Barcelona’s history making campaign last season illustrated how devastating all out attacking football can be in Europe, and it is the talismanic trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar who make the Catalans justifiable favourites this time around.
Barcelona scored a jaw dropping 175 goals last season, with 31 of these coming in the Champions League. Luis Enrique’s ability to integrate his three prolific strikers with the likes of Andres Iniesta, and Ivan Rakitic, means the Spanish side now hold a monopoly over world football.
Part of this monopoly is due to recent dominance over their biggest rivals and third favourites for the Champions League, Real Madrid. In the last 11 seasons, Barca have won seven La Liga’s compared to Real Madrid’s three, and four Champions League titles compared to Madrid’s one.
It is instead the 2012/13 Champions League winners, Bayern Munich, who pose the biggest threat to Barcelona’s crown. The 5/1 second favourites have suffered at the hands of both Barcelona and Real Madrid in their last two campaigns, but have looked to combat this by bringing in some stellar signings, such as Arturo Vidal from Juventus. With continued utter dominance over German football Pep Guardiola’s men can almost solely focus on the Champions League, where they represent a great each way bet.
There is also plenty of value to be had further down the pecking order. PSG’s quote of 16/1 is particularly enticing due to the sheer amount of quality they possess, and their enviable ability to sign just about any player in world football. Tempting too are last season’s finalists, Juventus, who at 25/1 have the know how to reach the latter stages of the competition. Check out all the odds at onlinebettingking.co.uk
Picking the winner of the Champions League can be a bit of a lottery, just like playing on the pokies. In recent years there have been a number of surprises, including Chelsea in 2012 who were having a very poor domestic season, or Liverpool in 2005 who were 33/1 shots at the start of the tournament. Having your money tied up for 9 months is an important consideration when gambling on the Champions League winner, where as with online pokies your bets are settled immediately. For more information about pokies click here.
The best value long shots look to be Arsenal however. The Gunners have been playing fantastic football for over a year now, with Wenger masterfully mixing flair with added steel. With Petr Cech joining from rivals, Chelsea, this back line will be strengthened further. Odds of 20/1 are currently available on Arsenal, and this price will rocket down if they can add the final piece to their jigsaw, in the form of prolific striker, Karim Benzema.
Recommended Bets:
Barcelona – 3/1
Bayern Munich Each Way – 5/1
Arsenal – 20/1