As ever, the UEFA Champions League outright winner odds market is one of the most exciting and dynamic ones around. with the odds often changing from one round to another.
With the draw for the league phase of this Champions League season out of the way, the bookies have updated their odds once again, so let's take a closer look at the main candidates to win the most prestigious European trophy.
Best Champions League outright winner odds
Barcelona
6/1
Liverpool
6/1
PSG
13/2
Arsenal
7/1
Real Madrid
8/1
Manchester City
9/1
Bayern Munich
12/1
Chelsea
12/1
A closer look at the contenders
Liverpool
Liverpool are considered to be joint favourites to win the Champions League this season, along with Barcelona, and if they do, then it would be their seventh European Cup/Champions League triumph.
The Reds won the Premier League comfortably last season and have added world-class talent to their ranks over the summer. Florian Wirtz will add more creativity to their midfield, while Hugo Ekitike should help to ease the goalscoring burden on Mo Salah.
Barcelona
Barcelona are the same price as Liverpool to win the Champions League this season. If they do manage to go all the way, then it will be their first triumph since Lionel Messi left the club and their sixth title overall.
The Catalans will feel that they should have been the team to take on PSG in last year's final, but came up short in a thrilling semi-final with Inter Milan. Defensively, there are still question marks, but going forward, they are one of the most exciting teams around with and the addition of Marcus Rashford is only going to make them stronger in that regard.
PSG
Unsurprisingly, PSG are among the main favourites to defend their crown this season, although they are slightly behind Liverpool and Barcelona, according to the bookmakers. They probably would've been the main favourites after they romped to the title last season by beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final, but losing to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final showed that they are vulnerable.
On top of that, PSG didn't do much during the summer transfer window, while Liverpool, for example, spent a lot of money to refresh and improve their already great squad.
That being said, PSG have proven last season that this team already is good enough to win it all since they become the champions of Europe for the first time in history.
Arsenal
At 7/1, Arsenal are priced slightly longer than Barcelona, Liverpool, and PSG in the Champions League stakes this season. The Gunners gave PSG a run for their money in the semi-finals last season, but ultimately came up short due to a lack of cutting edge up front.
The hope in North London is that the addition of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon will help in this regard, but the Swede will first need to prove that he can perform consistently against elite competition.
Real Madrid
Priced at 8/1 are Real Madrid, the 15-time winners of the competition. It's all change at the Bernabeu this season with Xabi Alonso at the helm, and there is a sense that the players may need a bit of time to find their rhythm under the Spaniard.
Still, we should know by now that you simply can't rule Real Madrid out in this competition, particularly when they have the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr at the top of the pitch.
Man City
After winning the illustrious treble in the 2023-2024 season, which also marked their first-ever time lifting the Champions League trophy, things haven't gone according to plan at Man City. Yes, they managed to defend their Premier League title the season after, winning their jubilar 10th league title, but they failed to do the same in the Champions League.
Last season Man City failed to win a single trophy, excluding the Community Shield, and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League in the first round of the knockout stages. So, the Citizens will be eager to show they are still among the best teams in Europe this season and they've spent a lot of cash this summer to reinforce their squad.