Champions League Quarterfinal Opening Odds: Barcelona Are Big Favorites Over Manchester United

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Getty Images. Pictured: Lionel Messi

  • The Champions League quarterfinal draw took place on Friday morning and there are four incredible matchups: Barcelona-Manchester United, Juventus-Ajax, Manchester City-Tottenham and Liverpool-Porto.
  • Despite the juicy pairings, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester City and Liverpool are all listed at -400 or higher to advance to the semifinal round.

Four of the eight teams remaining in the Champions League come from the English Premier League: Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham.

The other four competitors are each from different nations: Barcelona (Spain), Juventus (Italy), Ajax (Netherlands) and FC Porto (Portugal).

Three-time defending champions Real Madrid were eliminated by Ajax in the Round of 16.

Opening Odds to Advance

  • Barcelona (-450) vs. Manchester United (+360)
  • Manchester City (-500) vs. Tottenham (+400)
  • Liverpool (-420) vs. FC Porto (+340)
  • Juventus (-400) vs. Ajax (+325)

Initial Thoughts

Opening odds for each quarterfinal matchup were a little higher than I anticipated but it was clear which team would be favored in all four.

Barcelona will face Manchester United in the quarterfinal and and the first leg will be played at Old Trafford on April 10th.

Despite the Red Devils defying the odds against PSG in the Round of 16, they find themselves as +360 underdogs to get past Barcelona.

The two clubs met in the Champions League final in 2009 and 2011 with Barcelona beating Manchester United both times, aided by Leo Messi goals in each game.

With a futures bet pending since December, I'll be supporting Barcelona to make it through to the semifinal and not looking to hedge here at all.

Manchester City are the biggest favorites to advance and have been at the top of the title odds throughout the entire tournament.

I thought that the familiarity of playing a Premier League team would help Tottenham in this matchup, but they're obviously still a tier behind City.

The opening leg will be hosted by Spurs on April 9th, the first of three meetings in the span of eleven days.

Yet another EPL team, Liverpool, will meet Porto in a rematch of last season's Round of 16 fixture where the Reds easily advanced, 5-0.

Liverpool are lofty -420 favorites to advance this time around and it'll be hard to bet against them after seeing how strong and organized they looked against Bayern Munich.

The last pairing pits Juventus against Ajax and it shouldn't be ignored.

Both clubs pulled off impressive victories in the Round of 16 second legs to get here, but I do believe the opening odds on Juve are a bit high. Ajax will host the first leg of the quarterfinal on April 10th and will need to pick up a victory to put the pressure on.

Odds to Win the Champions League

  • Manchester City remain the favorites at +225 to win the Champions League and will face EPL-foes Tottenham in the quarterfinal.
  • Juventus made a big leap after coming back to beat Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 and then drawing Ajax in the quarterfinal round.
  • Manchester United were once at 125-1 odds before coming back to upset PSG in the Round of 16 second leg.
  • Ajax were 250-1 prior to their Round of 16 matchup with Real Madrid and 200-1 heading into the Round of 16 second leg.

2018-19 Champions League Biggest Upsets

  • Lyon +1900 at Manchester City (Group Stage)
  • Red Star +1500 vs. Liverpool (Group Stage)
  • CSKA +1030 at Real Madrid (Group Stage)
  • Young Boys +830 vs. Juventus (Group Stage)
  • CSKA +600 vs. Real Madrid (Group Stage)
  • Manchester United +580 at PSG (Rd of 16)

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