The 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League starts today with great expectations and new formats. Betfair, one of the biggest online bookmakers, points to Manchester City as the main favorite to win the title.
The club is looking for a second championship under the command of Pep Guardiola, and its striker, Erling Haaland, is the most likely to be the competition’s top scorer.
New format of the competition and Manchester City’s favoritism
The 2024/2025 Champions League will bring an innovative format. Now, instead of the traditional groups of four teams, the initial phase will be played in straight points.
The eight best teams will advance directly to the round of 16, while the subsequent 16 clubs will compete for a place in the playoffs. This change promises to increase the competitiveness of the tournament.
Manchester City, champion of the 2022/2023 edition, is the big favorite to lift the cup once again.
According to Betfair odds, the English club has a 22% chance of winning (odd of 3.75), followed closely by Real Madrid, with 18% (odd of 4.5). In addition to these two teams, Arsenal also appears as one of the strong competitors, with 9%.
Title odds (Betfair):
- Manchester City: 22%
- Real Madrid: 18%
- Arsenal: 9%
- Bayern de Munique: 6%
- Barcelona: 6%
Analysis of the first Champions League games
Betfair also highlights the chances of qualifying directly for the round of 16. City has a 90% probability (odds of 1.11) of advancing without needing to compete in the playoffs. Real Madrid, another European giant, has an 80% (odds of 1.25) chance of going directly to the next stage.
In the opening round of the Champions League, the teams’ winning probabilities were carefully calculated.
Check out the main clashes and the percentages of chances of victory for each team:
| Confrontation | Victory | Draw | Defeat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juventus x PSV | Juventus – 53% | 22% | PSV – 25% |
| Young Boys x Aston Villa | Aston Villa – 58% | 23% | Young Boys – 19% |
| Real Madrid x Stuttgart | Real Madrid – 72% | 10% | Stuttgart – 18% |
| Milan x Liverpool | Liverpool – 50% | 25% | Milan – 25% |
| Manchester City x Inter | Manchester City – 63% | 22% | Inter – 15% |
| Sporting x Lille | Sporting – 56% | 25% | Lille – 19% |
| Bayern de Munique x Dínamo Zagreb | Bayern – 85% | 10% | Dínamo – 5% |
| Bologna x Shakhtar Donetsk | Bologna – 51% | 27% | Shakhtar – 22% |
| Sparta Praga x RB Salzburg | Sparta – 39% | 27% | RB Salzburg – 34% |
| Club Brugge x Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund – 47% | 26% | Brugge – 27% |
| Celtic x Slovan Bratislava | Celtic – 70% | 18% | Slovan – 12% |
| PSG x Girona | PSG – 68% | 19% | Girona – 13% |
| Estrela Vermelha x Benfica | Benfica – 51% | 25% | Estrela – 24% |
| Feyenoord x Bayer Leverkusen | Bayer – 54% | 24% | Feyenoord – 22% |
| Mônaco x Barcelona | Barcelona – 53% | 22% | Mônaco – 25% |
| Atalanta x Arsenal | Arsenal – 53% | 24% | Atalanta – 23% |
| Atlético de Madrid x RB Leipzig | Atlético – 53% | 22% | RB Leipzig – 25% |
| Brest x Sturm Graz | Brest – 53% | 22% | Sturm Graz – 25% |
About Betfair
Founded in 2000 in London, Betfair is one of the largest online sports betting providers in the world. The company is a pioneer in the peer-to-peer betting model, allowing users to bet against each other.
The platform currently offers a broad portfolio of sports betting and entertainment to more than four million customers in 19 countries, including Spain, Italy and Great Britain. Betfair is also an official sponsor of teams such as Cruzeiro and Vasco da Gama in Brazil.
