Champions League Odds: Liverpool Shorten After Kind Draw

Liverpool Football Club are dreaming of achieving a quadruple this season and their hopes of securing a seventh European Cup success have been boosted after the recent Champions League quarter-final draw.

The Merseyside team overcame Inter at the last 16 stage and have arguably an easier tie when clashing with Benfica.

Liverpool’s favourable draw has led betting sites to cut their Champions League odds and they are now vying for favouritism along with Manchester City - who have been handed the task of meeting Atletico Madrid at the last eight stage of the competition.

However, City potentially face Chelsea or Real Madrid should they make it to the semi-finals and bookmakers have held the price about the English champions.

Bayern Munich have shortened with the best football betting sites after drawing Villarreal, although the big drifters on the Champions League outright market are Chelsea and Real who now have a very tough route if they are going to lift the European Cup.

Man City Remain Champions League Betting Favourites

Pep Guardiola will undoubtedly describe his team’s Champions League draw as ridiculously tough, but the reality is that Atletico Madrid were one of the better opponents that his team could have faced.

Although Diego Simeone’s side overcame Manchester United in the previous round, it was only by a 2-1 aggregate victory against a fairly uninspired Red Devils team, and this isn’t a draw that the Spanish champions will have wanted.

City made the 2021 final of the competition and breezed their way through to the quarter final stage with an extremely comfortable victory against Sporting this season.

The majority of bookmakers are keeping City at the top of their Champions League betting odds at 3.0 despite the fact that they have never claimed a European Cup.

There’s the prospect of a final repeat too when it comes to the semi-final stage of this season’s competition considering that Chelsea clash with Real Madrid in the same half of the draw. Although, Guardiola might be content enough to be in the opposite half to Liverpool and Bayern Munich who appear on a collision course to meet in the semis.

Liverpool Are Short Odds To Win The Champions League

Avoiding Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Chelsea was key for Liverpool when it came to the last eight draw and Jurgen Klopp will be delighted that the other two Premier League teams are in the other half of the section.

Liverpool were the last team to come out in the Champions League draw and they’ll go up against a Benfica side who were able to come from behind twice against Ajax before claiming a 1-0 second leg win in the Netherlands to take their place at the latest knockout stage of the competition.

Unibet made a quick reaction to the draw by shortening Liverpool to 3.5 on the outright market, with the quad-chasing Merseyside outfit potentially facing Bayern Munich at the semi-final stage of the competition and they have to be regarded as major contenders.

Bayern Munich Also In The Champions League Big Three

Six of the remaining eight Champions League teams are English or Spanish, although Bayern Munich fly the flag for Germany and have to be regarded as major contenders.

The Bundesliga outfit have been respected by oddsmakers throughout the competition and it was only two seasons ago that Hansi Flick led the Bavarian side to a lockdown victory against PSG.

Julian Nagelsmann is now tasked with charting a course through to the Paris final this season, with Bayern making short work of Red Bull Salzburg at the Allianz Arena and they have a gift-wrapped quarter-final tie in the form of Villarreal over two legs - even if the Spanish side stunned Juventus in the previous round.

Nagelsmann’s first season at the Allianz hasn’t been without its problems, although they remain the standout team in a competitive Bundesliga and Bayern are a 4.5 chance to claim a second European Cup in the space of three seasons.

Chelsea And Real Madrid Drift In Champions League Outright Market

One of Chelsea or Real Madrid will be appearing in the Champions League semi-finals although, they are likely to be clashing with Manchester City over two legs.

Thomas Tuchel can’t have been too pleased with the way that the recent draw panned out, even if the German managed to steer the Blues to an unlikely European Cup success last term when beating the Citizens in the final.

Chelsea have been beset by recent ownership issues and sanctions which could yet impact their European campaign and they can be found at a 13.0 price to triumph.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid could potentially have to beat the three leading teams in England in order to get their hands on the European Cup.

On the flip side, Carlo Ancelotti is a wily tactician who saw Los Merengues overcome Paris Saint-Germain when the chips were down, although they are trading at a similar price to Chelsea and odds of 15.0 with bet365 tells its own story about their chances.

Atletico Madrid, Villarreal And Benfica Regarded As Outsiders

According to the market, Atletico Madrid are the sixth most likely team to win this season’s European Cup and they have been handed the trickiest of opponents at the quarter-final stage.

Diego Simeone’s side are now out to odds of 26.0 with Ladbrokes on the outright market after being paired with Manchester City, and they will need to pull a rabbit out of the hat to triumph over two legs considering their sketchy form this season.

Villarreal were able to shock Juventus in the previous round, although the Serie A team have been flattering to deceive for several seasons and the Yellow Submarine are a massive price (101.0) to repeat last season’s European triumph when they claimed a Europa League success. It would be a remarkable achievement if Unai Emery delivered the goods here.

As for Benfica, it would be patronising to say that they will feel lucky to be in final eight of the Champions League, although bookmakers are prepared to chalk up 201.0 about the Portuguese side claiming silverware and it’s a tough task to see them getting the better of Liverpool in their tie.