The stars are out, so who's taking home Old Big Ears this season? Here are the Champions League winners odds
(Image credit: Getty)
The Champions League winners odds are always a bit funny.
Had you have told declared this time last year that you had a tenner on Chelsea to win the Champions League, well, some would have called you mad. They weren't the favourites with any bookies – far from it – with many tipping Sevilla to finish above the Blues in their group.
What a difference a year makes. But Chelsea still aren't the unanimous favourites for the Champions League crown with many bookmakers – the team they beat in the final retains that accolade.
Manchester City topped their group despite two defeats – one each to PSG and RB Leipzig – and retain their status as overall favourites.
Last season's defeated finalists have never won the competition, and it will be 11 long years since Pep Guardiola last lifted the trophy by next May.
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Defeat to Chelsea last year has not dampened spirits, though, and City have begun 2021/22 in blistering form, currently leading in the Premier League title race.
Bayern Munich looked utterly unstoppable last season, until the untimely injury of Robert Lewandowski gave PSG an advantage in the quarter-finals.
Lewangolski (yes, we get it, Thomas Muller) is back and better than ever this season. At the time of writing he has 27 goals from 22 games, including nine from six matches in the Champions League group stage.
That helped Bayern to a perfect record in Group E, racking up 18 points and shuffling Barcelona off to the Europa League in the process.
Fans are back in stadiums and that favours Liverpool perhaps more than anyone. Anfield can rock like no other ground on a European night and with Jurgen Klopp's enviable record in European competition, no one really wants a trip to Merseyside.
Mohamed Salah is arguably the most in-form player in the world right now, as Liverpool won all six games in a group of death that contained Atletico Madrid, Porto and AC Milan.
Naturally, any team with a front three of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi is going to be a big pick for a European title. PSG have strengthened at the back too, bringing in Gigio Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos.
But questions remain. Mauricio Pochettino's side have not looked their best this season, and only qualified by finishing second to Man City.
Chelsea have one of the most fearsome squads in Europe with quality in every position and depth across the board. The Blues may well become only the second club to retain the trophy in the modern era - but their status as outsiders behind City, Bayern, Liverpool and PSG reflects how difficult achieving such a feat will be.
The Champions League was always Cristiano Ronaldo's trophy, and his addition in the summer wasn't the only big name signing: both Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane reveaked Manchester United to be a team who wanted to be taken seriously on the biggest stage again.
This season hasn't gone smoothly so far, but could Ralf Rangnick's arrival bolster United's chances of going all the way for the first time since 2008?
Carlo Ancelotti has already won Real Madrid one Champions League title. The old master is back at the Bernabeu and considering Real got to the semi-finals last year, 14/1 seems excellent odds for Los Blancos.
Real have a habit of expertly managing European ties, after all. They have the experience in their ranks, coupled with exciting young starlets: stranger things have happened than the Galacticos taking the title this year.
It doesn't feel so long ago that Juventus' dominance in Italy looked like it would last forever. Having failed to lift the title last season, Juve are a lowly fifth in Serie A at the time of writing.
They did, however, pip reigning European champions Chelsea to top Group H. Could domestic dismay lead to continental success for the Old Lady?
Spanish champions Atletico can never really be written off. Diego Simeone has plenty of firepower along with a famously well-drilled defence, and they've proven they can tango with Europe's finest time and time again.
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Conor Pope is the former Online Editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing all digital content. He plays football regularly, and has a large, discerning and ever-growing collection of football shirts from around the world.
He supports Blackburn Rovers and holds a season ticket with south London non-league side Dulwich Hamlet. His main football passions include Tugay, the San Siro and only using a winter ball when it snows.
