How have the Champions League odds shifted after quarter-final first-leg ties?

The quarter-finals of the Champions League have already thoroughly delivered, and it’s only the half-way stage! With plenty of thrills and spills and lots of goals, there was something for everyone and the neutrals would have been spoilt for choice on Tuesday and Wednesday night with mouth-watering ties, including Real Madrid vs Liverpool and Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain.

Some teams will be feeling more confident than others heading into the second-legs and it’ll come as no surprise that, following the first 90 minutes of action, there has been a massive shift of momentum in the UEFA Champions League odds. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at how the outright winner betting market is shaping up.

Manchester City – 7/4

Following a 2-1 victory over a dogged Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad, Manchester City have reinstated their position as the favourites to win the Champions League this year. Pep Guardiola’s men still have their work cut out in the second-leg. However, given their form, both in Europe and domestically, it’s no surprise that they are expected to finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy for the first time. 

Chelsea – 4/1

Chelsea’s position as the second favourites in the outright market is somewhat of a surprise. There’s no doubt that Thomas Tuchel has steadied the ship since taking over from Frank Lampard earlier this year, and they looked very convincing against Atlético Madrid in the last 16. However, given the level of competition remaining in the tournament, it’s hard to imagine Chelsea lifting the European title in Istanbul next month. 

Paris Saint-Germain – 9/2

Paris Saint-Germain seem like great value for money at 9/2. You wouldn’t have blamed PSG for going to the Allianz Arena and performing rather warily against Bayern Munich after losing to the Bundesliga giants in last year’s final. However, the French side came out all guns blazing. Kylian Mbappé and Marquinhos fired the visitors into a two-goal lead, and despite Bayern clawing it back to 2-2, PSG showed resilience as Mbappé nabbed a winner. As it stands, PSG will face Man City in the semi-final, and you’d have to fancy the winner going on to win the tournament.

Real Madrid – 11/2

Not many people would have fancied Real Madrid to boast a 3-1 advantage over Liverpool as they head to Anfield for the second-leg. Los Blancos have left a lot to be desired across the course of this season. However, everything seemed to fall into place for Zinedine Zidane’s side against Liverpool. Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić and Casemiro held all the cards and were able to control the game from midfield, producing moments of magic as Vinícius Júnior (x2) and Marco Asensio provided the goals. 

Bayern Munich – 8/1

Bayern Munich have a mountain to climb at the Parc des Princes next week if they want to progress to the last four, and their odds are a fair reflection of that. The defending champions were as short as 3/1 heading into the quarter-finals. But, after that 3-2 defeat, they now find themselves as far out as 8/1. Injuries to some key players, including Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski certainly haven’t helped them in their title defence. 

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Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Porto are further out at 14/1, 33/1 and 175/1 respectively.