Champions League Betting Guide
Champions League betting is extremely popular in Europe, and internationally. The tournament features the world’s most popular soccer clubs going head-to-head to be crowned the best club in Europe. The UEFA Champions League, or UCL, is the largest European soccer tournament and attracts a lot of betting action throughout the season.
Picking the winner isn’t an easy feat, especially if there are top tier teams competing against each other. The difficulty of the UCL reflects in the odds US bettors will find at sportsbooks. The UEFA Champions League betting odds are pretty close. Whether it be for the early season qualification picks, Champions League group stages, or the final in May, the action doesn’t end.
The most successful European teams in the Champions League are:
- Real Madrid with 13 titles
- AC Milan with seven wins
- Liverpool with six wins, with the most recent being in 2019
Let’s take a look at some of the important aspects of Champions League betting. Also, you’ll find the best US sports betting sites with some competitive betting lines on the market.
Best UEFA Champions League Sportsbooks USA
Below are our recommended online sportsbooks for Americans that want to get in on the UEFA Champions League betting action.
What you’ll find in this Champions League betting guide:
- Popular UEFA Champions League Betting Lines
- How the UEFA Champions League Works
- UCL Final Betting
- Champions League Odds
- Champions League Betting Tips
Popular UEFA Champions League Betting Lines
In order to bet and win Champion League matches, you need to know which betting markets are popular. Let’s take a look at the hottest lines in Champions League betting.
- Three-Way Money Line: The simplest bet to place, all you need to do is predict which team is the winner or if it’ll end as a draw. Another word for this type of bet is a 1X2 where the 1 means a home win, X a draw, and a 2 for an away win.
- Asian Handicap: A more complex bet type, it’s also popular with UCL bettors. In this betting market, the odds are reduced for both teams. Similar to spread betting, the aim of Asian handicapping is to get the odds as close to even as possible. Bets on unevenly matched teams may result in a win.
- Futures: With this bet, US bettors wager on who will the entire UCL. Champions League betting on outright odds offers huge payouts but they are extremely difficult to get right.
- Over/Under (Totals): Totals bets are when the oddsmakers set a projected margin on how many goals will be scored. American bettors then have to predict if the final score will be higher (over) or lower (under) that score.
- Top Goal Scorer: Finally, one of the most popular Champions League predictions is who will score the most goals in the tournament. Bookies set the odds based on factors like previous performance, form, and the team they play for among others.
How the UEFA Champions League Works
The Champions League knock qualifying round begin in July, where the top 32 teams make it to group stage. Then, the winner of each group plays against the runners up of the other group. This then results in eight remaining teams who move into the knockout games. Finally, after the two-legged knockout games (home and away), the final two teams play in the UCL final in the last two weeks of May.
UCL Final Betting
Betting on the UEFA Champions League final is as lucrative and popular as betting on the Super Bowl. This is why top sportsbooks online have separate betting lines specifically for the UCL final. Apart from the usual bets you can place, there are exotic prop bets available on Champions League betting on the final:
- Winner of the toss.
- The side a team will pick to play.
- If the game will go to penalties.
- Will a player miss a penalty?
- How many penalties will be missed?
Make sure to shop around for the best Champions League final odds.
Check out our soccer betting guides:
Champions League Odds
While there are three formats used to display odds – fractional, decimal, and American – we’ll be focusing on the third one. This is because it’s the one you’re most likely to come across at US sports betting sites. For example, Champions League odds on a specific match will be displayed like this:
Barcelona -110
Draw +220
Man City +221
When reading these odds, pay attention to the following:
- Pay attention to the symbol next to the team’s name. This shows whether a team is a favorite and which one’s the underdog. A minus (-) shows the favorite and the plus (+) the underdog. Therefore, Barcelona is the favorite to win while Man City is the underdog.
- The draw section shows the possibility of a draw. In this example, it’s unlikely to end in a draw.
Check out our other sports betting guides:
Champions League Betting Tips
Keep in mind the following Champions League tips to increase your chances of winning your Champion League betting endeavors.
- Shop Around for the Best Odds: firstly, we recommend that US bettors should look for the best Champions League odds at multiple sports betting sites. Secondly, it’s also allowed, and encouraged, to place bets at more than one sportsbook.
- Pick Safe Future Bets: UEFA final odds fluctuate over the season depending on the team’s performance. Making future bets on favorite teams like Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Barcelona are a safe bet because in soccer, those teams are most likely to win.
- Betting on the Top Scorer is an Easy Win: the top scorers in the tournament over the past decade have been dominated by two players – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Therefore, there’s a 50/50 chance of winning.
