Real Madrid kicked off the European season in earnest with victory in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night.
With qualifying for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League already underway, it was in Helsinki this week that the continental campaign really kicked into high gear.
That’s because Real cemented their 14th European Cup by securing the Super Cup for the fifth time in their history, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from David Alaba and Karim Benzema either side of half-time.
Champions League 2022/23
However, with the Super Cup ending up in the hands of the Champions League winner anyway, it may be difficult to draw too many inferences as to who will win the ‘big ears’ later that year.
After all, with the exception of Real’s ‘treble’ under Zinedine Zidane between 2016 and 2018, no team has been able to retain the Champions League title since the competition was renamed in 1992.
As such, there is reason to believe that another of Europe’s biggest clubs will dethrone Carlo Ancelotti’s men over the next nine months to crown themselves as the kings of the continent.
Champions League favorites
But who are the favorites to go all the way this season? Well, on the back of Real’s latest piece of silverware, we couldn’t resist finding out exactly that by looking at the latest odds from bookmakers.
In particular, we’ve turned to Paddy Power’s absolute odds for the 2022/23 Champions League winners to take a look at who they see as the clubs most and least likely to make the cut. party in Istanbul next summer.
From a ranked underdog who has yet to qualify for the group stages to a European giant who is still waiting to win for the first time, be sure to check out what the odds – correct at the time of writing – consider this year’s favourites.
25. Rangers – 300/1
24. Celtic – 275/1
=20. Sporting Lisbon – 150/1
=20. Marseilles
=20. FC Porto – 150/1
=20. Red Bull Salzburg – 150/1
19. Bayer Leverkusen – 100/1
18. Eintracht Frankfurt – 80/1
=16. Sevilla – 40/1
=16. Napoli – 66/1
15. Borussia Dortmund – 50/1
=11. Ajax – 40/1
=11. RB Leipzig – 40/1
=11. Atletico Madrid – 40/1
=11. AC Milan – 40/1
10. Juventus – 33/1
9. Inter Milan – 25/1
8. Tottenham Hotspur – 16/1
=5. Real Madrid – 12/1
=5. Chelsea – 12/1
=5. Barcelona – 12/1
4. Bayern Munich – 7/1
3. Paris Saint-Germain – 6/1
2.Liverpool – 5/1
- Manchester City – 11/4
Man City are favorites again
Another Champions League season, another year when City are seen as favourites.
Having won four Premier League titles in the last five seasons and signing Erling Braut Haaland for good measure, most fans would agree that City are the strongest men’s team in the world on paper at the moment.
However, football matches aren’t won on paper and if Real proved anything with their run to Paris last season, it’s that you don’t always have to be the top team to go. all the way to the Champions League.
As such, don’t be surprised if a team better suited to knockout football like Chelsea or Liverpool win the prize or perhaps even Barcelona, ranked quite high in 5th, upset the applecart by stringing together a run.
And there is certainly a wild world in which potential dark horses like Spurs, Ajax, Inter or Atletico make a name for themselves by launching at least one charge towards the quarters or semi-finals.
Ultimately, that’s also the joy of the Champions League, as it both rewards the best clubs in the world and also provides a platform for so-called “small” contenders to cause upset.
But who is the first favorite in your eyes? Let us know on our various social channels.
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