Barcelona New Champions League Favorites Following Quarterfinal Pairings

Barcelona New Champions League Favorites Following Quarterfinal Pairings article feature image

The Champions League Round of 16 wrapped up on Wednesday, and fans around the world waited patiently until early Friday morning when the quarterfinal matchups were randomly selected. Now that those pairings have been set, we can examine how each club's title odds have changed. First, the quarterfinal matchups:

Barcelona vs. Roma
Real Madrid vs. Juventus
Bayern Munich vs. Sevilla
Manchester City vs. Liverpool

These pairings have had both a positive and negative impact on title odds, depending on the club. Barcelona are now the favorites to win the title (all odds via 5Dimes):

  • Once the quarterfinal matchups were drawn, Barcelona moved from +380 to the +255 favorites to win the Champions League. Holding a +650 futures ticket on Barcelona, I'm ecstatic they got matched up with Roma, who were one of the two weakest teams left in the field (along with Sevilla).
  • Manchester City had been the clear favorites for quite some time, but increased from +290 to +300 after matching up with Liverpool in the quarterfinals. The Citizens are now listed behind Barcelona to win it all, as they have a much tougher path to the semifinals.
  • Real Madrid increased slightly from +440 to +450 after drawing Juventus in the quarterfinals. It's a tough pairing for the Spanish giants, who just had to get through PSG in the Round of 16.
  • Bayern Munich's title odds improved from +460 to +350 following their pairing with Sevilla. It seems like the German club has been under-the-radar in this tournament, and they now have a favorable path to the semifinals.
  • Juventus increased from +800 to +1050 after being paired with Real Madrid. They were available at +3000 heading into the second leg with Tottenham.
  • Liverpool increased from +800 to +1300 after pairing with Man City.
  • Sevilla went from +4500 to +6600 longshots while Roma increased from +5000 to +7000.

And here's a more comprehensive breakdown of how title odds have changed throughout the year:

The longest odds for each club during the season:
Barcelona +700 (December)
Man City +1400 (June)
Bayern +800 (December)
Real Madrid +800 (January)
Juventus +3000 (February)
Liverpool +3500 (September)
Sevilla +15000 (February)
Roma +12500 (September)

Cover image is of Man City's İlkay Gündoğan and Leroy Sané, and Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

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