It has been four long months since a ball was lack kicked in competitive Champions League football but in the first week of August, we witness the return of UEFA’s premier footballing competition. The 2019/20 campaign – suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak and resulting lockdown across Europe – resumes on Friday 7 August and will be played to a conclusion.
The final has been penned in for Sunday 23 August with a 20:00 GMT kick-off time but there’s still much work to be done before football fans get to sit back and enjoy this year’s decider at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. 11 games will separate the contenders from the champions and there are some familiar names still in the running.
Nearing the resumption of play at the Round of 16 stage we still have the likes of Juventus, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and PSG in the competition. Who will come out on top? That remains to be seen but followers are guaranteed a grandstand finish with UEFA determined not to allow a blank space next to the 2020 champion. If you’re thinking of placing a bet then you can maximise your potential return by using a betting promo code.
Dates for your diary
The dates have been confirmed and can be added to your diary as we prepare for a summer festival of football in both the Champions League and Europa League. Sticking to the main competition for now we note the following…
Juventus v Lyon – 7/8
Man City v Real Madrid 7/8
Barcelona v Napoli 8/8
Bayern Munich v Chelsea 8/8
Atalanta v PSG 12/8
RB Leipzig v Atletico Madrid 13/8
Quarter final – 14/8
Quarter final – 15/8
Semi-final – 18/8
Semi-final – 18/8
Final – 23/8
As it stands
Returning to the remaining round of 16 matches as we pick up the slack with Juventus v Lyon and Man City v Real Madrid as the curtain goes up on the big comeback. Lyon head to Italy to face Serie A nine-in-a-row champions Juventus but the French club do so with a 1-0 aggregate lead. The Ligue 1 club may have their noses in front but know it’s a fragile lead and one Juventus are capable of shooting down on their own patch.
Man City v Real Madrid looks to be pick of the bunch as two of the biggest names in world football clash for a place in the quarter finals. Many stars of the sport will be on show here and Man City take confidence from a 2-1 win achieved in Spain after the first leg. They are at the Etihad Stadium and have a lead to protect, something many think they will be able to do.
Barcelona and Napoli hangs in the balance with the other round of 16 games played on Saturday from 20:00. The rivals are locked at 1-1 on aggregate but the mighty Barca won’t see that as a problem as they have an away goal and home advantage. A goalless draw or a win on the night would put them through to the quarters.
The remaining last 16 match sees Bayern Munich and Chelsea play in Germany, but the Bundesliga champions are hot favourites to eliminate Frank Lampard’s Blues. Chelsea may have secured a Premier League top four finish earlier this month, but they trail Munich 3-0 on aggregate and the stats suggest Bayern are unlikely to lose by a three-goal margin on their own patch.
Two of the quarter final games are already decided and we’ll see Italian side Atalanta play French champions PSG on Wednesday before Germans RB Leipzig meet La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid 24 hours later. By the time those sides line-up we will know all quarter final matches.
Champions League betting
Bookmakers certainly haven’t been shy in making their feelings clear on who they believe will win this summer’s Champions League with traders at every major online bookie sticking Bayern Munich to the head of their outright betting list. The Germans are best priced 7/2 at 888Sport although most other firms have them as tight as 10/3.
Bayern Munich’s main rivals are English Premier League runners up Manchester City who have dropped from favourites to second favourites when drawn against Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola’s men do have that narrow lead and if they eliminate Zinedine Zidane’s men they could storm back to the head of the list. Man City are 15/4 top price at 888Sport to end their long wait for success on the continent. Most bookmakers trade 10/3 or 3/1.
Other teams worth a mention at this stage are PSG at 11/2, Atletico Madrid at 9/1, Atalanta at 10/1 and there’s as big as 11/1 if you expect Barcelona to go all the way to glory. The latter should be popular as it rates as the value play despite them missing out on La Liga success.
