HAVING won the Champions League for the first time in their history in May, Paris Saint-Germain will seek to defend the trophy in the 2025/26 campaign.
The Parisians were by far the best team in Europe in the second half of last season. Despite this, they failed to add the Club World Cup title to their trophy haul – they were denied by Chelsea in the final.
However, PSG are among the favourites to win the title again in the latest Champions League winner odds. Luis Enrique’s team are expected to face competition from European heavyweights like Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Champions League tips for 2025/26
- Real Madrid to win the Champions League – 8/1 at bet365
- Kylian Mbappé to be top scorer – 7/1 at BetMGM
- Napoli to reach the final – 12/1 at talkSPORT BET
Latest Champions League winner odds
- Barcelona – 11/2 at SBK
- Liverpool – 6/1 at Betfred
- PSG – 7/1 at SBK
- Arsenal – 7/1 at BetMGM
- Real Madrid – 8/1 at BetMGM
- Manchester City – 11/1 at Betway
- Bayern Munich – 12/1 at bet365
- Chelsea – 14/1 at Spreadex
- Napoli – 25/1 at bet365
- Atletico Madrid – 28/1 at Betfred
*Odds are subject to change.
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Champions League winner – betting favourites
Premier League champions Liverpool were seen as the team to have benefited most from the group stage draw. Arne Slot’s side are expected to be one of PSG’s main rivals in the battle to win the 2025/26 Champions League. Below, we take a closer look at all the main Champions League betting favourites:
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG have been handed an absolutely brutal draw in the group stage. The holders have to face Atalanta, Barcelona, Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Spurs, Athletic Club, Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle.
It’s probably fair to say that the toughest part of the draw is their opening four matches. Here, experience will be vital. And after Luis Enrique’s team struggled in the early part of the group stage last season, they will know there is no need to panic if their opening games don’t go to plan. It did them no harm last year.
Liverpool
The atmosphere on European nights in Liverpool is always electric, and this season, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, PSV and Qarabag will have to step into the Anfield cauldron. Arne Slot’s Premier League champions will also face tough away assignments away at Galatasaray, Frankfurt, Inter Milan and Marseille.
That isn’t the easiest of draws, but it is more favourable than PSG’s and is one of the reasons why Liverpool will begin the campaign as the betting favourites to lift the trophy. Big money signings like Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike will also boost Liverpool’s chances, as will a Matchday 8 home fixture against Qarabag in the unlikely event the Reds still need a win to reach the knockout stages.
Barcelona
Despite reaching the last four, Barcelona may well feel they underachieved in last season’s Champions League. Hansi Flick’s team were undone by defensive frailties in their 7-6 aggregate defeat to Inter Milan in the semi-final. However, they did prove that they have the attacking talent to go all the way in 2025/26.
The Catalans didn’t make any major changes to their playing squad. The arrival of Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United was probably their highest profile signing to UK football fans. Although their €24 million capture of goalkeeper Joan Garcia from local rivals Espanyol did ruffle plenty of domestic feathers.
Real Madrid
After a poor 2024/25 campaign, Real Madrid have rang the changes with Xabi Alonso replacing Carlo Ancelotti as head coach at the Bernabéu. As well as a change at the top, Los Blancos have also brought in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras to strengthen their squad.
After struggling to find his feet at the beginning of last season, Kylian Mbappé is now the leader of the Madrid attack. The Frenchman has hit the ground running this season, and if Alonso can get the mix right behind the former PSG front man, a record 16th Champions League title could be on the cards.
Arsenal
Arsenal can take a lot of heart and self belief from their run to the Champions League semi-final last season. The flip side was that it damaged their Premier League campaign, and there are now also grumblings that it is time for head coach Mikel Arteta to turn potential into trophies.
Martín Zubimendi, Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze have been added to the squad to supplement the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Declan Rice. And with the Gunners drawing the likes of Olympiacos, Slavia Praha, Club Brugge and Kairat, there can be no excuses for not going deep into the competition again.
Manchester City
Manchester City lifted the Champions League in 2023, but have seemingly been on a downward spiral since. There have now been wholesale changes at the Etihad, with Pep Guardiola rebuilding the team as he attempts to recreate the formula that City’s recent success was built upon.
One of Pep’s former chief lieutenants, Kevin De Bruyne, will be making a return to the Etihad with his new Napoli teammates in this season’s Champions League. As well as facing the Serie A champions, the Light Blues will also take on Monaco, Villarreal, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Bodø/Glimt and Galatasaray.
