Valentines Day season? Nope. It is Champions League season. After a two month break the greatest club competition in all of football resumes with the first leg of the Round of 16, with a host of heavyweights looking to claim another title, and a handful of underdogs looking to shock the world. Defending champions of England and Europe Manchester City have looked as unstoppable as ever lately, and with the return of Kevin De Bruyne are certainly the favorites to win again this year. But other teams such as Premier League rivals Arsenal, 14x winners Real Madrid, German giants Bayern Munich, and Serie A leaders and Champions League runners up from last year Inter Milan among others all have something to prove. Back in August I correctly predicted the Super Bowl Champions and correctly picked both participants, so I figured I'd try my best to predict the results of this first round of knockout competition in addition to trying to predict the final. I'll be making predictions for each round when it comes and update my prediction along with using hindsight to make fun of how my previous picks are likely to age like milk
According to FanDuel the odds to win the Champions League for every team are as follows:
Manchester City: +185, Bayern Munich: +490, Real Madrid: +500, Arsenal: +600, PSG: +1400, Inter: +1600, Barcelona: +1800, Atletico Madrid: +2900, Dortmund: +3500, Real Sociedad: +5000, Napoli: +6000, RB Leipzig: +6500, Porto: +6500, PSV: +8500, Lazio: +12000, FC Copenhagen: +21000
Manchester City are the clear favorites, with Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Bayern being the main challengers, and teams like PSG, Barca, and Inter a tier below them, before the longshots like Atletico, Dortmund, and the rest of the field being a tier behind the underdogs. Copenhagen are in a league of their own as the ultimate underdog, being the lowest ranked team left and facing the defending champion and favorite to repeat Manchester City in the Round of 16.
FC Copenhagen vs Manchester City
FC Copenhagen: Currently 3rd in Danish Superligaen, UCL Group A Runners Up (8 pts)
Manchester City: Currently 2nd in English Premier League, UCL Group G Winners (18pts)
Prediction: Manchester City Advances
Bold Prediction: Copenhagen scores twice in the first leg
RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid CF
RB Leipzig: Currently 5th in German Bundesliga, UCL Group G Runners Up (12pts)
Real Madrid: Currently 1st in Spanish La Liga, UCL Group C Winners (18pts)
Prediction: Real Madrid Advances
Bold Prediction: Real Madrid wins both legs by 2+ goals
Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad
PSG: Currently 1st in French Ligue 1, UCL Group F Runners Up (8pts)
Real Sociedad: Currently 7th in Spanish La Liga, UCL Group D Winners (12pts)
Prediction: PSG Advances
Bold Prediction: Mbappe Hat trick in leg one
S.S. Lazio vs FC Bayern Munich
Lazio: Currently 8th in Italian Serie A, UCL Group E Runners Up (10pts)
Bayern Munich: Currently 2nd in German Bundesliga, UCL Group A Winners (16pts)
Prediction: Bayern Munich Advances
Bold Prediction: Lazio wins the first leg in Rome
PSV Eindhoven vs Borussia Dortmund
PSV: Currently 1st in Dutch Eredivisie, UCL Group B Runners Up (9pts)
Dortmund: Currently 4th in German Bundesliga, UCL Group F Winners (11pts)
Prediction: PSV Advances
Bold Prediction: Luuk de Jong brace in the second leg
Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid
Inter: Currently 1st in Italian Serie A, UCL Group D Runners Up (12pts)
Atlético: Currently 4th in Spanish La Liga, UCL Group E Winners (14pts)
Prediction: Inter Milan Advances
Bold Prediction: Atletico scores zero goals the entire tie
FC Porto vs Arsenal F.C
Porto: Currently 2nd in Portuguese Primera Liga, UCL Group H Runners Up (12pts)
Arsenal: Currently 3rd in English Premier League, UCL Group B Winners (13pts)
Prediction: Arsenal Advances
Bold Prediction: Arsenal wins leg one via a penalty kick
SSC Napoli vs FC Barcelona
Napoli: Currently 9th in Italian Serie A, UCL Group C Runners Up (10pts)
Barcelona: Currently 3rd in Spanish La Liga, UCL Group H Winners (12pts)
Prediction: Barcelona Advances
Bold Prediction: Barcelona overturns a two-goal deficit to win on aggregate
Finals Prediction:
Real Madrid defeats Paris Saint-Germain 3-1
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