Will Real Madrid go back to back in the UEFA Champions League?
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Back before the advent of the new UEFA Champions League in 1993, when the competition was called the European Cup, there were repeat winners all over the shop.
In the first 10 competitions, Real Madrid won the first five in a row, then Benfica won two (and none since the curse was placed on the Lisbon team), and Internazionale won two more after one title from AC Milan.
In the 1970s, Ajax won three in a row, as did Bayern Munich right after the Dutch side: then, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest took turns repeating).
But once the format was changed in 1992-93, it took a quarter century before a team was able to win back-to-back titles: that was Real Madrid, which actually won three Champions League crowns from 2015-16 to 2017-18 (and four of five including 2013-14).
Can the Madridistas do it again in 2023? Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 to win the 2022 Champions League, and will be once again matched up with Liverpool when the Round of 16 resumes in February.
Most NY sports books have Real Madrid as slight underdogs to advance into the quarterfinal draw, but that was the case last season as well. Real Madrid knocked of PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool for what was the most impressive knockout stage run in the history of the tournament.
Of course, we will not be able to see the path that the winner of the eight ties have until mid-March, but we can start to figure out which teams should be backed now, before the odds change with teams advancing.
Here are the eight matchups, with dates for each leg:
Champions League Round of 16 draw
Match 1st Leg 2nd Leg
Bayern Munich vs. PSG Feb. 14 March 8
Tottenham vs. AC Milan Feb. 14 March 8
Chelsea vs. Borussia Dortmund Feb. 15 March 7
Benfica vs. Club Brugge Feb. 15 March 7
Napoli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt Feb. 21 March 15
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool Feb. 21 March 15
Porto vs. Inter Milan Feb. 22 March 14
Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig Feb. 22 March 14
As you can see, there are some heavyweight ties. Along with the final rematch from 2022, you have a 2020 final rematch between Bayern Munich and PSG. The two winners of those ties should be the second and third choices in the futures odds ahead of the quarterfinals, behind Manchester City.
Here are the current odds to win the 2023 Champions League:
Odds to win 2023 Champions League
Team Odds
Manchester City +170
Bayern Munich +700
PSG +800
Liverpool +800
Real Madrid +1100
Napoli +1200
Chelsea +1400
Tottenham +1600
Benfica +1800
Inter Milan +3500
AC Milan +5000
Borussia Dortmund +5000
RB Leipzig +8000
FC Porto +8000
Eintracht Frankfurt +10000
Club Brugge +15000
As you can see, Real Madrid is currently down the board, much like they were last season when the Round of 16 draw happened. If Madrid can get through its final rematch with Liverpool, though, you should expect to see those odds crash down towards +500 or maybe even +450 with new gambling sites such as SI Sportsbook.
If you have faith that Ancelotti’s side can pull off a second repeat since 2017-18, you should back them now with your sports books in Texas that may go live in 2023.
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