The tournament has changed format since its origins in the 1950s, but the prestige of winning the competition has never wavered. It is a highly coveted prize and one of the most difficult in football to win due to the highly competitive nature of the competition.
The top teams from around Europe's different leagues, including the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A, all come together in an epic battle for supremacy. The Champions League provides fantastic clashes between European giants like AC Milan, Liverpool, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich.
The most successful team in the history of the Champions League is Real Madrid, having amassed eight titles. Including the former version of the European Cup, Real Madrid are streets ahead with a combined 14 titles, the most recent of which they earned in 2022.
The knockout stages are where the Champions League really begins, as the elite teams in European football compete over two legs to see who will survive another day. Last year saw Manchester City win their first title in their history after numerous attempts, and they are the favourites to do it all again this season. They play with such confidence that it can be difficult to imagine anyone in Europe being good enough to beat them, but the teams they will come up against should feel they are capable of anything.
Champions League Odds Overview
The Champions League remains one of the biggest competitions in European club football, with the best teams facing each other. The 2023–24 campaign has delivered an exciting tournament filled with shocking upsets and world-class drama on the pitch. As we approach the decisive final, let's look back at the road that led us here.
CL Group Stages
This season's Champions League kicked off with several interesting group-stage games. Powerhouses like Paris St-Germain (PSG), FC Barcelona, Man City, and Arsenal all won their opening games as expected. One highly anticipated opening game was the encounter between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. This game ended with Bayern coming out on top with a 4-3 win.
There were many twists and turns throughout the six match days in the Champions League group stages. One of the most exciting groups involved PSG, Dortmund, AC Milan, and Newcastle—all top teams. Dortmund topped this group, while PSG finished as runners-up to advance to the knockout rounds.
Elsewhere, Premier League powers Arsenal and Manchester City topped their respective groups. Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Real Sociedad also booked their spots in the knockout rounds as group leaders.
Round of 16
Every Champions League season gets more interesting in the round-of-16 knockout phase, and this season was no different. Some noteable matchups were the games between Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid and Napoli vs Barcelona, with the two Spanish teams, Atletico and Barcelona, winning their ties.
Five-time champions Bayern Munich beat Lazio 3-1 on aggregate to continue their campaign. Another exciting clash involved Arsenal against Porto. While this encounter was a close affair, both teams delivered high-quality football over the two legs, with Arsenal winning the tie on penalties. The other winners of the round of 16 ties were Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Dortmund.
Quarter-Finals
This year's Champions League delivered one of the most incredible matchups, with giants facing each other. The clashes involved Arsenal facing Bayern Munich and 14-time champions Real Madrid battling defending champions Manchester City. Other games had Dortmund playing Atletico, while PSG faced Barcelona.
Many fans expected drama, suspense, and high football quality from these clashes and were not disappointed. The tie between PSG and Barcelona was a spectacle. Barcelona won the first leg by a 3-2 scoreline. However, PSG overturned the tie by winning 6-4 on aggregate in the second leg.
Real Madrid dumped out holders Manchester City in a thrilling encounter that was decided by a penalty shootout. Bayern advanced against Arsenal, and Dortmund also won their tie to book a place in the semifinals.
Semi-Finals
Real Madrid eliminated Bayern Munich in the semi-final, after a dramatic second leg in Madrid, winning 4-3 on aggregate. Borussia Dortmund denied PSG another chance a the trophy by beating them 1-0 both at home and in Paris.
Champions League Finals Preview
It will all come down to the grand finale to decide the 2023–24 Champions League season winners. It promises to be a fantastic encounter, with Real Madrid looking for their 15th title in the biggest European football tournament, while Dortmund won their only title back in 1996/07.. The Champions League final will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on June 1.
Champions League Winner Odds
Manchester City will start the new Champions League season as the reigning champions. Their 2023 title, City's first ever in the Champions League, was part of a brilliant treble they earned along with the Premier League and FA Cup titles on the domestic front.They will be one of the front-runners for winner odds Champions League offers for the 2023–24 season. Title defences in the Champions League are tough, making the outright winner market more competitive and intriguing.
Real Madrid is the only team to defend a Champions League title successfully. The Spanish giants won it three consecutive seasons (2016, 2017, and 2018), a feat that will be hard for anyone to match.
The current champions of Europe's five big domestic leagues, Bayern Munich, Napoli, PSG, Barcelona, and reigning champions Manchester City, will be expected to launch their bids for success in the 2023–24 Champions League season.
There is always a robust chasing pack of contenders to weigh up for Champions League predictions, with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Inter Milan, and Borussia Dortmund potentially getting in the frame.
Champions League Fixtures
In the competition proper, there are a total of 78 matches, which means a lot of individual fixtures for betting opportunities. During the group stage, there are six Matchdays, with two nights of eight fixtures per Matchday. Those are the infamously busy Tuesday and Wednesday nights for European football betting action.The busy schedule gives rise to plenty of activity on the Champions League betting markets, from the match Outright to Goalscorer markets and other exciting opportunities like Same Game Multis, Handicaps, and Prop bets.
These are all popular markets at Betsson, not just for the Champions League but also for Premier League odds, Europa League, and other major international competitions.
Champions League Live Odds
With so many interesting matches coming up in the 2023–24 Champions League, punters will once again have an opportunity to look at live football odds on various fixtures. All 78 Champions League matches, from the first kick-off in the group stage to the final, will have live markets available.We provide more than 80 live football betting markets, from Next Goalscorer options to Correct Score and Interval wagers. An important tool on Champions League live odds is our popular Cash Out tool. If any active Champions League bets are eligible for a Cash Out offer, you can find it in the bet slip. A Cash Out opportunity lets a punter settle an entire bet early or partially settle and leave the rest running until the final whistle.
Our live odds for Champions League match pages are accented with in-play graphics that give statistical insights into the action. Our updates show key moments of a match, like a corner kick, a yellow card, and the general momentum of the game, along with a match clock and score.
Champions League Betting Tips
There are great Champions League betting tips that can help pick out bets for the competition. We provide statistics on the match pages for individual fixtures, plus the current Champions League group stage standings.Champions League betting tips can be handy when putting together a strategy for wagering on the competition. Whether a prediction falls on match outright markets for an accumulator, Over 2.5 Goals, or Both Teams To Score, the extensive Champions League coverage at Betsson covers every minute of every match.