Tottenham’s Champions League Odds Shorten to 22-1 After Matchday 5 Win

• With Mourinho at the helm, Spurs’ odds to win the UCL have shortened
• Pep’s City in pole position with EPL title possibly out of reach
• Messi’s last stand with Barca?

After their dramatic win over Olympiakos on Wednesday, Tottenham’s Champion League odds are now +2200. They went out to +3100 back on November 7 and now average +2300.  They have not been this short since August 29 when they were +2400.

The big question is can Jose Mourinho turn them around and get them back to the final? Or is there another team who’s a better bet? We’ll take a look.

UEFA Champions League Winner Odds

Odds taken on Nov. 29. 

The Mourinho Era is up and Running

Spurs will be hoping their dramatic win over the Greek champions, coupled with their win at West Ham on Saturday, has signalled the start of a new exciting era for the club – one that includes winning trophies. For all of the undoubted progress made under Mauricio Pochettino, they were unable to put trophies in the cabinet and that was one of the main drivers behind chairman Daniel Levy’s decision to bring in Mourinho.

The best the Lilywhites can hope for in the EPL is top four, such has been the paucity of their start to the season, but with Mourinho in charge, another UCL final cannot be ruled out. He has proved himself a serial winner and will be using every ounce of his experience to take them as far in the competition as he can. Those who love an outsider will see +2200 as worth a punt.

Pressure to Deliver on Pep’s City

As ever, the usual suspects head the betting for a reason and there’s an argument here that says Man City being off the pace in the EPL will, in fact, assist them in their quest to win their first-ever UCL title. Being already nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool may make clear to Pep Guardiola where his priorities should and he’s certainly under pressure from the club’s paymaster, Sheihk Mansour, to deliver a Champions League.

City will take it close this season and will still be hurting from their quarterfinal exit last season at the hands of Poch’s Tottenham. This could be their year but it may be worth waiting for the draw for the knockout stages. A tough draw and they could offer better value than the current +275.

Barca and PSG Both in the Frame

Barca will always be there or thereabouts in this competition and were only a dramatic collapse at Anfield – they surrendered a 3-0 lead – away from the final last season. While Lionel Messi shows no sign of hanging up his boots, there is no telling when he will call time on his Barca career, so he’ll be more desperate than ever to get his hands on the trophy one final time. There are worse bets than the Catalans at +600.

PSG are in a similar boat to Man City – a club who have been handsomely backed to the tune of billions (from Qatar in their case) but who have yet to make much impression on this competition. Their owners are expecting something for their massive investment and will be heaping on the pressure for them to go further than last 16 in this season’s competition.

For the Parisiens to have exited the competition at the round-of-16 stage for the last three seasons has been a source of huge disappointment for their owners – particularly given the quality of the squad that coach Thomas Tuchel has at his disposal – but this time around, they have made light work of qualifying from Group A.

Four wins and a draw from their five games suggest PSG are well equipped to go deep in the tournament this season. This could just be their time and +700 is a fair price.

Real Still Dangerous Opponents

Bayern Munich (+800), Juventus (+1000) and Real Madrid (+1600) remain in that small group of teams who could win this trophy and of the three it’s Real’s 16/1 that looks the most tempting. Despite a stuttering campaign in Group A, they have gone toe-to-toe with Barca in La Liga and it’s a squad that is packed full of world-class players. 16/1 is great value and well worth considering.

Pick: PSG to win the UCL (+700)