Dean Etheridge
The football season is now well up and running and it won’t be long before the 2021/22 Champions League group stages get started.
The play-offs for the group stages are now complete, and the draw for the group stages took place on August 26th.
Group A
- Club Brugge
- Man City
- PSG
- RB Leipzig
Group B
- AC Milan
- Atletico Madrid
- Liverpool
- Porto
Group C
- Ajax
- Besiktas
- Dortmund
- Sporting Lisbon
Group D
- Inter Milan
- Real Madrid
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sheriff Tiraspol
Group E
- Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Benfica
- Dynamo Kyiv
Group F
- Atalanta
- Man Utd
- Villarreal
- BSC Young Boys
Group G
- Lille
- RB Salzburg
- Sevilla
- Wolfsburg
Group H
- Chelsea
- Juventus
- Malmo
- Zenit St Petersburg
Chelsea caused an upset by beating Manchester City in last season’s final, and they will be looking to defend the title.
The usual suspects like Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Real Madrid will all be in the mix. But on paper at least, the competition looks set to be dominated by PSG and the English Premier League clubs again.
As you would expect, all the big names are in there. And this season the landscape has dramatically changed with the business done by PSG in the summer transfer window.
The French side is not even the reigning champions in their own domestic league. But it hasn’t stopped the top sportsbooks from installing them as favorites for this season’s competition.
Before we bring you our Champions League betting winner pick, we will take a more in-depth look at the main contenders and the betting for the 2021/22 competition.
Champions League 2021/22 Outright Winner Betting
After Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea in the 2021 final, Pep Guardiola’s side was quickly installed as the favorites to win it this season.
That changed after PSG decided to put together a team made up of fantasy picks, and the French side is now the favorites.
| 2021/22 Champions League Winner Betting Odds |  |  |
| PSG | +333.33 | +333.33 |
| Man City | +350 | +350 |
| Bayern Munich | +700 | +650 |
| Chelsea | +800 | +800 |
| Man Utd | +800 | +800 |
| Liverpool | +900 | +800 |
| Real Madrid | +1400 | +1300 |
| Barcelona | +2000 | +2500 |
| Juventus | +2500 | +2500 |
| Atletico Madrid | +2500 | +2800 |
I’ll look at the credentials of PSG in my picks later, so instead I’ll start here with Manchester City.
Can City go one better this year?
Pep Guardiola’s team has added Jack Grealish to their ranks over the summer. Their other major target, Harry Kane has eluded them though.
With a squad of City’s talent, they are always going to be a threat. They can’t be written off, and after losing last season’s final, they will want to go one better.
Bayern set to fall short again
Third in the betting is German giants, Bayern Munich. They are +700 to win the trophy they last held in 2020.
Munich looks like they might fall short again this season. They still have the scoring power of Robert Lewandowski in their team, and with him, they have a fighting chance.
Can Chelsea go back-to-back?
Following on from Munich are the defending champions, Chelsea. The Blues are +800 with BetUS to defend the trophy they won last season.
Twelve months ago not many would have predicted Chelsea would conquer Europe.
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!! 🏆 #ChelseaChampions #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/Wz000kegmG
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 29, 2021
That changed when Thomas Tuchel took over as Head Coach in early 2021.
The German coach brought the experience he gained (losing the previous final to Bayern) at PSG to the London club, and duly led them to their second-ever Champions League win last May.
Is Ronaldo a game-changer for Man Utd?
Next in the betting is Manchester United, also of the English Premier League.
The Red Devils would not have been a team I would have taken seriously a couple of weeks ago. But since then they have signed Rafael Varane from Real Madrid, and are about to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus.
Varane and Ronaldo are players with serious Champions League credentials and at +800 make United a good outside bet.
Klopp’s Liverpool can’t afford any injuries
Completing the English quartet in the betting is Liverpool at +900.
Jurgen Klopp’s team won the trophy in 2019 and lost in the final in 2018. In short, they know how to get to finals.
But, Liverpool was well short in both the English Premier League and the Champions League last season. Any repeats of that this season and they can forget lifting the crown again.
They do have Virgil van Dijk back this season. The Dutch defender missed nearly all of last term with injury and was one of the reasons Liverpool struggled.
His loss also highlighted the fact that the Liverpool squad is light and can’t carry too many injuries to its top players.
Champions League 2021/22 Outright Winner Pick
Drawn in the same group as betting rivals, Manchester City, the Parisians are the favorites to win the competition.
And there are some very good reasons why!
Into the club this summer has come Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid, a serial Champions League winner.
If ever a signing smacked of intent, it’s signing Sergio Ramos.
But wait, PSG has since also added Lionel Messi to their ranks. So, if ever a signing smacked on intent, it’s signing Lionel Messi.
Whatever way you look at it, PSG is the team to beat.
Messi, Ramos, Italian national keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum (another recent Champions League winner), are all signings made purely to win the elite club competition in European football.
These guys aren’t needed to win Ligue 1 in France. PSG has done that seven times in the last nine years without this caliber of signings.
At +333.33, PSG is my futures pick to win the Champions League this season.
Don’t forget to check out our Soccer betting page for more expert picks on soccer matches. Here we will bring you picks on the likes of the MLS and English Premier League.
