The opening round of the Champions League looms large on the football calendar. While some teams are objectively better than others, every team – from Real Madrid to surprise entrants Qarabag FK – begins on zero points, and no player or manager can take anything for granted. The teams that regularly qualify for the group stage need no introduction, and this is reflected in the relative gulf between the teams that were drawn from pots 1 and 2, and those from 3 and 4, in the long list of Champions League outrights.
These are the teams to beat in this season’s Champions League, but Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Athletico Madrid – all of which have been finalists at least once in the last ten years – are not far behind Chelsea and Juventus. All odds stated are correct as of September 9, 2017.
Real Madrid poised for historical hat-trick
Though he was not the top goalscorer in the 2016/17 La Liga season, Cristiano Ronaldo was particularly unplayable in last season’s Champions League, averaging exactly one goal every 100 minutes despite being played out wide. Priced at +400 on Betway to win the cup for a third time in succession, Real Madrid’s dominance of the European scene extended to the UEFA top XVIII of 2016/17, with eight players in the cup winning squad taking pride of place in that list. As if that wasn’t enough, the podium for the new ‘Midfielder of the Season’ award was entirely locked out by Real Madrid players, with Luka Modric emerging the clear winner. Real Madrid’s first significant challenge comes when the squad visits Borussia Dortmund (+3300 to win the cup) thirteen days after a ‘gimme’ home opener against APOEL Nicosia.
Ronaldo was utterly unstoppable in the 2016/17 Champions League.
Luck favours Liverpool in draw and Leipzig are a team to watch
For those that value European pedigree over current form as their justification for backing certain teams in the Champions League, the UEFA coefficients system is a go-to source of information. Based on the latest coefficient numbers, Group H (containing Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and APOEL Nicosia) is the toughest, with the teams averaging a UEFA coefficient of 101.235. By contrast, the average coefficient of the four teams in Group E, which includes Liverpool, Maribor, Sevilla, and Spartak Moscow is just 69.4605. When combined with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s excellent summer business, this fact has seen Liverpool’s odds of getting a sixth European title tumble to just +2000. An each way bet is certainly worth consideration, given how lethal the reds can be on the counter attack.
Liverpool will meet 2016 Europa League final opponents Sevilla once again in this season’s group stage. The two are likely to be the main contenders for the top spot in Group E.
Beyond Liverpool, Athletico Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund prices begin to lengthen drastically, taking bettors into thoroughly useless territory – barring a miracle. Yet, of those appearing in the Champions League for the first time, nouveau-riche title contenders Red Bull Leipzig (priced at +6600) command a surprisingly short price. Armed with a new ‘war chest’, Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhüttl conducted some smart business over the summer, making lightning-fast winger Bruma the club’s marquee signing of 2017. Given that the top seed of Leipzig’s group is a Monaco side recently shorn of teen star Kylian Mbappe (to Ligue 1 title rivals PSG, as reported by ESPN) the odds are in favour of the Champions League debutants.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=48bwk03OnXE
Bruma could be one of the breakout stars of this season’s Champions League. See also: Is it wise to rely on experts for betting tips?
Playing field unusually ‘level’ but impetus again on Spanish sides
The start of this season’s 2017/18 Copa del Rey will also give Zidane much food for thought, with Real Madrid narrowly missing out on a cup treble last season. It does, however, remain third fiddle on the overall agenda. Regardless of any ‘fixture congestion’ for Real Madrid, there is scant reason to believe that Zinedine Zidane’s men cannot make history, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale remain as potent as ever. Though Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez will not be a part of any glories for Real Madrid this season, ‘Los Galacticos’ can at least take pleasure in the fact that domestic and European rivals Barcelona have also lost a vital element of their attack. With Neymar’s move to PSG coming at a staggering king’s ransom of £200m, the figurative ‘playing field’ has been very much evened out, making this season’s Champions League one of the most competitive in living memory.
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