Who Will Win 2019 Champions League

The Champions League 2019/20 is about to start again - the biggest stage of world's football. Kick off's Danya Barsalona and Ed McCambridge are back to give. The UEFA Champions League concludes on June 1st 2019. We're into the quarterfinals and one thing's for sure, Real Madrid won't win the Champions League again. Real Madrid won the event the last three years, but they've already been eliminated. Why is Soccer Popular – Is it Worth Betting? Cristiano Ronaldo was a huge part.

The UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of club soccer.

Every year, Europe's elite battle it out to crowned champion of the continent.

With the group stage kicking off in mid-September and the final being held in Istanbul, Turkey, next May, this prestigious tournament offers plenty of exciting betting opportunities.

In this preview, I will be taking a look an in-depth look at the competition's favorites and will also give you my pick for the season ahead.

Early Champions League 2019/20 Outright Winner Odds

Here are Betway's odds for the upcoming Champions League campaign.

Let's take a closer look at the frontrunners.

Manchester City

The English Premier League champion is the bookmakers' favorite to lift the famous trophy this season.

Having previously never featured in the Champions League, Man City's domestic rise over the past decade has seen the club qualify for the tournament for nine consecutive seasons.

Despite City's recent success, it has never made it into a Champions League final, and the club's best finish was a semi-final defeat in 2015/16 to eventual champion Real Madrid.

Manchester City was in serious danger of not competing in this year's tournament following an investigation by UEFA into potential breaches of Financial Fair Play rules.

City was accused of misleading UEFA over certain regulations, which prevent club owners from bankrolling excessive losses.

However, the club avoided a ban and was instead handed a £315,000 fine.

Considering Manchester City's wealth, this is an extremely lenient punishment, and it definitely won't affect the team's chances of winning the Champions League.

Manchester City arguably possesses the strongest squad in European soccer right now, and I believe a club's strength in depth is key to a successful Champions League campaign.

As mid-week matches come thick and fast, the ability to juggle European soccer with domestic commitments is what makes the top clubs so successful.

With some of the best in the business at the club, Manchester City has two world-class players in every position on the pitch, and such options will significantly benefit the team's chances.

In Pep Guardiola, the club is led by a highly talented manager.

The Spaniard already has two Champions League titles to his name from his time with Barcelona, and he has revolutionized the team since his arrival in 2016.

My only concern is City's relative inexperience at this level.

When you look at Europe's most successful clubs, they have been participating in the Champions League consistently for decades, and they know exactly what it takes to navigate their way through the tournament.

The likes of Real Madrid (13 titles) and AC Milan (7 titles) have been winning this competition since the 1950s, whereas Man City's debut appearance came in 2011.

While inexperience can't be used as the sole reason to rule out a team from winning the Champions League, I still think Manchester City is a fair way off when it comes to challenging for Europe's top prize.

Barcelona

Barcelona is no stranger to success in this competition, and it's no surprise that the bookies have named the Catalan giant second on the list of Champions League 2019/20 favorites.

The five-time Champions League winner has made it to the quarter-final stage for the last twelve seasons and has gone on to reach the final on three separate occasions in that time.

Having most recently won the title in 2015, a large portion of that title-winning squad still plays for the club today, and I view this as a huge bonus.

In fact, seven of the starting eleven that featured in the 2015 final are still consistent performers for Barcelona.

The last time Barcelona failed to qualify for the tournament was back in 2003, which means this season will be Barcelona's fifteenth consecutive Champions League campaign.

With a strong core and invaluable know-how, you can never write off Barcelona.

Barcelona's squad is packed full of exceptional talent.

With the commanding Gerard Pique in defense, the accomplished Sergio Busquets in midfield, and the lethal Luis Suarez in attack, Barcelona is a team that is feared the world over.

However, one player stands out above the rest. Lionel Messi.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been embarrassing defenders for years with his mesmerizing runs and pin-point finishing.

The 32-year-old has an especially impressive record in the Champions League, and I believe this alone gives Barcelona a major advantage.

Let's take a look at some of Messi's unrivaled statistics.

• The Argentine has 112 career Champions League goals – 14 behind record holder Cristiano Ronaldo
• Messi has scored six or more Champions League goals for 12 consecutive seasons.
• His most prolific campaign came in 2011/12 where he managed 14 goals
• Messi holds the record for the most goals scored in the group stage (66) and the most goals scored in the Round of 16 (26)
• He has also been on the scoresheet against 32 different opponents and has scored past 48 different goalkeepers

While soccer may be a team sport, I believe any side that contains Lionel Messi stands a pretty good chance of winning.

Last season's champion, Liverpool is amongst the favorites to claim its second Champions League title in as many years.

The Reds had a phenomenal 2018/19 campaign, which saw the club beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final, finishing just one point behind Manchester City in the EPL table.

Liverpool is the third most successful team in the history of Europe's premier club competition.

The Merseyside club dominated the continent in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s — winning four titles in eight years — and has won two since the turn of the millennium.

Liverpool pulled off one of the greatest comebacks the sport has ever seen to reach the Champions League final last season.

Trailing Barcelona 3-0 after the semi-final first leg, Liverpool scored four without reply at Anfield in the second leg to secure the most famous of victories.

It is the club's home record that has made it such a formidable force in recent times.

Over the past two seasons, Liverpool was unbeaten in its thirteen home matches in the Champions League.

The team conceded just two goals in six appearances at Anfield last season, while scoring at an average of over two goals per game.