Bayern Munich
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich team looked the real deal in the Bundesliga last season, but never really convinced in Europe. The Bavarians did make it to the quarter-finals, losing to Inter Milan, but they also lost heavily to Barcelona (4-1) and Feyenoord (3-0) in a less than convincing group stage.
The six-time Champions League winners strengthened their squad by signing Luis Díaz from Liverpool and Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea. They received a mixed bag in the draw with tough assignments against Chelsea, Arsenal and PSG, combined with more favourable fixtures against Pafos, Club Brugge, Sporting, Union SG and PSV.
Chelsea
After an indifferent start to the calendar year in 2025, Chelsea finished the previous season strongly. The Blues secured a place in the top four of the Premier League and also lifted the Europa Conference League. However, they saved their best for last by reminding the world of their pedigree by beating PSG 3-0 in the final of the Club World Cup to make more history.
In true Chelsea style, Enzo Maresca has made significant changes to his squad for the 2025/26 season. But with Cole Palmer getting better every season, it would be foolish to underestimate the two-time winners and dismiss their chances of landing another big trophy.
Champions League winner – betting outsiders
Outside of the betting favourites, there are plenty of teams with the talent, pedigree and recent experience who could potentially win this season’s Champions League.
At 40/1, Inter Milan surely can’t be ignored. They have made it to two of the previous three finals. The Italians no longer have Simone Izaghi as head coach, but the bulk of the same players are still at the San Siro.
Along with Inter, Serie A champions Napoli shouldn’t be underestimated at 28/1. The Azzurri are coached by the experienced Antonio Conte and have also added the experience of Kevin De Bruyne to their ranks, to bolster what was already a strong playing squad.
A further threat could come from the Premier League, with Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur (40/1) enjoying a new lease of life under Thomas Frank. While Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid (33/1) are always dangerous opponents at this level, they are well capable of reaching another final.
A reminder of the new Champions League format
All three of UEFA’s major club competitions underwent a restructure ahead of the 2024/25 season. Out went the old system of eight groups of four, to be replaced by one group consisting of 36 teams.
Under the new format, each team plays eight matches, with the top eight teams qualifying for the Round of 16. The eight teams that finish 9th to 16th will each face one of the teams that finished 17th to 24th in the Round of 16 playoffs – the winners will go into the Round of 16 proper. The teams that finish in positions 25-36 are eliminated.
While this is a format that should enable the best teams to safely make it to the knock outs, it did have some jeopardy last season. The likes of Man City, Real Madrid and even winners PSG were underwhelming in the group stage, and as a result, came close to elimination. The format also provided a huge clash in the playoffs with Man City having to face Real Madrid.
Other Champions League betting markets
As well as providing Champions League winner betting odds, the bookmakers have plenty of alternative UCL betting markets. Some of the more popular are:
To reach the final
Rather than backing who will win, you can also place a bet on a team to reach the final. Inter Milan reached the final in 2023 and 2025, and Borussia Dortmund in 2024. These types of wagers offer good value – Inter are 16/1 to reach this season’s final, with Dortmund at 30/1.
Stage of elimination
This is a wager on when you think a team will be knocked out of the competition. So, for example, if you think that Spurs or Newcastle don’t have the depth of squad to compete in both the Premier League and the Champions League, you may have a bet on one of them to be eliminated at the group stage.
Nationality of the winner
Nationality of winner betting allows you to bet on which country the Champions League winners will come from. So, for example, if you think it’s going to be PSG again, you would back France at 13/2.
In the instance of backing France, the odds for this outcome would be very similar to the PSG Champions League winner betting odds, as the Parisians are the only likely French winner.
This is a good value market for punters to wager on nations like Spain and England. Backing Spain at 11/4 will give you two good chances of winning with Real Madrid or Barcelona, while backing the winning team to come from England is just even money. This is because the Premier League has six teams in this season’s competition.
Top scorer
This is a wager on who will score the most goals in the Champions League across the whole season. The market is led by Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland at 6/1. Also amongst the favourites are Kylian Mbappé at 7/1, Robert Lewandowski at 17/2 and Mohamed Salah at 10/1.
My Champions League betting tips
The Champions League odds winner market currently has Liverpool, PSG and Barcelona leading the way. Check out my early season Champions League betting tips to see if any of them feature:
Real Madrid to win historic 16th Champions League title
We’ve seen it time and again. Real Madrid look way off the pace in November, but somehow by March, April time, they seem to be the team in form.
Los Blancos were poor last season. They looked like a team of individuals who more often than not won thanks to moments of sheer brilliance from one of their superstars.
