With qualifying firmly under way for the 2015/16 Champions League and Europa League, thoughts are already turning to Europe’s premier club competitions.
Last season saw Spanish clubs dominate, with Barcelona lifting the Champions League and Sevilla claiming the Europa League title. It was the third time that Barcelona have won the Champions League in seven years and Sevilla have now won the Europa League for two years in a row. Sevilla are the only team to have managed this feat and have done so twice.
However, as winners of the 2014/15 Europa League, Sevilla find themselves in the Champions League for 2015/16 and are as high as 70/1 with bookmakers to win the competition. This really highlights the difference in quality of the two tournaments Realistically, Sevilla have little chance of winning it. Considering the fact that Manchester United, who have yet to qualify for the tournament are priced at 20/1, this shows how the odds are stacked against Sevilla to win the Champions League.
Betting companies have Barcelona installed as favourites at 7/2 for next season’s Champions League. Given the fact they looked so good when winning it last season and have no glaring weaknesses, the odds seem on point. However, no team since AC Milan in 1990 has successfully retained the trophy and there will be a strong challenge from the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Interestingly, last season’s finalists, Juventus are out at 20/1, perhaps due to the fact they have lost Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo. One team to look out for could be Paris Saint-Germain, who knocked Chelsea out of last season’s Champions League and are priced at 16/1. With their strong financial backing, the French club could mount a serious challenge in 2015/16 and are starting to become an experienced team in the competition.
It’s wise to try and look for value when studying football betting odds and the 24/1 for Arsenal to win the Champions League is very tempting. Having reached the final in 2005/06, Arsene Wenger has since seen his team struggle to reach the same heights. However, a good showing in last season’s Premier League plus the addition of goalkeeper Petr Cech, has seen many people back Arsene Wenger’s team for the Premier League title. With that in mind, they should also be capable of putting a better run together in the Champions League and in doing so, progress to the latter stages of the tournament.
Last year’s Premier League Champions, Chelsea, also have their eyes set on claiming the crown this year. Despite what he may say, Jose Mourinho is desperate to win the Champions League with Chelsea and the Stamford Bridge outfit are priced at 8/1 to do so next season. When betting on the 2015/16 Champions League, it’s worth keeping in mind, that only one club outside of England, Germany, Italy and Spain have won it in the last twenty years and that was Porto, of Portugal. If you fancy the Portuguese outfit to repeat their triumph of 2003/04, they are available at 70/1.
Moving on to the 2015/16 Europa League, the tournament enjoys a much larger variety of winning clubs, from different countries. Over the last twenty years, teams from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, England and Netherlands, have all won the Europa League.
With that in mind, it’s little surprise to see teams from these countries making up the favourites for the 2015/16 competition at TonyBet. Due to the format of the competition, it’s vital to remember when betting at this stage, that teams eliminated from the Champions League group stages, will also join the Europa League. Having said that, only 6 teams who have dropped out of the Champions League, have gone on to win the Europa League during the last fifteen years.
The German club struggled in the Bundesliga last season but still reached the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Furthermore, Dortmund also reached the final of the Champions League in 2012/13 and have a very strong team lead by players like Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan.
Last season’s Europa League finalists, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are available at a tempting 30/1. The experience of making the final will stand the Ukrainian club in good stead to mount another serious campaign this time around. Having said that, with the likes of Marseille and Schalke 04 available at 24/1, both of which come with real Champions League pedigree, it may be worthwhile backing the French or German team.
With great names, such as Liverpool, Napoli, Fiorentina, Tottenham Hotspur and Sampdoria all involved in the Europa League, it’s going to be a thrilling competition to watch. Throughout both this and the Champions League, bookmakers will be offering the very best football betting odds and markets. It’s sure to be an exciting European football season, especially when betting with Bookies Bets.