Liverpool seems to rise to the occasion when European soccer comes to its city, and the club's fans unquestionably play a vital role in boosting the team's performances on the pitch.

When the chorus of Liverpool's famous anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' is belted out by 50,000 fans prior to kick-off, the passion is clear for all to see.

Let's not forget that the squad obviously has immense ability, too.

Virgil van Dijk is widely regarded as the world's best center-back, while the front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino is one of the deadliest strike forces in the game.

Consequently, when you mix Liverpool's world-class players with Anfield's partisan atmosphere on European nights, you will struggle to find a more dangerous combination in world soccer.

There were plenty of teams ahead of Liverpool in the running for European glory last season, but the Merseysiders defied the odds to reign supreme.

After also finishing as the runner-up in the 2017/18 campaign, I consider Liverpool as a genuine contender, and you'd be foolish to bet against the club reaching its third Champions League final in three years.

With the tournament's all-time record goalscorer in its ranks, Juventus are 10.0 to win the Champions League this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo and co. will be looking to upset the frontrunners, and the Italian giant has bolstered its squad in the summer transfer window in order to do so.

Big money signing Matthijs de Ligt has been added to an already impressive back line, while Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot seriously enhance Juve's midfield.

Despite the club's star-studded squad, I believe that Juve's domestic dominance has a negative effect on the team's performances in the Champions League.

Juventus has won the last eight Serie A titles and has been practically unchallenged in the process.

The Italian top-flight is considered to be far less competitive than the top leagues in England, Spain, and Germany, meaning that Juventus face high-caliber opposition on a far less frequent basis than many of the continent's other major clubs.

While the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich face domestic challenges week in, week out, Juventus simply doesn't have that sort of competition.

So, when Juve comes up against Europe's big boys, it often struggles to compete.

I also see the appointment of the club's new manager, Maurizio Sarri, deterring a lot of potential punters.

The 60-year-old may have won the Europa League — Europe's secondary club competition — with Chelsea last season, but he has very little experience at the highest level.

Juventus last won the Champions League back in 1996 and has claimed the title on one other occasion in its history.

Given the strength of its rivals in this year's competition, I don't view Juventus as challengers this time around.

If the gap between Juventus and the rest of Serie A is big, then the gulf between PSG and the other teams in France's Ligue 1 is astronomical.

Paris Saint-Germain finished 16 points clear of second-place Lille in the French top-flight last season and has won the Ligue 1 title in six of the last seven years.

PSG's Qatari owner has plowed billions into the club since taking over in 2011, in an attempt to not only dominate the French top-flight but to also conquer Europe.

However, like Juventus, the team has struggled to make its mark on the Champions League.

Since returning to Europe's premier club competition in 2012/13, the French giant has failed to make it past the quarter-final stage in its last seven attempts.

Despite the club's riches, I don't think Paris Saint-Germain will get any further this time around.

In Kylian Mbappe, I have no doubt that the club possesses a future Ballon d'Or winner.

The 20-year-old already has a World Cup winners medal, and his goal-scoring ability has seen his game progress at a frightening rate.

Still, PSG's defensive frailties have been exposed on the European stage in recent seasons, and I can't see that changing in the upcoming campaign.

Until PSG wins the Champions League, it will not be considered as one of the continent's elite clubs, and I can't make a case for it testing the top teams in the tournament this season.

From the inaugural tournament in 1955/56 to three successive titles just a few years ago, Los Blancos has won European soccer's top prize more than any other team.

However, the thirteen-time champion endured a dismal 2018/19 campaign, which saw the club struggle domestically, while exiting the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage.

Who Won 2019 Champions League

French head coach Zinedine Zidane was the mastermind behind Madrid's recent European success, but when he left the club at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, things began to fall apart.

Following numerous managerial changes last season, Zidane is back at the helm and will be aiming to return a sense of stability to the Spanish capital.

After so much turbulence, I can't see Real Madrid improving enough this term to trouble the favorites.

Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real has been in a team in transition, and while you can't rule the club out entirely, it would be a major achievement if Real Madrid won the Champions League this season.

I have a good feeling about Bayern Munich this season, and I am surprised that the bookmakers have the club at 13.0.

The 2013 champion has one of the strongest squads in the world, and many of its players have won the Champions League before.

Long-standing wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben have left the club, but the emergence of youngsters such as Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry point towards a bright future.

Despite Bayern Munich winning the Bundesliga title seven years in a row, the strength of the competitors in Germany's top-flight means that Bayern consistently faces top opposition.

2018-2019 Champions League

The club has lifted the Champions League trophy a total of five times, and this has led to Bayern being regarded as one of the continent's most prestigious sides.

Can Niko Kovac — a manager who is relatively inexperienced at the highest level — guide Bayern Munich to an acclaimed title this season?

The Pick

Taking everything into consideration, I'm backing Liverpool to retain its Champions League crown.

The English club has been sensational in the Champions League over the past two seasons, and the players now know what it takes to go all the way in the competition.

After losing the final in 2017, Liverpool proved its bounce-back-ability last season, and I believe more European success is on the horizon.

• Liverpool to Win the UEFA Champions League 2019/20

Good Luck!

Make sure you place your bets at one of our top-rated sports betting sites before the tournament gets underway on September 17.

This season's Champions League is set to be a thriller, and like millions of soccer fans all across the world, I can't wait for the opportunity to make some money on Europe's elite club competition.