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The new format of the Champions League produced some thrilling matches last season, with plenty of shocks during the league phase. Will the 2025/26 Champions League be just as exciting?
This season will be the 71st edition of the top-tier European club competition, and the 34th season since it was rebranded as the Champions League. A total of 82 teams from 53 UEFA member nations will participate in the tournament, with the 28 teams who won the league championships in the lowest ranked associations taking part in the first qualifying round.
24 different teams have won the European Cup/Champions League since the first final in 1956. Real Madrid won the first five tournaments, and five of the last nine tournaments. Overall, Los Blancos have won the trophy fifteen times, more than twice the amount of the next most successful side, Milan, who have seven titles to their name.
Inter have three Champions league titles to their name, having won the trophy in 1964, 1965 and 2010. The Italian side were runners-up in 1967, 1972 and 2023.
Paris Saint-Germain finally broke their Champions League hoodoo in 2025, when they defeated Inter 5-0 in the final.
Who will win the 2025/26 Champions League?
Although only 29 of the 36 teams who will contest the league stage are known at this time, it’s hugely likely that the winner will come from amongst those 29 sides.
As a result of the coefficients for the top leagues, the top five teams from the previous domestic seasons in England and Spain have qualified. Italy, Germany and France will each have four representatives. England will have a sixth representative, with Tottenham Hotspur taking part courtesy of their Europa League victory despite only finishing 17th in the EPL table.
The early favourites are Liverpool, closely followed in the betting by Real Madrid, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are the next shortest in the outright odds, then there is a slight gap in the betting before reaching Chelsea.
Will the winner come from one of these teams, or can one of the longer priced teams, such as Napoli, Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, cause an upset?
Champions League 2025/26 outright winner odds
These are the latest odds on teams to win the 2025/26 Champions League. Teams marked with an ‘*’ will play in the qualifying rounds and are not assured of a place in the league phase.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| 🏴 Liverpool | 6.55 |
| 🇪🇸 Real Madrid | 7.60 |
| 🏴 Arsenal | 8.00 |
| 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain | 8.00 |
| 🇪🇸 Barcelona | 9.00 |
| 🏴 Manchester City | 9.10 |
| 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich | 10.00 |
| 🏴 Chelsea | 17.25 |
| 🏴 Newcastle United | 21.00 |
| 🇮🇹 Inter | 23.00 |
| 🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid | 26.00 |
| 🇮🇹 Napoli | 26.00 |
| 🇮🇹 Juventus | 41.00 |
| 🏴 Tottenham Hotspur | 41.00 |
| 🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen | 51.00 |
| 🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund | 51.00 |
| 🇮🇹 Atalanta | 69.00 |
| 🇪🇸 Athletic Bilbao | 83.00 |
| 🇩🇪 Eintracht Frankfurt | 106.00 |
| 🇫🇷 Marseille | 106.00 |
| 🇫🇷 Monaco | 106.00 |
| 🇪🇸 Villarreal | 106.00 |
| 🇵🇹 Benfica * | 165.00 |
| 🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven | 165.00 |
| 🇵🇹 Sporting Lisboa | 165.00 |
| 🇳🇱 Ajax | 215.00 |
| 🏴 Celtic * | 215.00 |
| 🇳🇱 Feyenoord * | 215.00 |
| 🇹🇷 Galatasaray | 215.00 |
| 🇫🇷 Nice * | 215.00 |
| 🇧🇪 Club Brugge * | 265.00 |
| 🇹🇷 Fenerbahçe * | 265.00 |
| 🇬🇷 Olympiacos | 265.00 |
| 🏴 Rangers * | 265.00 |
| 🇧🇪 Union Saint-Gilloise | 265.00 |
| 🇨🇭 Basel * | 551.00 |
| 🇳🇴 Bodø/Glimt * | 551.00 |
| 🇨🇿 Slavia Prague | 551.00 |
| 🇦🇹 Sturm Graz * | 551.00 |
What is the format for the 2025/26 Champions League?
The format for the Champions League changed from the 2024/25 season onwards, with a 36-team league stage replacing the group stage. Each team will play matches against eight different teams, four at home and four away. The eight opponents will be drawn from among the competing teams, after they are sorted into four seeding pots, with each team playing two opponents from each of these pots.
The idea is that clubs will play a wider range of opponents, and that this format will provide fewer dead rubbers. In the first season using the new format, Paris Saint-Germain, who were subsequently crowned Champions League winners, only managed to finish 15th in the league table. Meanwhile, two of the early favourites for last season’s competition, Real Madrid and Manchester City, met each other in the knockout phase playoffs, after they both failed to finish in the top eight and missed out on a bye into the round of 16.
