Liverpool won the trophy last season and Jurgen Klopp’s men are among the market frontrunners to lift it again in Turkey in May 2020
The Champions League group stage draw has been made and all 32 teams know who their first opponents will be as the road to the Ataturk Stadium begins.
Liverpool won last season’s final with a 2-0 success against Tottenham at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.
Who are the favourites to win the Champions League?
Manchester City are 10/3 (4.33) favourites to win the Champions League with bet365 as they look to add European glory to their domestic success.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won the Premier League in each of the last two seasons but have not progressed past the quarter-finals of the Champions League in any of the previous three editions.
It is set to be a relative straightforward group stage for City, who have been drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta in Group C.
Barcelona can be backed at 5/1 (6.0) to win their first Champions League since 2015 after being one of the most consistent performers in the tournament over the last 12 years.
The Catalan giants have won it three times and reached the semi-finals a further five times, including last season when they surrendered a 3-0 first-leg lead to lose on aggregate against Liverpool.
Ernesto Valverde’s men will certainly face tough competition in their group this time around, with Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Slavia Prague.
Reigning champions Liverpool are 13/2 (7.50) to defend their title and lift the trophy for the seventh time in their illustrious history.
Victory over Premier League rivals Tottenham in last season’s final gave the club their first European trophy in 14 years and made up for the disappointing defeat to Real Madrid in 2018’s showpiece.
The Reds played Napoli in the group stages 12 months ago and will do so again, whilst Red Bull Salzburg and Genk make up the other teams in Group E.
Who are the Champions League underdogs?
Real Madrid are 9/1 (10.0) to make it five Champions League crowns in the last seven seasons.
Their recent success came under the tutelage of Zinedine Zidane, who won three consecutive European titles before leaving in May 2018, only to return to the club in March 2019.
The Frenchman has won 23 of his 33 games in the competition as manager and has only ever lost one of his 12 group stage matches, although his side will face Paris Saint-Germain in Group A.
PSG, meanwhile, are priced at 10/1 (11.0) to win their maiden Champions League after dominating French football since 2013.
Despite all their domestic titles, PSG have never got past the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition and have failed to get past the last 16 in each of the last three seasons.
Juventus could prove a popular bet at 11/1 (12.0) after impressing in last term’s tournament before losing to Ajax in the quarter-finals, with Cristiano Ronaldo picking up where he left off at Real Madrid.
The Portuguese forward scored a hat-trick in the last 16 victory over Atletico Madrid and is certain to be an integral part of Juve’s quest to win a first Champions League since 1996.
Who are the Champions League outsiders?
Bayern Munich are also 12/1 (13.0) with bet365 to consolidate their recent consistency in the tournament with a sixth Champions League title.
The German side have won Bundesliga seven times in a row and reached the semi-finals or better of the Champions League in five of those seasons, winning it once.
It is 20/1 (21.0) that Atletico Madrid finally break their Champions League after finishing as runner-up three times before.
Diego Simeone replaced Antoine Griezmann with Joao Felix this summer and, after disappointing showings in this competition in the last two campaigns, will be hoping to rediscover the form that saw them reach the final in 2014 and 2016.
Tottenham lost last season’s final and are 25/1 (26.0) to go one better this time around after drawing Bayern in Group B, while Borussia Dortmund are 33/1 (34.0) shots.
Chelsea, who won the Europa League last season, can be backed at 33/1 (34.0) to win both trophies in consecutive campaigns for the second time, having also done so in 2012 and 2013.
Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
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