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Manchester City made such short work of Leipzig that there was an inevitable shortening of their odds. The bookies now think they’re going to win the damn thing for the first time…
So here are the favorites for Champions League 2023 at the best odds available at oddschecker.com as of…now.
1) Manchester City
Is this finally the year that City and Pep Guardiola make it to the Big One? They are out of quadruple contention, so this is at least an out-of-the-way narrative thread and there remains a clear possibility that they won’t even win the Premier League. A first Champions League title would make everything absolutely perfect. A 7-0 hit by RB Leipzig he was certainly decisive in what looked like a complicated draw.
2) Bayern Munich
Normally one would expect to have the Bundesliga pretty much stitched up at this point to be able to concentrate fully on the Champions League as is customary. Instead they find themselves locked in a ridiculous title race where they find themselves just two points clear of Borussia Dortmund. But their 3-0 aggregate win over PSG circus reaffirmed their credentials for a seventh European Cup.
3) Real Madrid
They looked really struggling when they were 2-0 down after 15 minutes of the first knockout round first leg against Liverpool, the Real Madrid side have beaten in two of their last five finals. A couple of hours and five goals later, Real Madrid didn’t seem at all bothered by Liverpool’s penchant for heavy defeats making a comeback. Winning Champions League knockout matches is what Real Madrid do better than any other team in the world, and they secured a 1-0 second leg win by comfortably avoiding a masterclass from Liverpool.
4) Naples
Impressive group winners Liverpool always looked capable of topping this list; they were sixth favorites before the round of 16 began with at least two of the five ahead of them definitely eliminated.
This phenomenal side is absolutely dismantling the competition in Serie A, where their lead currently stands at an impressive 18 points. They have now progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time after easily knocking out Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt.
5) Chelsea
Graham Potter isn’t about to pull off a Tommy Tuchel, is he? Chelsea rallied to enjoy the best night of the manager’s reign to date, overcoming their first-leg deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund for a place in the quarter-finals. With their Premier League season almost over, they have little else to focus on other than the number three.
6) Benfica
Ok, it’s quite reasonable to expect that somewhere along the way they will fail, but for a team that has outlasted Club Brugge seven times in the round of 16… once again condemning Scott Parker to dole line – and he’s spent the entire tournament so far defying the odds, this feels like a bit of a slap in the face.
7)Inter
He overtook Porto but did so so unconvincingly that it didn’t move the needle at all. Nobody expects them to win the Champions League, even if at least they are ahead of…
8) Milan
He overcame a desperately poor Tottenham side to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in 11 years. Milan have endured a poor start to the year but appear to have pulled themselves out of their funk as they look for another top four finish in Serie A, with whatever happens now in the Champions League a bonus for the Rossoneri.
