UEFA Champions League: Updated Odds to Win This Year's Title
The first week of Champions League competition ended with a few unsurprising strong starts, some hard-fought draws and a few underdogs raising eyebrows.
There's still a long way to go until May, but here are your updated odds to win this year's European Cup. (Spoiler alert: The favorites are a certain team that rhymes with "Shmarshmelona.")
For clarification, odds are listed in descending order and all figures are the most frequently-occurring bet—or the higher odds of two in the case of a tie—on Oddschecker.com.
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Barcelona
Even after a tough draw against AC Milan and injuries plaguing the first team, the returning champion Blaugrana still kept possession for the overwhelming majority of their opening match.
Couple that with midfield boosts from newcomer Cesc Fabregas and rising star Thiago and you've got a team that could well still walk away with back-to-back titles. If they can manage to stay fit, they'll be incredibly tough to beat.
Odds: 15/8
Barcelona rivals Real Madrid are close behind in the betting lines after having to put up some serious effort to defeat Dinamo Zagreb.
Los Merengues have one of the strongest attacks in the competition, thanks to Karim Benzema, Mesut Özil, Ángel Di María and, of course, Ronaldo. They are hungry for payback after their eleventh-hour elimination last year.
The haters, in the words of Ronaldo, are just jealous.
Odds: 9/2
The returning runners-up drew against a strong Benfica, a side who have habitually given the Red Devils trouble in this competition.
But with United seemingly unstoppable in league play and competition veterans like Ryan Giggs—who became the oldest goal-scorer ever in the competition in the 1-1 draw—playing well, they're certainly well in contention to return to the finals.
Odds: 13/2
After a fiery start to the season, it was expected that Manchester City would be able to keep the energy up in Champions League competition.
They put in a strong effort in an enthralling match against Napoli but could only hold the Serie A side to a draw. They'll face more tough challenges against a strong Bayern Munich, but if their offense can remain cohesive, they'll do just fine.
Odds: 10/1
The only Premiership side to win their first Champions League match, Chelsea looked strong after a 2-0 victory over Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
The return of keeper Peter Cech and an assertive attacking force courtesy of Juan Mata, an improving Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge should move the Blues well through the group stages.
Odds: 10/1
Bayern Munich
No strangers to this competition, the Bundesliga side cruised to a 2-0 victory at El Madrigal in their first match. They look like a strong side with plenty of technical skill and cohesion, which will serve them well.
They should advance without a problem, but can they remain this consistent after the group stages?
Odds: 14/1
AC Milan
The Serie A champions made Barcelona sweat with two great goals from Thiago Silva and Alexandre Pato, giving the Rossoneri a thrilling start to the competition, even though the match ended in a draw.
If they keep playing like this, they could pull some fantastic upsets after the group stage.
Odds: 20/1
Arsenal's European campaign got off to a strong start with their victory over Udinese, and a great first half against Borussia Dortmund, but after a come-from-behind draw with BVB and things still looking muddy for the Gunners in league competition, they'll need to find a way to maintain momentum if they want to stay in it.
Odds: 28/1
F.C. Porto
Porto came out of the first week of the competition looking like serious contenders after their 2-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
With new management and the offensive prowess of strike team Kléber and Hulk, Porto look poised to take their group and fare well in later stages.
Odds: 33/1
Normally a fierce contender, the 2010 Champions League winners were looking a very different team following a shocker of an upset at San Siro at the hands of Turkish underdogs Trabzonspor.
The Nerazzurri face CSKA next, a side that has given them trouble in the past,
Odds: 33/1
Borussia Dortmund: Considered a dark-horse candidate before the start of the competition thanks to strong young players like wonder-kid Mario Götze, BVB came from behind with a stunner of an equalizer from Ivan Perišić to draw with Arsenal in their competition opener.
If they can keep their back four from making the same errors that led to Robin Van Persie's goal, they'll be in business.
Odds: 33/1
SSC Napoli: The hungry Serie A side showed energy and persistence in their opening draw with Manchester City, leading some to question their underdog status. They'll face Europa League rivals Villarreal next and are hungry for a win.
Although a strong-starting Bayern Munich and City are more likely to advance, Walter Mazzarri's side will put in some serious effort.
Odds: 80/1
Benfica
Benfica gave a strong showing against heavy-hitters Manchester United in their home group-stage opener, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Attacker Nicolás Gaitán unleashed many great attempts and set up the Eagles' only goal, establishing himself as a player to watch in this competition.
Odds: 80/1
Lyon
Lyon kicked their Champions League campaign off with a 0-0 draw at Ajax's ground, but made some strides toward the end. If they can maintain their strength throughout and start with a bit more momentum, they'll advance along with Real Madrid.
