Discover which team is best positioned to win the Champions League as the competition heats up with the quarterfinals featuring the continent's elite battling for glory.
The new-look UEFA Champions League may be in its infancy, but the 2024-25 season has created a huge amount of drama in every stage. It has pitted elite clubs against one another from an early stage, with Manchester City becoming the first big gun to fall in the playoff round.
However, the competition will intensify when the quarterfinals get underway, as the best eight teams on the continent collide for a place in the final four, and later a place in the showpiece match in world soccer. But, which team could be best placed to win the Champions League this season?
Hansi Flick deserves huge credit for the job that he has done at Barcelona this season, and the campaign could yet end with success in all three major competitions.
The Catalonian giants sit top of the La Liga standings with nine matches to play, while they could have a Copa del Rey creeping into sight depending on how they perform against Atletico Madrid. In the Champions League, Barcelona has been one of the best-performing teams throughout the competition.
They won six of their eight matches to secure their place in second spot, and they easily progressed through the round of 16 with a 4-1 aggregate success against Benfica. They also have the current top scorer of the competition, Raphinha, with 11 goals.
The draw has opened up for Barcelona now, with a showdown against Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals, before a potential semi-final clash with either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich later in the season.
It is somewhat surprising to see PSG listed as the current second favourites to win the Champions League this season. Luis Enrique is the man tasked with providing a first success in the competition, and it would be hard to argue against the stance that building a team aside from buying superstars has been a key in the progress that has been made.
The Parisians have only reached the Champions League final on one previous occasion, but they were beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich in 2020. Their passage through to this stage looked unlikely early in the League Phase, but they eventually finished 15th after winning four of their eight matches.
They eased through the playoffs with a 10-0 aggregate win over Brest, before producing their best display of the season against Liverpool in the quarterfinals. Despite eventually winning on penalties, PSG could have easily been out of sight after the first leg.
However, they will have a big challenge to secure their place in the final, as they are in the harder side of the draw. If they are able to overcome Aston Villa, a showdown with either Real Madrid or Arsenal awaits in the semi-finals.
Unsurprisingly, Real Madrid rank among the leading contenders for Champions League glory this season, as they are in the hunt for a record-extending 16th crown.
Carlo Ancelotti is reportedly set to leave the club at the end of the season, but the Italian could depart having won the league and cup domestic double, as well as securing the Champions League. Real Madrid’s stranglehold on the competition has been evident in recent seasons, winning two of the last three European Cups, and five of the honours since the start of the 2015-16 season.
However, the new-look format has been tricky for Los Blancos, as they could only finish eleventh in the League Phase. But, they showed their class in the playoff round after dominating Manchester City, before securing their spot in the last eight with battling performances against Atletico Madrid; eventually coming through following a dramatic penalty shootout.
A tie against Arsenal awaits in the last eight, before a potential showdown against either Aston Villa or PSG in the semi-finals.
Inter Milan were the last team to win the European Cup in their home stadium in 1965. Bayern Munich will still be haunted by the memories of their Champions League final defeat against Chelsea in 2012 at the Allianz Arena.
However, they could avenge that this term, with the showpiece match being staged in Munich. Bayern Munich have been the dominant force once again in Germany this season as you can see in the current odds to win Bundesliga.
Still, they needed a playoff win to ensure their passage through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League after winning just five of their eight League Phase matches.
Vincent Kompany’s side avoided a scare in the playoffs to overcome Celtic, before dominating against Bayer Leverkusen to reach the final eight. A tie against Inter Milan is set for the semi-finals, before a potential showdown against Barcelona awaits in the final four.
Inter Milan could be the forgotten team in the Champions League betting this season. The Italian side reached the final in 2023, before losing 1-0 against Manchester City.
However, they are the best defensive team in the competition this season after allowing just one goal in the League Phase.
Their progression has continued to go under the radar, as they made light work of Feyenoord in the round of 16. Like Barcelona, Inter find themselves in the easier half of the draw, and they could have the quality at both ends of the field to overcome Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the next two rounds.