Xabi Alonso has the task of turning Madrid’s talented individuals into a Champions League winning team. The ingredients are already there; it’s up to Alonso to work his magic with them.
In Kylian Mbappé, Alonso has the star striker who can win the title. Mbappé has become the main man at Madrid, and Alonso has already shown the likes of Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo that a place on the bench awaits them if their egos can’t handle it or they won’t buy into how he is trying to achieve success.
Qualification for the knockout stages should be a formality. And with Alonso having over half a season to mould his team before the knockouts start, I expect to see a different Madrid in the new year that could well repeat history by peaking for the final stages of the competition.
Real Madrid to win the Champions League at 8/1 with bet365
Kylian Mbappé to be Champions League top scorer
Despite taking time to settle when he first arrived in Madrid, Kylian Mbappé finished the season in irresistible form.
Mbappé ended his debut season with 31 goals and three assists in his 34 La Liga matches. His numbers are now starting to stack up at a similar ratio to Messi and Ronaldo when they were both scoring for fun in Spain.
With Alonso looking to build his team around the Frenchman, Mbappé is only going to benefit further. He has already picked up from where he left off last season, and I can see him taking his good form into the Champions League as well.
Back Kylian Mbappé to be the top scorer in the Champions League at 7/1 with BetMGM
Napoli to reach the final
Outside of all the European powerhouses, there are plenty of capable teams with pedigree who seem to be getting unfairly overlooked by the best football betting sites.
One such team is Napoli who are 28/1 to win the title and 12/1 to make it to the final.
The Azzurri don’t have the spending power of the Premier League clubs, but they are led by Antonio Conte, and have experienced players in their ranks like Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, along with youth like Rasmus Højlund, who may well have a point to prove.
Inter Milan have made it to two of the last three finals, and Borussia Dortmund also did the same in 2024. If they can do it, why not Napoli? The Serie A champions are a good value long shot.
Back Napoli to reach the final at 12/1 with talkSPORT BET
How PSG won the Champions League last season
PSG’s first ever Champions League win looked a million miles away when they trailed Manchester City 2-0 at the Parc des Princes with just over half an hour to go on Matchday 7 of the group stage. Defeat would have left them on the brink of elimination, but a remarkable turnaround saw the Parisians run out 4-2 winners.
PSG then thrashed Stuttgart 4-1 on Matchday 8 and annihilated Stade Brestois 10-0 on aggregate in the Round of 16 playoffs. The comeback against Manchester City was probably the turning point, with the wins over Stuttgart and Brest only adding to PSG’s newfound confidence.
A penalty shoot out was required to get past Liverpool in the Round of 16, and the Parisians can consider themselves lucky that Aston Villa wasted some gilt-edged chances in the second leg of their quarter-final at Villa Park.
After their 5-4 aggregate win over Aston Villa, Luis Enrique’s team comfortably saw off Arsenal in the last four with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
PSG then followed that up with an emphatic 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the final. The performance was probably their most impressive of the season in all competitions.
FAQs about the 2025/26 Champions League campaign
Below, we have put together a brief FAQ section to give you more information about betting on the Champions League:
1. How many games do teams now play in the revamped Champions League format?
Each team now plays eight matches each in the revamped Champions League group stage. This is an increase on the six they played in the previous eight group format.
2. How have this year’s Champions League teams qualified for the league stage?
Teams qualified for this year’s Champions League group stage by finishing in the qualifying places in their own domestic leagues and in the case of Tottenham Hotspur, winning the Europa League. Depending on UEFA co-efficient points, some teams went straight into the group leagues, while others had to play in knockouts to confirm their places.
3. How often has a team defended the Champions League?
Winning the Champions League isn’t easy, and since it was rebranded in 1992, only Real Madrid have retained the trophy. Los Blancos managed to win it three seasons running in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
4. How many different teams have won the Champions League since 2010?
Including Inter Milan’s win in 2010, eight different teams have won the Champions League during this period. The other names to appear on the trophy since Inter are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and PSG.
Read more about the 2025/26 football season
- Premier League winner predictions
- Premier League relegation predictions
- Championship promotion predictions
About the author
Craig Mahood
Craig Mahood is an expert in sports betting and online casinos and has worked with the company since 2020. He joined the Betting & Gaming team at The Sun in June 2022 and works closely with the leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to provide content on all areas of sports betting and gaming. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter at the Scottish Sun, covering Scottish football with particular focus on Celtic and Rangers, As well as football, he has covered horse racing, boxing, darts, the Olympics and tennis for the Sun.
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