Europe’s football flagship is setting sail again this week folks. Yes, the Champions League is back and the latest Champions League 2020 betting odds are up and running.
So who’s it going to be this year? There are 12 teams left in the competition with four already through to the quarter finals and eight still to play a Round of 16 second leg.
The most successful sides in European football, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, and FC Bayern are still in the competition, while Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain hope to win their first European crown.
It all leads up to a showcase final at the Estadio do Sport in Lisbon on 23rd August. So in the meantime, let’s run the rule over the final 12 and pick a winner.
Who will make the last four?
PSG, Atalanta, Red Bull Leipzig, and Atletico Madrid are already through to the quarterfinals, with Atleti’s stunning victory over Liverpool the highlight of the round so far.
Diego Simeone’s side meet Red Bull, who were victors over Spurs, in the next round and are priced at 1.60 to progress with the Bundesliga side at 2.35.
PSG are fancied to make the last four at odds of 1.66 to beat Atalanta. The Serie A side had a storming end to their season and won’t be easy to beat, available at 2.25 to progress.
And the French giants will probably be without their main striker.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel has said his side needs a minor miracle for Kylian Mbappe to be available for the quarterfinal after he suffered an ankle injury in the Coupe de France final against Saint Etienne.
A horror tackle from Loic Perrin left Mbappe writhing in agony and sparked a full scale brawl. He’s unlikely to be fit for the clash with Atalanta on August 12th.
In the meantime, the other eight teams still have work to do.
FC Bayern are pretty much there already, hosting Chelsea with a first leg 3-0 lead. Though there have been bigger deficits overturned in the competition, I really can’t see the Bundesliga champions slipping up against Frank Lampard’s young Blues.
Manchester City have the upper hand over Real Madrid, having stunned Los Blancos with a late rally in the Santiago Bernabeu, leaving Madrid with a 1-2 lead.
Pep Guardiola’s priority has been transparent this season, surrendering the Premier League title to Liverpool and it looks like European glory is his priority. The Sky Blues are at 1.10 to progress with Real Madrid at 5.15.
Barcelona drew 1-1 away to Napoli and are backed at odds of 1.30 to finish the job in Catalonia, while Juventus have a one-goal deficit to overturn against Lyon.
In the toughest tie of the round to call, the Old Lady is favourite to progress at odds of 1.79 with the Ligue 1 side at 2.07.
Form teams
Manchester City have been in the best form of their season since the return of football, starting with a 5-0 win over Burnley and then battering Liverpool 4-0.
The Sky Blues swept both Newcastle and Brighton aside by 5-0 before finishing with a 4-0 victory over Watford and a 5-0 drubbing of Norwich!
Kevin De Bruyne has been the standout player in the Premier League this season and looks likely to pick up the PFA Player of the Year award.
Meanwhile, it would be a fairytale end to David Silva’s stellar career at the Etihad if the Spaniard could help his team lift the European crown.
Barcelona are still in the hunt. While they haven’t sparkled over the past two months, they still have the quality to go all the way in Europe.
It’s been a tough season for the Blaugrana but once again, Lionel Messi has been outstanding and led his team to a final game 0-5 win over Alaves.
In my view, the team to beat is FC Bayern. Hansi Flick’s team simply ripped up the Bundesliga post lock-down, winning all ten games and then they added the DFB Pokal Cup with a final victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
They have the league’s top goal scorer and top assist maker in Robert Lewandowski (34 goals) and Thomas Muller (21 assists) and that will give defences nightmares.
The Final
Bayern vs Barcelona is the big quarterfinal game and the question is, can Lionel Messi inspire his side to a victory over the most in-form side in the continent?
Flick’s team is 4.10 favourite to lift the title with Manchester City at 4.20, but I just have a sneaky feeling the Blaugrana can upset the applecart and head towards the final.
If they beat Los Blancos, Manchester City will face Juventus or Lyon and then Leipzig or Atleti. Win those and they could meet Pep’s old club Barca in the showdown on Sunday 23rd August.
What a game that would be!
In the meantime guys, keep it here at SBOBET for all the latest Champions League 2020 updates. We’ll keep them coming.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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