Reminiscent of last year’s Chelsea-Manchester City final, sports fans and bookmakers are wondering if we will see another all-English Champions League Final. In the midst of quarter-final matches, things are trending towards another excellent result for Premier League sides.
In the last eight teams, three English clubs are looking to raise the UEFA Champions League trophy – but will this automatically lead to an all-English final?
Who will go through it?
The Quarter-final round confirmed the excellent form of Manchester City and Liverpool. In a tight race, two teams competing for the Premier League top spot are on one foot in the semi-final round after the first leg. Liverpool outclassed Benfica in Lisbon 3:1, while City managed to crack the dense defensive formation of Atletico Madrid. Chelsea had the misfortune of hosting Real Madrid and red-hot Karim Benzema, whose hattrick put the Blues in a tough spot before the second leg.
Who has the best odds?
Pep Guardiola is leading Manchester City to another incredible season. The City is leading the home league, has a comfortable situation, and has opened the path to the semi-finals.
Thanks to an incredible lineup of teams, betting on Champions League matches is even more popular than ever. Football fans love to put their football knowledge to the test and place their bets on the team they think can take home the trophy – or simply their favorite. Nothing is settled, but we can check the odds for teams going to the finals.
The Manchester side is the top favorite to win it all with 7/4 odds. Bookmakers think Man City has a 36% chance to win the Champions League, a feat they are yet to accomplish despite having a top team in the past decade. Liverpool has the second-best odds at 15/8, so on paper, it seems highly likely two English teams could meet in the finals.
Oddsmakers assessed Bayern Munich as having third-best odds to win the competition with 9/2, and Real Madrid is next with 6/1. On the other hand, current champion Chelsea dropped significantly with 40/1 odds after a lackluster performance in the first leg against Real Madrid. The Blues are traveling to Madrid, where they need to take down the Spanish giant convincingly to go through. It will be a tough outing for Chelsea because veteran Luka Modric is directing the Real game on the highest level, and Karim Benzema is playing his best football these days.
Chelsea’s thin hope
Real is not, however, without flaws, and Chelsea had its moments in the first leg. Nevertheless, the aggregate lead is on the Madrid side, and the second game is at Santiago Bernabeu.
With the turmoil surrounding team ownership change in Chelsea and their recent awful league performance in a 1-4 loss at home against Brentford, Blues manager Thomas Tuchel doesn’t have an easy task. They have the talent, but the current form and performance are subpar.
The matchwinner will probably face Manchester City, so if Chelsea somehow manages to go through, there will be one English team in the finals.
Since the two best odds for the Champions League winner go to Manchester City and Liverpool, fans believe that another all-English final is highly likely. Liverpool started the season slowly, but he recently caught up with City in the Premier League. Their last match was a 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium between two quarter-final matches, and two teams could compete until the end for the two most prestigious football titles.
