The UEFA Champions League returns for a new season in a brand new format for the 2024/25 season, with reigning champions Real Madrid looking to defend the crown they claimed at Wembley back in June.
The group stages are no longer part of the competition, with an extended league phase used early on with each team playing eight games instead of six with two teams from each pot in the draw to ensure a reasonable path for all.
We’ll take a look at the new format and break down which teams are most likely to find success in the tournament, and provide you with our best free soccer betting picks in the process.
| UEFA Champions League 24/25 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | +225 | +200 | +200 |
| Real Madrid | +325 | +350 | +350 |
| Arsenal | +750 | +800 | +800 |
| Liverpool | +1200 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Bayern Munich | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Barcelona | +1600 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
Learn more about how to bet on the UEFA Champions League here.
There are 36 teams in the tournament this year, four more than usual.
The top eight ranked teams will receive a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th are eliminated and will not drop down into the Europa League, as was the case in previous seasons.
There will then be a round-robin draw after the completion of the play-offs, to set up a bracket for the remainder of the knockout stage of the competition where teams will play each other home and away before a one-legged final.
Below you’ll find a list of favorites to win the UEFA Champions League 2024/25.
Despite falling short in the semi-final stage last year against eventual winners Real Madrid, Manchester City come into this year’s edition as favorites once again.
Erling Haaland has started the season in sensational form for the Pep Guardiola’s team, and the return of Ilkay Gundogan after spending a year in Barcelona makes them stronger too despite the sale of Julian Alvarez in a club-record deal.
Their possession-based style makes it incredibly difficult for any team to get the better of them over a two-legged affair, but the depth of squad is less pronounced than it has been in the past and injuries could leave them in a bit of a pickle.
They’ve also only ever won the tournament once, in 2023, so they have been beaten before. They’re rightly the favorites as they’re the best team in Europe, but at +225 the price isn’t the greatest.
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The record holders and reigning champions are once again among the favorites, and as usual cannot be ruled out of finding success once again.
The 15-time champions remain the only team in history to have won the tournament in consecutive seasons, and after winning the final last year in London they have since added superstar Kylian Mbappe to their squad too.
Carlo Ancelotti is still at the helm and their eight league phase fixtures are favorable to them, so they will be expected to progress to the knockout stages and from there anyone beating them is seen as an upset.
They have struggled a little bit to find the balance in attack so far this season in the early stages, but they have such incredible quality that if it clicks they will be a problem for everyone. At +350, there is solid value for them to get the job done again.
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Should the two favorites fall away in this new format, then there is a very real chance that Arsenal could win the tournament for the first time in their history.
Mikel Arteta has built a squad that has taken Man City to the wire in the Premier League in each of the last two seasons, and last season they narrowly missed out in Europa by losing to Bayern Munich.
However, this summer they have added Ricardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Raheem Sterling to make them even stronger and add more depth to the squad. On their day they can beat absolutely anyone and the squad is perfectly poised to lift a trophy for the first time in five seasons.
Their league phase fixtures should see them qualify in the top eight, and from there anything can happen. They certainly have the quality and depth to beat any opposition, and at +800 the value is fantastic. This is definitely worth a punt.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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