Odds Shorten On Manchester City To Conquer Europe
Champions League Last-16 Draw and Outright Odds
by Leon Hughes on Monday 17th December, 2018
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The odds on Manchester City or Barcelona winning this season’s UEFA Champions League have been slashed after a favourable last-16 draw for both sides. Barcelona’s reward for topping Group B is a two-legged meeting with French outsiders, Lyon. Reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City, will be equally pleased with the draw after being paired with German club, Schalke. That clash is one of three England versus Germany ties we can look forward to.
Here at Betting Sites we preview all eight mouth-watering ties, set to take place over two legs next February and March. Courtesy of our betting partners, William Hill, you can find the latest odds on the outright winner below.
Schalke vs Manchester City
Since Pep Guardiola took charge at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City have struggled to replicate their domestic form on the European stage. City were eliminated at the semi-final stage last year as a first European final continues to elude them.
City will however go into their last-16 clash with Schalke as overwhelming favourites. The Germans are struggling domestically, languishing in 13th in the Bundesliga after winning just 4 of their 15 games so far this season. Schalke reached the knockout phase having finished second behind Porto in one of the easier Champions League groups that also included Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow.
Atletico Madrid vs Juventus
The nearly men of European football meet in this last-16 tie with Juventus’ reward for topping Group H a trip to Atletico Madrid. With next summer’s final behind held at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano, the Spaniards will hope to go one better than when losing the final in both 2013/14 and 2015/16.
Incredibly, Juventus have been losing finalists five times since winning their most recent European crown in 1996. Those final losses include defeats in both 2014/15 and 2016/17. With five-time Champions League winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, recruited in the summer, Juventus have been tipped to go close once again.
Manchester United vs Paris Saint Germain
Manchester United’s odds of winning an unlikely fourth European crown have drifted out to 40/1 after being drawn against French champions, Paris Saint Germain. The tie will see two of Europe’s heavyweights meet for the first time and PSG will be heavy favourites to progress.
The two sides have enjoyed contrasting starts to their respective seasons domestically. Unbeaten PSG are already ten points clear after 16 games in Ligue 1, winning 14 and drawing just twice. Meanwhile Manchester United slumped to a 3-1 defeat away at Liverpool on Sunday and now sit a massive 19 points off the league leaders in sixth position.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund
Spurs came back from the dead to escape Group B ahead of Inter Milan and their reward is an intriguing fixture against Bundesliga leaders, Borussia Dortmund. Tottenham took just one point from their first three group games but qualified for the last-16 after earning a draw against Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
Dortmund are seen by many as the competition’s dark horses. Under new manager, Lucien Favre, the Germans topped Group A ahead of Spanish giants, Atletico Madrid and currently lead their domestic league by nine points, thank to any unbeaten start.
New England international, Jadon Sancho, could play his first senior club game in his homeland if he plays for Dortmund at Spurs.
Lyon vs Barcelona
Barcelona hierarchy and fans alike have made no secret of their desire to regain the title of Kings of Europe. The Catalan giants have been helpless in stopping major rivals, Real Madrid, claim four Champions League titles in five years. Given the start to the season that they’ve made, many feel this could be Barcelona’s year. Brazilian youngster, Arthur, looks a shrewd signing whilst Ousmane Dembele is finally starting to show the form that prompted Barcelona to fork out such a vast sum of money to bring him to Spain.
Barcelona's last-16 opponents, Lyon, reached the knockout stage without losing a game, however, five of their six group games finished in a draw. Domestically, Lyon are third in Ligue 1 but find themselves 13 points adrift of leaders, PSG, already.
Roma vs Porto
With due respect to them, Porto were the seeded team that most unseeded sides wanted in the draw. The Portuguese club reached the last-16 having topped Group D ahead of Schalke, Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow but the 1987 and 2004 champions are not expected to get much further in this season’s tournament.
Roma reached the last-16 despite losing their last two group games, at home to Real Madrid and away at Viktoria Plzen. Roma are in a transitional period with Alisson, Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman all leaving this summer, following the departures of Mo Salah, Antonio Rudiger, Emerson and Leandro Paredes a year earlier. The new signings include Justin Kluivert, Javier Pastore, Steven Nzonzi and Patrik Schick.
Ajax vs Real Madrid
A fascinating tie involving two of Europe’s heavyweights. Real Madrid have won four Champions League titles in five years, including the last three but this season may be one too far for their ageing squad. Cristiano Ronaldo has moved on whilst Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Marcelo are all now the wrong side of 30.
Madrid topped Group G ahead of Roma, Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow but were far from convincing, losing twice. Domestically, Madrid are fourth in La Liga after losing five of their first 16 league games.
In contrast, Ajax have failed to claim a European trophy since 1995 but have a squad littered with some of Europe’s hottest prospects. a strong showing against Real Madrid will see interest increase further on the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Kasper Dolberg and David Neres.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich
Liverpool face German giants, Bayern Munich in what is probably the tie of the round. The English side will go into the tie full of confidence after a superb start to the season both in Europe and domestically. Currently sitting on top of the Premier League table, the Reds reached the Champions League knockout stage after escaping the so-called Group of Death. PSG topped the group but Liverpool edged out Napoli to finish second.
In contrast to Liverpool’s fine start to their season, Bayern Munich have made an underwhelming start to life under new boss, Niko Kovac. The Germans were fortunate to find themselves in a relatively easy Champions League group, topping Group E ahead of Ajax, Benfica and AEK Athens. However, in the Bundesliga, Bayern are languishing in third, a massive nine points behind leaders, Borussia Dortmund, after just 15 games. With pressure mounting on Kovac, a positive result against Liverpool could be pivotal in their season.
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, has come up against Bayern Munich several times before, during his time as Borussia Dortmund manager. Klopp guided Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12 at Bayern’s expense. He did however lose the 2012/13 Champions League final to his German rivals.
Now the draw has been made, the outright odds to win the Champions League have changed. Below you can find a complete list of odds to win the tournament outright, courtesy of William Hill.
Outright odds
Manchester City - 11/4
Barcelona - 4/1
Juventus - 6/1
Paris Saint Germain - 7/1
Liverpool - 9/1
Bayern Munich - 10/1
Real Madrid - 11/1
Atletico Madrid - 20/1
Tottenham Hotspur - 25/1
Borussia Dortmund - 25/1
Manchester United - 40/1
Roma - 50/1
Ajax - 66/1
Porto - 80/1
Lyon - 100/1
Schalke 250/1
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