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The UEFA Champions League is one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of sports. The UCL is a soccer tournament of 32 teams that compete in five rounds for the right to be crowned the best club in European soccer. The first UEFA Champions League tournament was held during the 1955-56 season, and it has been held every year since.
The 32 teams that qualified for the main tournament are split into four pots, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. Then, a team is drawn from each pot until there are eight groups of four.
The 32 teams play each other in a double-header format called the group stage. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16, the first round of the knockout phase. The teams are ranked by points. Three points are awarded for a win, one point is awarded for a tie and no points are awarded for a defeat.
The Champions League will see an overhaul of its format in the next few years after the UEFA Executive Committee approved the move last year. The new format will begin as of the 2024/25 season and will see 36 teams starting the tournament, meaning there will be more games on the calendar with 189 instead of 125. The group stage will be swapped for a league phase, which will see each team play at least eight matches, half home and half away.
Due to the Premier League’s results in the Europe competitions, England is almost guaranteed to have five Champions League spots instead of the four they currently have. The same situation is likely to happen in La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A.
Champions League Betting Trends
Before and during the regular season, there is a big variety of Champions League picks that you can make. The more popular options are the moneyline bets, where you can place a wager on the result of individual games every round of fixtures. There are plenty more betting options for you and MWPlay888 is here for you.
You can also place parlay props bets on different games, especially during the knock-out stages or the group stages, where there are many games in each round. Your parlay can include the following options: correct score, both teams to score, totals, first goalscorer, anytime goalscorer, and spreads. You can even bet on same-game parlays: moneyline combined with the goals market. Another popular option you can go for is the outright bets, where you predict the season’s outcome. For example, you can bet on which of the 32 teams would lift the trophy.
What To Bet during the Group Stages
In general, the groups have two clear favorites and two underdogs. Of course, the world-class teams in each group are huge favorites to advance to the knock-out stages. They tend to kick off their UCL season in style and cover the spread when they are playing against the underdogs and put some points on the board.
Each team is playing six games during the group stages, three home and three away. In case a top side has maximum points after four games, they tend to focus on their domestic league because they already know they will qualify further in the UCL knock-out stages so have your eyes wide open for an underdog bet in the final group stage games. Here, at MWPlay888, our top handicappers will preview and share their betting picks for every match throughout the competition.
How To Bet during Knockout Stages
Home advantage has long been considered a crucial factor in football, with teams often performing better when playing in front of their own fans. This advantage is even more pronounced in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages, where only the top teams qualify in the knock-out stages.
In the previous 10 years, the average number of goals scored in the second leg of the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals combined was 2.6 goals per game, so the over is the way to go even though the first legs are less entertaining.
UEFA Champions League Betting Tips
Manchester City won the Champions League for the first time thanks to a 1-0 win over Inter in Istanbul. Pep Guardiola’s adjustment to City’s defense should worry Europe. He has evolved as a coach and found a new system to win the big games. There has never been a more robust Guardiola team.
No Value on Man City
The Citizens are more difficult to beat now. There is no obvious weakness. The first time that Guardiola went with the quintet of Rodri, Stones, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, and Manuel Akanji came during the second half of the goalless draw away to Borussia Dortmund back in October 2022. The five men started together for the first time in a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in March.
City has not conceded more than once in a game since the 4-2 defeat of Spurs in January. They will keep many clean sheets next season across all competitions and we expect them to once again go all the way in the Champions League. The only problem is there’s no value in backing them at +200 so if you’re betting online, forget that market because you never know what will happen in the knockout stages as many teams are spending a lot on world-class players this summer.
Will PSG Ever Win the Champions League?
Over the course of the last decade, PSG has been committed to buying established global talent, replicating Real Madrid’s infamous Galacticos transfer policy. This has failed to deliver anything beyond domestic success. It may now be the time to reconsider and reinvent PSG’s recruitment drive, as the Parisians instead focus on identifying and developing local talent to supplement their star-studded squad.
Following a season that will be known for yet another European disappointment, Paris Saint-Germain will look to rebuild and balance their squad in the upcoming summer transfer window. Indeed, rebuilding the PSG squad could be a mammoth challenge for recruitment advisor Luis Campos.
Bayern Munich Needs a Striker
Bayern Munich endured an underwhelming 2022/23 campaign. It could have been their worst season in the last decade if they hadn’t won the Bundesliga in a closely fought title race with Borussia Dortmund. The quarter-final exit from the DFB Pokal and Champions League led to plenty of scrutiny on the current squad.
Apart from inconsistency on the pitch, Bayern also endured a turbulent time of it. They decided to sack Julian Nagelsmann at the end of March and bring Thomas Tuchel. According to reports in Germany, Bayern Munich is discussing a potential moratorium on the Harry Kane transfer. Instead of trying to get him for a hundred million euros or more this season, the club might try for him in 2024 after his contract with Tottenham Hotspur expires.
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The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious professional football tournament in the world. Think of it as the club version of the FIFA World Cup, but only the best professional clubs in the Philippines will compete in a year-long tournament to determine the best teams. Champions League odds are a hot topic in the online sports betting world.
Bet on Champions League Odds
There are plenty of UEFA Champions League odds to bet on. The most common ones are the pre-game odds:
Handicap: also known as “point betting” or “line betting”, this is the point spread of Champions League odds; similar to the spread, teams are given a goal handicap they have to “cover”. Goals are subtracted from favorites and added to underdogs. To cash the bet, favorites have to win by more than the goals they are handicapped while underdogs cannot lose by more than theirs.
Moneyline: this is straight-up betting; simply choose the winner of the match. There are “Draws” in UEFA Champions League making moneyline betting a three-way bet, usually.
Totals: bet on whether the final combined goals of both teams go over or under the sportsbook’s totals.
Teams Totals: bet on whether the final goals scored by a team goes over or under the sportsbook’s totals.
Additionally, you can find UEFA Champions League winner odds also known as “Futures” or “outrights”. This is when you simply pick who will win the Champions League tournament. These Champions League odds are open almost all year.
