2020/21 Champions League Opening Group Stage Odds

• The draw has been made for eight groups of four with matches starting on October 20
• Holders Bayern Munich in section with Atletico Madrid while Manchester City meet Porto
• See the opening odds for each UCL group below as well as our early predictions

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The draw for the Champions League’s group stage has been made only five weeks after last season’s interrupted and amended competition finished in a triumph for Bayern Munich.

The group games will commence on Tuesday, October 20 with the final on Saturday, May 29, 2021, at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.

UCL Group A  Odds

Odds taken on October 1 at DraftKings

Group A

Reigning champions Bayern Munich are unsurprisingly joint favorites to win the competition once again along with Manchester City even though there has been an unexpected setback in their new domestic campaign.

Five weeks after their victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the 2019-20 final in Lisbon, Bayern suffered a shock 4-1 defeat by Hoffenheim in Germany’s Bundesliga last weekend; having thrashed Schalke 04 by 8-0 in their opening league game.

FIVE trophies with Bayern Munich and UEFA Men's Player of the Year 🏆

2020 was Robert Lewandowski's year 🤜🤛

Congratulations, @lewy_official! 👏 pic.twitter.com/QG5IOcMZQ6

— GOAL (@goal) October 1, 2020

 

It ended a 32-match unbeaten run but they bounced back instantly to defeat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in Germany’s Supercup game on Thursday.

The German double winners won all 11 games they played in the UCL last season -scoring a famous 8-2 win away against Barcelona in the quarterfinal.

Group second favorites Atletico Madrid lost 2-1 to Red Bull Leipzig in last season’s last eight. They won their opening La Liga game against Granada 6-1 before a goalless draw against Huesca.

Pick: Bayern Munich

UCL Group B Odds

Group B

Real Madrid may be pushed hard by a rejuvenated Internazionale in this group.

Zinedine Zidane’s Real won their first La Liga title in three years last season but made a disappointing last 16 exit in the UCL after two 2-1 defeats home and away against Manchester City.

Inter were second in Serie A – their best finish in nine years –  and were also beaten finalists in the Europa League where they lost 3-2 against Sevilla.

AO⚡DC
🎶 Back in B̶l̶a̶c̶k̶ Blanco

🙌 Hands up if you love our new home kit! 🙌#RMLiga | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/S0HIf0ETdn

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 1, 2020

They had failed to progress beyond the UCL group stage although it was a tough quartet including Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.

Real have won twice and drawn once in La Liga this season while Inter has made a free-scoring start in Serie A – winning 4-3 at home against Fiorentina and then 5-2 at Benevento.

Pick: Inter Milan

UCL Group C Odds

Group C

Pep Guardiola’s major mission at Manchester City is to win the UCL and they are natural favorites for this group.

They are much more powerful than second favorites Porto who are Portuguese champions but exited the UCL at the third qualifying round stage last season  – losing 4-3 on aggregate against Russian side Krasnodar.

The @UEFA Midfielder of the Season 19/20 🤩

🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/v6sakQvzuu

— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 1, 2020

City are joint favorites to win the competition and will be eager to make up for the disappointment of last season when they were beaten by Lyon in the last eight.

They suffered a surprise home 5-2 defeat by Leicester City in the second match of the new EPL campaign last weekend.

Pick: Manchester City

UCL Group D  Odds

Group D

Liverpool are second favorites to win the trophy after winning it in 2019-20 and reaching the final a year earlier.

After their runaway title-winning success in the EPL last season, they are much stronger than group second favorites Atalanta.

That said, Italy’s Atalanta had an impressive first season in the UCL in 2019-20 before losing 2-1 against Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight while also finishing third in Serie A.

Can’t wait! ⚽️ #YNWA https://t.co/l6umJtnUQE

— Thiago Alcantara (@Thiago6) October 1, 2020

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have scored three straight wins in the new EPL season against Leeds United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Atalanta are second in Serie A after beating Torino 4-2 and Lazio 4-1 – both away.

Pick: Liverpool

UCL Group E Odds

Group E

Chelsea are favorites but they may be hotly pursued by a  Sevilla team who beat Manchester United and Inter Milan on their way to winning the Europa League for a record sixth time last season.

In Frank Lampard’s first season in charge, Chelsea was steam-rollered in the UCL last 16 by the Bayern Munich juggernaut – losing 3-1 at home and 4-0 away.

Winner of UEFA's President's Award! 🏆

Congratulations, @DidierDrogba! 👏 pic.twitter.com/KHHL01TrXl

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 1, 2020

Sevilla lost just one group game in their 12-match run towards defeating Inter in the Europa League final.

They won their opening La Liga game 3-1 at Cadiz and were 1-0 winners against Levante on Thursday.

Chelsea have so far beaten Brighton, lost at home against Liverpool and drawn away with WBA in the EPL.

Pick: Sevilla

UCL Group F Odds

Group F

Borussia Dortmund are correctly priced as favorites after losing against beaten finalists Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 last season.

Despite a 2-1 win at home, the German side then lost 2-0 in the French capital.

Lazio have made only one UCL appearance in the last 18 years and exited at the playoff stage in 2015-16.

🎙 Michael Zorc:

"We have experience over the past couple of years against Zenit and Brugge. We also look forward to seeing Ciro Immobile again against Lazio!" pic.twitter.com/90ZH7G7uwJ

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) October 1, 2020

They failed to progress from their group in last season’s Europa League.

They have lost 2-0 against Cagliari and 4-1 against Atlanta in Serie A while Dortmund have opened the Bundesliga campaign with a 2-0 win at Augsburg and a 3-0 success at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Pick: Borussia Dortmund

UCL Group G Odds

Group G

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi will collide in a tight group with his fellow superstar Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus  – with the Spanish team favorites to finish first.

They need success after a turbulent last season in which they failed to win a trophy and were hammered 8-2 at home by Bayern Munich in the UCL last eight.

Juventus were Italian champions but were eliminated by Lyon in the UCL last 16 following a 1-0 defat away and 2-1 win at home.

Under new coach Andrea Pirlo, they have beaten Sampdoria 3-0 and drawn 2-2 with Roma.

Barcelona have beaten Villarreal 4-0 and Celta Vigo 3-0 in La Liga so far this season.

Pick: Juventus

UCL Group H Odds

Group H

Paris Saint-Germain reached their first Champions League/European Cup final in August but was disappointing in their defeat by Bayern Munich.

Their star-studded team is correctly rated as group favorites with second-priced Manchester United returning to the competition after a one-season absence in which they lost 2-1 in the Europa League semifinal against Sevilla.

📸✌️ The training session today at the Ooredoo Centre is underway! #PSGSCO pic.twitter.com/mMhXYliDgO

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) September 30, 2020

PSG lost their opening two Ligue1 fixtures against Lens and Marseille but have since beaten Metz, Nice and Reims without conceding.

United suffered a shock home 3-1 defeat by Crystal Palace in their opening EPL game but have since won 3-2 at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Pick: Paris Saint-Germain