2016-17 UCL Odds – Barca Still Team to Beat

The 2015-16 Champions League season is winding to a close. Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man City, and Real Madrid survived to the final four this year. Looking ahead to 2016-17, all four figure to be in the mix again and find themselves near the top of the UCL futures. But the top pick remains Barcelona and their trio of talented goal scorers, even though they were knocked off by Atletico in the quarters this season.

There’s no guarantee the Catalans will get back to the pinnacle, but I can guarantee that next year’s tournament will feature a lot of interesting coaching changes that could make things wildly unpredictable. With the coaching carousel at full tilt, predicting who will lift the trophy at the end of the season is a bit harder. But that’s why I’m here.

Odds to Win the 2016-17 UCL Title

FC Barcelona: 3/1

Even though Barcelona weren’t able to win back-to-back titles, they still have the strongest roster in the world and have been the best team over the last few years. They’ll still have the three best strikers from South America on the team next year (Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez) and that keeps them as the favorites to conquer Europe.

Bayern Munich: 5/1

The Bavarians will lose coach Pep Guardiola, whose headed to Man City, and replace him with Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti, a three-time European Cup winner.

Ancelotti’s last title came with Real Madrid in 2013-14, he also won with AC Milan in the previous decade.  His style will help Bayern Munich stay aggressive on the attack while finding defensive balance.

Real Madrid: 5/1

The Merengues will likely name Zinedine Zidane manager for next season. The team has a solid base that has learned the style of the French coach. However, during the summer, a lot of questions will surround Cristiano Ronaldo, who many say wants to leave the club.

With or without Ronaldo, Real Madrid should always be one of the favorites to win the Champions League title. (They’ve won a tournament-record ten, all-time.) If Ronaldo moves on, expect a big signing by president Florentino Perez that keeps Real among the best in the world.

Manchester City: 12/1

You might want to get a hold of these odds while you can.  Once coach Pep Guardiola signs with the team, the odds will get chopped in half. Guardiola has that effect; his ball-possession style has worked everywhere he’s been. Don’t expect anything less with Man City, who also have the talent to compete with the best of the best.

PSG: 14/1

Paris Saint-Germain are the favorites to land Cristiano Ronaldo if he leaves Madrid.  The Parisians have been underachievers in this tournament, and the front office is getting tired of excuses. If they don’t get to the last four in the 2016-17 season, they might blow up the entire project.

The rest:

Atletico Madrid: 20/1

Juventus: 20/1

Arsenal: 40/1

Bayer Leverkusen: 100/1

AS Roma: 100/1

Benfica: 150/1

PSV: 150/1

Zenit: 150/1

Ajax: 200/1

(Photo Credit: Lluís from Sabadell (Barcelona), España (LFS_14039) CC BY 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)