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Champions League 2015-16 – Early Betting Odds

Zack Garrison

by Zack Garrison in News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

The 2014-15 Champions League was one for the ages as Barcelona marched to its fifth UCL title (and completed the rare Spanish treble), topping a resurgent Juventus in the final (3-1). Barca will enter 2015-16 as favorites to repeat, but look for their roster of living legends to be challenged by the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea.

Let’s take a closer look at the odds for the four titans of European club soccer, who will all be hoping to reach the 2015-16 UCL final at San Siro in Milan.

Barcelona (7/2): No team has won the UCL back-to-back since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990. That said, if any team has a chance to break that drought, it’s Barcelona; the team will likely need to replace a player or two in the summer, but is expected to have its trio of snipers – Neymar, Luis Suarez, and, of course, Leo Messi – back next season. That should keep their identity and style of play intact – a style that posed significant problems for even the very best defenses in Europe.

Real Madrid (11/2): Know what happens when Barcelona wins the Champions League? Arch-rival Real Madrid are obligated to bounce back and make a solid run in the next edition. Rafa Benitez – who led Napoli back to relevance in Serie A – will be taking over as manager next year. After watching the Catalans take the treble, Benitez and his Real Madrid squad will feel a ton of pressure to trump Barca in La Liga and the Champions League.

Bayern Munich (5/1): The pressure on Bayern Munich manager Josep “Pep” Guardiola may be even greater. Pep took over as manager right after Bayern won the 2012-13 Champions League. He has failed to take his squad – which is the only other team in Europe that can rival Real and Barcelona in terms of sheer roster talent – back to the finals. While this UCL season was largely derailed by injuries, the rumors are that Guardiola will only get one more crack at bringing another UCL title to Bavaria.

Chelsea (8/1): English teams haven’t had much luck in recent Champions League tournaments, but a deep roster plus Jose Mourinho on the bench give Chelsea decent odds for the 2015-16 title.

Of course, 28 other teams will also be vying for next year’s crown; they might not want to get their hopes up, though, since the above quartet has won the last five UCL titles.

Nonetheless, we’ll leave you with the odds for the soon-to-be also-rans.

Odds to win the 2015-16 UCL title:

  • Man City: 14/1
  • Atletico Madrid: 16/1
  • Juventus: 16/1
  • PSG: 16/1
  • Arsenal: 20/1
  • Man United: 25/1
  • AS Roma: 50/1
  • Valencia: 50/1
  • Wolfsburg: 50/1
  • Benfica: 66/1
  • Lyon: 66/1
  • Porto: 66/1
  • Sevilla: 66/1
  • AS Monaco: 80/1
  • Bayer Leverkusen: 100/1
  • Borussia Monchengladbach: 150/1
  • Galatasaray: 150/1
  • Shakhtar Donetsk: 150/1
  • CSKA Moscow: 200/1
  • Sporting Lisbon: 200/1
  • Ajax: 250/1
  • Dynamo Kiev: 250/1
  • SV: 250/1
  • FIELD: 1000/1

(Photo credit: Ver en vivo En Directo (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)

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