How do teams qualify from the league phase of the Champions League?
- The top eight sides in the league phase will qualify for the knockout phase and move directly into the round of 16.
- The sides finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged playoff round to determine the other eight teams to reach the round of 16.
- Those sides finishing in 25th or lower will be eliminated. There is no access to a place in the Europa League for teams that do not progress from the league phase.
Champions League schedule (2025/26)
First qualifying round
First leg: 8th–9th July, Second leg: 15th–16th July
Second qualifying round
First leg: 22nd–23rd July, Second leg: 29th–30th July
Third qualifying round
First leg: 5th–6th August, Second leg: 12th–13th August
Playoff round
Draw date: 4th August
First leg: 19th–20th August, Second leg: 26th–27th August
League phase
Draw date: 28th August
Matchday 1: 16th–18th September
Matchday 2: 30th–1st October
Matchday 3: 21st–22nd October
Matchday 4: 4th–5th November
Matchday 5: 25th–26th November
Matchday 6: 9th–10th December
Matchday 7: 20th–21st January
Matchday 8: 28th January
Knockout phase
Draw date: 30th January
Knockout rounds playoffs: First leg: 17th–18th February, Second Leg 24th–25th February
Draw date for round of 16 onwards: 27th February
Round of 16: First leg: 10th–11th March, Second Leg 17th–18th March
Quarter-finals: First leg: 7th–8th April, Second Leg 14th–15th April
Semi-finals: First leg: 28th–29th April, Second Leg 5th–6th May
Final: 30th May
Where is the Champions League final 2025/26 being held?
The final will be held on the 30th of May 2026 at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary. This will be the first time that the final of Europe’s top club competition has been held in Hungary.
The stadium was constructed between 2017 and 2019. The first competitive match at the new stadium was between Hungary and Uruguay on 15th November 2019, which drew a record attendance of 65,114 for the stadium. The capacity is just a couple of thousand more than that number.
The 2023 Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma was held at the Puskás Aréna. That match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Sevilla winning the trophy after a penalty shootout.
The stadium has also hosted other notable matches, including the 2020 UEFA Super Cup, as well as several matches in the Champions League and Europa League during the COVID-19 pandemic, when several other countries were unable to host games.
Additionally, every Hungarian Cup final since 2020 has been played in this stadium.
Which teams will compete in the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League?
At present, 29 of the 36 teams who will contest the league stage are known. Seven additional teams will qualify through the playoff round, but here are the teams that have qualified already:
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Real Madrid (Spain)
- Atlético Madrid (Spain)
- Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
- Villarreal (Spain)
- Liverpool (England)
- Arsenal (England)
- Manchester City (England)
- Chelsea (England)
- Newcastle United (England)
- Tottenham Hotspur (England)
- Napoli (Italy)
- Inter (Italy)
- Atalanta (Italy)
- Juventus (Italy)
- Bayern Munich (Germany)
- Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
- Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
- Paris Saint-Germain (France)
- Marseille (France)
- Monaco (France)
- PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
- Ajax (Netherlands)
- Sporting Lisboa (Portugal)
- Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
- Galatasaray (Turkey)
- Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
- Olympiacos (Greece)
Champions League 2024/25 stats
A few statistics from the 2024/25 Champions League:
Top scorers: 13 – Raphinha (Barcelona), Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)
Most assists: 8 – Raphinha (Barcelona), 6 – Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)
Most yellow cards: 34 – Real Madrid, 33 – Inter
Highest scoring match: Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Successive wins: 7 – Liverpool
Successive losses: 8 – Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava
Most goals scored in league stage: 28 – Barcelona, 22 – Borussia Dortmund
Fewest goals scored in league stage: 3 – Young Boys, 4 – Bologna
Most goals conceded in league stage: 27 – Slovan Bratisalva, Red Bull Salzburg
Fewest goals conceded in league stage: 1 – Inter, 3 – Arsenal
Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-0 victory over Inter was the biggest ever winning margin in a Champions League/European Cup final.
You’ll find some fantastic odds and a massive range of markets on all the Champions League matches, as well as some great coverage of the live action once the matches have started, in the Marathonbet Sportsbook.
You can also find informative guides on How to Bet on Football and Handicap Betting, as well as weekly predictions for the English Premier League, in our Sports Betting Guide section.
