Champions League: Top Eight Betting Tips

There is a new format to the 2024-25 Champions League and the clubs who finish in the top eight of the league stage will gain a significant advantage.

The expanded competition sees 36 teams involved in the Champions League proper and each side plays eight league fixtures, four at home and four away.

Clubs are ranked in a league table with the top eight progressing straight to the round of 16 while the next 16 sides, from ninth to 24th in the standings, go into a playoff round.

Favourites Manchester City and holders Real Madrid are long odds-on to make the top eight but a couple of clubs further down the betting are worth considering.

Barcelona to finish in the top eight @ 41/50

Barcelona finished top of their Champions League group last season before a 4-2 aggregate victory over Napoli in the round of 16.

They won 3-2 in a thrilling quarter-final first leg away to PSG and looked on course for the semis when Raphinha gave them an early lead in the return leg.

However, defender Ronald Araujo's red card in the 29th minute turned the tie on its head and PSG roared back to win 4-1 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate.

Barca are under new management this season as Hansi Flick has replaced club legend Xavi and they look capable of finishing in the top eight of the revamped Champions League. Flick won the trophy with Bayern Munich in 2019-20, leading the Bavarians to a famous treble that season.

He has been reunited with striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored 15 goals in Bayern's Champions League triumph, and Barca will host the Munich powerhouses on matchday three of the league stage.

A trip to last term's runners-up Borussia Dortmund will also be challenging but Barcelona should be confident of outclassing Atalanta, Benfica, Young Boys, Red Star Belgrade and French clubs Brest and Monaco in their other fixtures.

Summer signing Dani Olmo has made an instant impact and Barca turned on the style in a 7-0 La Liga rout of Real Valladolid just before the international break.

Youngsters Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Pau Cubarsi are superb talents and Flick's men should be backed to seal an automatic spot in the last 16.

Juventus to finish in the top eight @ 5/2

Thiago Motta led surprise package Bologna to Champions League qualification in Serie A last season and he is aiming to bring back the glory days to Juventus.

Motta made the perfect start to the campaign, overseeing back-to-back 3-0 wins over Como and Verona, before a 0-0 draw with Roma.

Italian clubs have impressed in Europe recently, with highlights including Inter Milan reaching the Champions League final in 2022-23 and Atalanta winning last term's Europa League. Juve welcome Manchester City to Turin but their other seven fixtures are all against teams below them in the top-eight betting, including a trip to Aston Villa.

Influential midfielder Douglas Luiz moved from Villa to Juventus in the summer and Motta's squad is shaping up nicely with Atalanta playmaker Teun Koopmeiners and Nice's French international Khephren Thuram also arriving. Brazil centre-back Bremer, Italy midfielder Manuel Locatelli and prolific striker Dusan Vlahovic provide a strong spine to the team and young wingers Francisco Conceicao and Kenan Yildiz are exciting prospects.

Juve have had a tough time of late but they won the Coppa Italia last season and finished third in Serie A, losing only five games – four by a one-goal margin – so Motta has a solid foundation on which to build.

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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation