Following the draw for the quarter final stage on Friday, Barcelona have had their odds cut to lift the famous Champions League trophy. The Catalan side will be facing AS Roma in the last eight, having the home advantage for the first leg. The odds are an interesting change, as before the draw Manchester City were the favourites. The bookies seem to believe Pep Guardiola’s side have received a tougher draw, with an all English tie against Liverpool coming up.
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Regarding which side is likely to lift the Champions League trophy in Kiev in May, let’s take a look at the current betting odds. All odds were correct at the time of writing.
Barcelona
Best Odds – 11/4 (Sky Bet, Bet Victor)
The new favourites to win another European cup are the Catalan giants FC Barcelona, who got a favourable last eight draw according to most fans and pundits. Their opponents Roma should not be taken lightly though, as they can still be extremely dangerous in a two-legged tie.
As ever, the side are lead by Lionel Messi, considered by many as the greatest football player of all time. The club will feel like they will have something to prove too, having exited the Champions League at the quarter final stage last year. That was to an Italian side, losing out to Juventus. Barca have yet to lose a game in this season’s Champions League though, scoring 13 times and conceding just twice.
Messi of course is the top scorer for Ernesto Valverde’s side, having bagged 6 goals in the competition. They are big favourites to come past Roma and then they will fancy their chances against anyone in the last four too.
Manchester City
Best Odds – 7/2 (Ladbrokes, Unibet, Betway)
Pep Guardiola will have dreams of playing one of his former sides, either Barcelona or Bayern Munich, in the Champions League final on 26th May in Kiev. Before they get anywhere near that though, they will have to come through an all Premier League tie against Liverpool.
This has been an amazing season for City, with the League Cup already in the bag and the Premier League looking all but sewn up as they are currently 16 points clear with just 8 matches to play. In Champions League competition they have looked great too, winning their group easily and coming past Basel in the last 16. They have lost twice in the competition this season, though these both came when they were comfortably through.
Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling both have 4 goals each in the Champions League, and their game against Liverpool is sure to provide plenty of goals. The trip to Anfield is first, and City will hope to grab a couple of away goals.
Bayern Munich
Best Odds – 4/1 (bet365, Betfred, Betway)
German giants Bayern Munich will be happy with their quarter final draw, as they will face Spanish side Sevilla. Of course, Sevilla just disposed of Manchester United, so Bayern will need to be wary of the threats that they possess. Bayern are big favourites for the tie though.
As seems to have become the norm, the Bundesliga title is pretty much wrapped up for Bayern, leading 2nd placed Schalke by 17 points. That means they can put all their focus into this Champions League, and they will look to get past the stage they fell at last year, having lost to Real Madrid in the 2016/17 quarter final.
Robert Lewandowski is the current top scorer for them in the Champions League. Besiktas were swept aside 8-1 on aggregate in the last 16, which will have given the Bavarians a lot of confidence.
Real Madrid
Best Odds – 9/2 (bet365, Sky bet, Ladbrokes)
Los Blancos will probably have hoped for an easier draw than the one they have got, as Juventus stand in their way of yet another Champions League semi final. This of course will be a rematch of the 2017 Champions League final, as Real Madrid won 4-1 in Cardiff. A repeat here would be very welcome for Zinedine Zidane and his side.
Until recently, Real Madrid’s season did not look good at all. They started the La Liga season poorly and only finished 2nd in their Champions League group after defeat to Tottenham. They’ve turned things around recently though, and look well placed to challenge in Europe.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored an incredible 12 goals already in the Champions League this term, including three crucial strikes in the win over Paris Saint Germain in the last 16.
Juventus
Best Odds 12/1 (Coral, Betbright)
Revenge will be on the Italian champions’ minds, and they will be fired up for the two-legged tie against Real Madrid. The first leg will be in Turin, so the ‘Old Lady’ will hope to take a lead over to Madrid for the second leg a week later.
Losing in last years final will have been agonising, especially with the manner of the defeat towards the end of the game. Juve are famed for their solid defensive displays, and they will need to be on top form to keep Ronaldo and co out.
They showed great fight to beat Tottenham in the last round. It looks as though another Serie A title will be on its way, and a win in the Champions League would put this team into the history books.
Liverpool
Best Odds – 13/1 (Unibet, 888Sport)
Jurgen Klopp has got his Liverpool side playing a brilliant style of football, with plenty of goals being scored. In the Champions League alone, they have scored 28 goals, only conceding 6. They are yet to lose a game in this season’s competition too.
The reason they are longer odds than others is due to the fact that pundits and bookies believe Man City are likely to beat them in the quarter final tie. It will all depend on which side’s attacking players are more effective over the two legs.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will be tough to deal with, and Liverpool have every chance of getting a result.
Sevilla
Best Odds – 66/1 (bet365, Ladbrokes)
Sevilla will go into their games against Bayern Munich as massive underdogs, despite the fact that they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in the last round. The problem Sevilla have is that they can’t seem to find any consistency.
The win at Old Trafford was followed up by a massively disappointing 2-1 defeat to Leganes. They will need to be much better if they are going to worry the German giants.
Wissam Ben Yedder will be the key man for them, having scored 8 goals in the Champions League so far.
Roma
Best Odds – 80/1 (10Bet, 188Bet)
It would seem as if the bookies don’t give AS Roma much of a chance against Barcelona in the quarter final. The last time Roma were in the quarter final of the Champions League was back in the 2007/08 season, when they were easily beaten by Man United.
Shakhtar Donetsk were beaten in the last 16 and the Italians will relish their underdog status.
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