THE Champions League is back and Manchester City are once again the leading contenders to clinch the ultimate prize in May’s final at the Allianz Arena, Germany.
The Champions League has returned, but the format will look a little different with the traditional group stage now a thing of the past.
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It’s been replaced by a single league that features all 36 teams that have progressed to that stage with each side playing eight matches.
The top eight teams in the league stage go straight through to the Round of 16, while the clubs ranked 9th to 24th will compete in two-legged knockout phase play-off matches.
Though a different format, the favourites remain the same with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and reigning champions Real Madrid at the top of the betting markets.
However, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Liverpool will hope to disrupt the party, along with last year’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
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Here, SunSport takes a closer look at the betting odds for the 2024/25 Champions League winner ahead of tonight’s draw.
As you can see from the prices above, William Hill fancy Manchester City (11/4) to claim a second Champions League title in three years.
Pep Guardiola’s side lifted the trophy thanks to a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul as part of their historic treble in 2022-23, but fell at the quarter-final stage against eventual winners Real Madrid the following year.
Their record in this competition remains outrageous and they are more than likely to go deep into the tournament.
They may also benefit from the expansion of the competition because finalists will have played at least 15 times and possibly 17 if they were involved in the play-offs.
Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund played 13 times last season, so a deep and talent-filled squad help.
It’s a similar story for Carlo Ancelotti’s Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid (3/1), who claimed their 15th Champions League title when beating Borussia Dortmund in last year’s final.
Now equipped with Kylian Mbappe spearheading the attack, it’s difficult to see many laying a glove on the tournament specialists.
Elsewhere at bigger prices we find Premier League challengers Arsenal at 8/1, Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich are available at 11/1 with Vincent Kompany at the helm and Liverpool are the same price under Arne Slot.
Further back are Barcelona at 14/1, followed by Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at 16/1 and 18/1 respectively with Aston Villa a distant 50/1.
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