2024-25 Champions League odds: Manchester City and Real Madrid favourites for new-look tournament

Real Madrid were crowned European champions for the 15th time on Saturday, when late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior gave them a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Real had been 8-1 shots in this season's ante-post betting but, with France superstar Kylian Mbappe arriving at the Bernabeu this summer, the Spanish champions are 7-2 second-favourites with Coral and Ladbrokes to retain the Champions League in 2024-25.

Manchester City, beaten on penalties by Real in the quarter-finals, head the betting at 11-4 and Premier League runners-up Arsenal are 9-1 ahead of Bayern Munich and Barcelona at 12-1. 

Liverpool, under new manager Arne Slot, are 14-1 to win a new-look Champions League which has been expanded from 32 to 36 teams.

Four-team groups will be scrapped in favour of a league phase in which clubs play eight different opponents – four at home and four away – and only the top eight in the table are guaranteed a place in the round of 16.

Aston Villa, who qualified as the fourth-placed team in the Premier League, are 50-1 to win the Champions League and Bayer Leverkusen, who won the German double and were runners-up in the Europa League, are 25-1 with bet365.

Italy, like Germany, will have five representatives in next season's Champions League. Europa League winners Atalanta are 66-1 while Bologna are 150-1 – the same odds as Girona, who finished third in La Liga.

Scottish champions Celtic are 250-1 and Rangers, who start their campaign in the third qualifying round, are 500-1.

2024-25 Champions League format

• Next season's format features 36 teams, who each play eight matches against eight different opponents in the league phase
• The top eight clubs in the 36-team league table progress automatically to the round of 16
• Teams finishing between ninth and 24th in the league will compete in a playoff round with the eight winners progressing to the last 16
• The tournament then reverts to its existing format of two-legged knockout ties in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals
• The Champions League final will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Saturday, May 31, 2025 

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