Odds: 80/1
Shakhtar Donetsk
The Ukrainian champs are usually a force to be reckoned with in this competition, but after losing two players to red card sendoffs and a 2-1 loss to group rivals Porto, things look a bit more murky for the perennial dark horse.
Odds: 80/1
Valencia
Another potential dark horse, Valencia failed to put any in the net in their opener against KRC Genk, but a strong effort from Roberto Soldado and some solid chances from the attack are indicators the La Liga side still has a lot of potential in this year's Champions League.
Odds: 100/1
OSC Lille
Les Dogues put forth a great initial effort, making CSKA Moskva's defense work hard in what ended in a 2-2 draw. Had Seydou Doumbia not found his stride, it would have likely been an easy victory for Lille, thanks to a pair of cracking goals from Benoît Pedretti and Moussa Sow.
Lille has a tough group stage with a hard-fighting CSKA, headliners Inter Milan and surprise contenders Trabzonspor, but they certainly could pull it off.
Odds: 100/1
The Ligue 1 side may be struggling at home and are currently at the bottom of the French league, but they've fared a bit better in the Champions League so far with a decisive 1-0 away win against Olympiacos. Didier Deschamps' side will have a more difficult time dispatching the likes of Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, however.
Odds: 100/1
Zenit St. Petersburg
The Russian champions experienced a stunning defeat in their opener against APOEL and will have to fight hard to find the momentum that brought them to the tournament.
Odds: 125/1
Ajax
The Eredivisie titleholders outplayed Lyon in a scoreless Week 1 match in terms of possession and on-target shots and had some great opportunities, especially from Miralem Sulejmani, but just couldn't quite close the deal.
It will likely be a narrow race between Ajax and Lyon for the other Group D advancing spot.
Odds: 150/1
CSKA Moskva
A pair of late goals from star striker Seydou Doumbia saved the Russian side from defeat in their opening 2-2 draw against OSC Lille, but the Ligue 1 champions outplayed them in attempts and possession.
Odds: 150/1
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
With new management and some rising stars, Leverkusen looked strong going into the competition. Although first opponents Chelsea outplayed them, they put in a commendable defensive effort and will not go down without a fight.
Odds: 150/1
Villarreal
After an easy defeat in their home opener and with SSC Napoli looking strong after their match with Manchester City, it may be an early end to competition for the Yellow Submarine. Next week's match against their Italian Europa League rivals should give fans a clearer picture of how Group A will pan out.
Odds: 200/1
Olympiacos
The attack showed promise at the opener in Piraeus, but it wasn't quite enough to fend off a resurgent Marseille. With Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund also on the horizon, expect Group F to be a hard-fought one.
Odds: 250/1
The Swiss champions have a long way to go, but don't rule them out, thanks to their formidable attack, courtesy of Messrs. Fabian and Alexander Frei and 19-year-old upstart Xherdan Shaqiri.
Odds: 300/1
Trabzonspor
The Turkish side, a fill-in for league champions Fenerbahçe, have been full of surprises, most recently their 1-0 stunner over Inter Milan, courtesy of Ondřej Čelůstka's late-in-the-game goal.
For an underdog victory in their first Champions League appearance, Trabzonspor has already accomplished quite a feat, and it'll be quite entertaining seeing what else the competition has in store for them.
Odds: 500/1
NK Dinamo Zagreb
Even though Dinamo lost their opener to Real Madrid, they put in a fantastic effort, particularly thanks to goalkeeper Ivan Kelava and the defense, who only held Los Merengues to one goal.
They face a tough group with Lyon and Ajax in addition to Real, but they'll certainly put up a fight.
Odds: 500/1
KRC Genk
Although they didn't experience defeat and made some good strides in their 0--0 opening draw against Valencia, the Belgian champions couldn't quite seal the deal and were ultimately outplayed by their Spanish opponents.
Odds: 750/1
The side from Belarus proved to be a force against Plzen, albeit an inconsistent one. Although they showed some promise in their opener, they'll have a tough time against fellow group-mates Barcelona and AC Milan.
Odds: 750/1
APOEL
The Cypriot side turned heads with a surprise come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg, fueled by momentum from striker Aílton. APOEL still has a long way to go, but if nothing else, they'll certainly be fun to watch.
Odds: 750/1
Viktoria Plzen
Václav Pilař set the pace for the Czech side in their home draw against BATE Borisov, but it wasn't quite enough to fend off the Belarusians.
Odds: 1,000/1
Otelul Galati
Let's just say the Romanian side has a .002 percent chance of making some lucky bettor a very, very rich fan.
Odds: 2,000/1
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