And then there were eight — these are the last remaining clubs left in the Champions League. The draw is out and the first match of the quarters is scheduled for April 10 and 11. We’ve analyzed three of the four matchups to offer our expert betting advice on which clubs advance to the semis. Keep reading to get our free picks!
To Advance: Man City vs. Bayern Munich
Without question, this is the most anticipated series of the quarter-finals. Not only are two legit contenders squaring off, but there’s also drama with Pep Guardiola. This is the first time the esteemed manager will face his old Bayern side since leaving the team in 2016. As it stands, the top-used betting sites for soccer are favoring Pep’s new team, City, to advance to the next round over Bayern:
Since we’re on the topic of managers, you can’t overlook the fact Bayern just sacked Julian Nagelsmann. The shock firing comes on the heels of losing 2-1 to lowly Bayer Leverkusen. The abrupt loss forced the prestigious club to drop Nagelsmann sooner than waiting until year's end. While the team is unbeaten in Champions League play (8-0), they’ve floundered in Bundesliga. The team is 15-7-3 and one point behind Dortmund for first place in the standings. Still, this is the worst-performing Bayern team of the past 11 years.
Out is Nagelsmann and in is Thomas Tuchel. He immediately gets thrown into the fire, not only with the Man City matchup but Dortmund in league play this weekend. He’s looking for deja vu as two years ago, he became Chelsea’s coach mid-season and promptly led them to a Champions League title. Still, we can’t help but feel it’s too little, too late for Bayern — especially against a high-flying team like City. Our money is on Guardiola to lead his current team to the semis.
To Advance: Real Madrid vs. Chelsea
We have ourselves another star-studded matchup featuring the past two Champions League winners. However, the betting odds available across the board clearly favor the reigning champions, Real Madrid. Here’s a look at the Real Madrid-Chelsea odds to advance:
Chelsea is one of the most head-scratching teams in the world. In league play, they’ve been disastrous under manager Graham Potter. The club is currently in 10th place in the Premier League with an awful mark of 10-8-9. They’re nine points back of fifth place so even a Europa League qualification is likely not happening. Still, they did upset Dortmund in the Champions League round before so you can’t completely write them off.
Regardless, we feel extremely confident in betting on Real Madrid to advance, and rather comfortably so. They might not catch Barcelona in La Liga, but they’ve looked the defending champion part in the Champions League, trouncing Liverpool 6-2 in the aggregate last round. Goals are almost guaranteed with Real Madrid with Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior up front. This is a no-brainer bet as far as we’re concerned so take Los Blancos.
To Advance: Inter Milan vs. Benfica
The Benefica-Inter Milan betting line is interesting because neither is plus-money. Among the four UCL matchups this round, this one is the closest betting-wise. Have a look at where the odds stand:
We'll be completely honest: we're not buying the hype on Benfica. Yes, we know — they won the group that also involved PSG and Juventus. However, Juventus is a shell of themselves and PSG, well, you know they always underperform. In the last 16 round, Benfica drew a bad Club Brugge team too. Something tells us Benfica's luck runs out this round, or as legend would have it, the Bela Guttmann curse will strike again.
Inter Milan, while not playing all that high themselves, plays much stiffer competition on a routine basis in Series A than Benfica does in Portugals' Primeira Liga. Our prediction is the Italian side guts out an ugly aggregate victory. Maybe 1-0, if we're being honest. The loss of Enzo Fernandez for Benfica (who transferred to Chelsea after his World Cup breakout) will also play a factor here. Take the slight underdogs to advance here!
How To Bet On 2023 Champions League
There are way more 2023 Champions League bets available at bookmakers right now than what we covered above. Beyond just who advances, there are odds on the first game and futures lines on who wins the entire championship. To get a complete list of lines, hit one of the sites listed underneath. All five sites are there because they ranked among the highest in our latest sportsbook reviews.
Last thing before we let you run off and bet: you could even gamble “on the house.” You see, these sites are offering hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play to bettors, both new and returning. This money comes in the form of various sportsbook bonuses. Money earned could fund your Champions League bets and more in other sports or leagues. Check out the table below to see what deals are currently available.
