The 2016 UEFA Champions League knockout phase is finally underway. The remainder of the Round of 16 first legs will take place this week, with the big favorites finally back in action. But before those games, let’s first check out the updated odds for those favorites, as well as a couple of sleepers and a long shot to win the much-coveted club competition.
No one has ever successfully defended the Champions League trophy in its current format, but Barcelona are big +225 favorites to make history this year. The defending champs, led by the irresistible trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, have been pretty much untouchable this season, both in La Liga and in the Champions League.
The Blaugrana face a potentially tricky Round of 16 tie against Arsenal, but they are still priced at -550 to go through to the quarterfinals for the eighth year running.
Bayern Munich
German champions Bayern have fallen in the semifinal stage in each of the last two years under the guidance of Pep Guardiola. And this season, they are in some peril of going out even earlier as they face a very tough matchup in the form of Italian giants Juventus in the Round of 16.
Nevertheless, the Bavarians remain stacked with talent up and down their squad, and are priced at +275 to finally win the big one in Pep’s last season in charge.
Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane led Real Madrid to Champions League glory as a player, and despite his vast inexperience as a manager, his star-studded side is right up there as a +450 favorite to claim a record 11th trophy.
As their astronomical -8,000 odds might suggest, Real are almost certainly through to the quarterfinals after a 2-0 first leg win away at Roma. With attacking weapons like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez to call upon, Los Blancos should remain a major threat against whomever they face in the next round.
Sleepers
Atletico Madrid
Just two years removed from a dramatic extra-time loss in the final, Atletico Madrid are sneaky +1,200 sleepers to go one step further and claim the crown this year. They have one of the easier Round of 16 opponents in PSV Eindhoven, as the Spaniards are big -500 favorites to prevail over two legs.
The terrific defense they continue to play under Diego Simeone, coupled with the wizardry of Antoine Griezmann up front, makes them a very dangerous team in a knockout format.
Juventus
As mentioned earlier, Juve will have their hands full against favorites Bayern in this round. But if any team can knock out the German giants – or at the very least give them a scare – it’s the Italian champions.
Juve have been simply unstoppable in Serie A for the past few months, while their defense has given up a solitary goal in this calendar year. They say defense wins championships, and if the Bianconeri can somehow get past Bayern, their +2,800 odds stand a great chance of paying out.
Long Shot
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg looked home free after taking a 3-0 lead away at Gent. But they gave away two late goals, so their job is not done quite yet. Nevertheless, they remain big -3,000 favorites to advance to the quarterfinals.
Their odds to win the whole thing are much longer at +6,600, but with the talent of Julian Draxler, the Germans probably have the best shot to go all the way outside of the more established clubs left in the tournament.
