Champions league betting

The UEFA Champions League is considered one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world as 32 of the top European leagues and clubs compete. Naturally, the heightened tension and drama of this soccer competition makes it a popular betting opportunity amongst punters.

Futures bets are straightforward and wager on the outcome of a single match. It is also possible to place a futures bet on the outright winners of any of the eight groups (A-H) or even the winning nation of the tournament. These bets are often more lucrative as there is a greater amount of uncertainty. An example of futures odds found on most websites and betting stations would be:
Chelsea 1/33
This means that for every 33 units you stake, you stand to make one unit if Chelsea wins. Odds like these show that Chelsea is a favourite to win this particular qualifier.

Some bookmakers present the odds as decimals instead of fractions. For example, if an exchange lists the probability of Barcelona winning its first game against AC Milan as 1.33, this means that you win $133 for every $100 staked.

Most sports wagers treat the outcome of a fixture as binary: either a team will win or lose. When it comes to footie; however, the possibility of a draw is also considered. In other words, it is possible to bet that Benfica and Manchester United will tie their first match. The Champions league offers a larger range of odds because the round-robin nature of the tournament means that some teams will be equally skilled while other games will greatly favour one side over another.

An easy way to handicap Champions League odds is on the money line. Here a plus sign (+) indicates the underdogs and a minus sign (-) signifies the favourites. A typical Champions League money line may look like this:
Barcelona -105
Manchester United +275
This means that Barcelona is expected to win and you will have to risk $105 for every $100 won. Conversely, Man U is the underdog and so you need to stake $100 to win $275.