teams are then drawn into eight groups of four teams each, with each team playing six group stage matches against the opponents in their group.

Once the top two teams in each group have advanced to the 16-team knockout phase, teams are eliminated after two-legged matchups with their opponent in each remaining stage. Once there are two teams remaining, they play in the Champions League Final at a previously determined neutral site in one match to determine the champion.

Teams and Venues

The teams in the Champions League change each year, depending on who earns a spot in the tournament each season. This year, the list of teams in the Champions League spans all of Europe, and includes some of the more iconic venues in the history of the sport to go with some smaller grounds. These are the last 16 teams in this year’s Champions League, and their home grounds.

Champions League Trophy

The European Champion Clubs’ Cup is the name of the trophy awarded to the team that wins the UEFA Champions League each season. The current iteration of the trophy was designed in 1966, with Celtic winning it for the first time with its current design. The trophy has since been permanently awarded to multiple clubs for reaching five Champions League titles, with replacements being created when that happens.

This trophy is affectionately known as “Big Ears” to fans of European football, as the huge handles on each side of the trophy look like a gigantic set of ears. So far, Real Madrid is the club that’s held this trophy the most often.

COVID-19 Status

Champions League betting has the chance to be impacted by COVID-19, as it’s always possible that the virus could prompt matches to be halted until things are under control around Europe. However, for now, the Champions League and Champions League betting are not being paused and the season is set to continue on as scheduled.

Interesting Facts About Champions League

The UEFA Champions League was started in 1955, when it was known as the European Cup instead of the Champions League we know it as today. It’s one of the richest competitions in all of sport, with over 80 million Euros guaranteed to be paid out to the teams that make it to the tournament and through the tournament each season. That is, of course, to say nothing of the costs of each team to bring in the talent they use to try and win the competition.

Champions League Conclusion

Champions League betting is the highest level of soccer betting there is, thanks to how high the quality of the participating teams are in this tournament. With our advice and Champions League betting strategies, you have a shot to turn a profit wagering on this prestigious tournament each year.