How does the Champions League work?
The Champions League is the biggest club competition in Europe and features the very best teams from across the continent each season. The tournament begins in June with the qualifying stages and goes right the way through the calendar year to the final, which will generally take place in late May. Teams entering the competition at its beginning will have to progress through four qualifying rounds to make it to the group stages, at which point 32 teams are divided into four different groups based on their seedings. They each play each other twice, once at home and once away, with the top two teams progressing to the knockout stages, while the third-place team drops into the Europa League.
There are just 16 teams left in the knockout stages, which sees teams that are drawn against each other play each other twice over two legs to determine who progresses through to the next round of the competition. This format is continued through until the Champions League final, which is a one-off game played at a neutral venue to decide the winner of the competition and crowned as European champions. The winners of the Champions League will also earn an automatic place back in the following season’s group stages regardless of their domestic finish.
Top Bet365 Champions League Bets
If you are a fan of the Champions League and placing bets on the competition, Bet365 is certainly the place for you. Bet365 cover each and every single one of the games that take place in the Champions League throughout the season, whether it be a qualifying match in the summer or a knockout stage game in the Spring. One of the many reasons why Bet365 is one of the most popular destinations for Champions League betting is the range of different markets provided throughout the competition. Below, we have identified some of the most popular bets for punters who like to gamble on the Champions League.
Outright Winner
Throughout the duration of the tournament you are able to back who you believe will be the outright winner of the Champions League, with odds being regularly updated by Bet365 to reflect the form of each team across the season. Punters are able to bet on this market shortly after the previous season’s final comes to a conclusion.
Top Goalscorer
The Champions League features some of the world’s best players every season and that includes some of the best forward players in the game. As such, there is a market available for you to predict who will be the winner of the Golden Boot in the Champions League that season, given to the player who scores the most goals in the competition from the group stages onwards.
Group Winner
Another popular outright bet is the group winner market, where you must choose which team you believe will finish top of the group that you are betting on. These bets can be combined together in the shape of an accumulator to really boost your odds if you’re feeling confident about a number of different teams.
Nationality of Winner
If there is a particular nation that looks to have the best teams in the Champions League, you can back a specific country to be represented by the winner of the competition. This will generally be leaned towards England, Spain, Germany and Italy who have the most teams in the Champions League each year.
To Reach Final
If you aren’t as confident about the potential of a team winning the Champions League but fancy them to reach the final, you can still place a bet on that outcome with Bet365. The odds are slightly lower than what it would be if you backed an outright winner, but is greater than that of the ‘To Reach Semi-Final’ market, which is also on Bet365.
