Champions League 2025-26 winner predictions, odds and best bets: Arsenal ready to come of age on the big stage

The greatest competition in club football returns this week as the 2025-26 Champions League returns.  

After years of high-profile near-misses, Paris Saint-Germain finally earned the right to call themselves the kings of Europe last season as they swept aside Inter in record-breaking fashion in the final. 

Such was the manner of their 5-0 humbling of the Nerazzurri, many pundits were wondering if this was the start of a new dynasty in the European game after last season's final, but there are plenty of other big names hoping to get their hands on European football's grandest prize.

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Arsenal 2pts 7-1 general

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2025-26 Champions League preview

Madrid, Munich, Milan and Manchester are familiar Champions League destinations but the 2025-26 itinerary also includes trips to Bodo/Glimt in the Arctic Circle, Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan’s Qarabag.

Kairat, who beat Celtic in the playoff round, will travel 7,000km for Thursday’s fixture against Sporting in Lisbon and punters must assess the prospects of 36 contenders, from Paris Saint-Germain to Pafos.

Manchester City and Real Madrid dominated last season’s ante-post betting but the market is far more open this term.

PSG won their first title in scintillating style, thrashing Inter 5-0 in May’s final, and they are one of eight teams priced between 6-1 and 12-1 for glory in Budapest next year.

This is the second season under the new Champions League format, featuring a 36-team league phase instead of eight groups of four.

PSG were worthy winners, eliminating English contenders Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal before their demolition of Inter, but they had to overcome a slow start to the new-look competition.

They drifted in the betting after a tough league-phase draw, suffered early defeats to Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, and were in deep trouble on matchday seven when they trailed Manchester City 2-0 in the second half.

Luis Enrique’s men roared back to win 4-2 against City, who made a real mess of their European campaign. The Citizens finished 22nd in the table, scraping into the playoff round, where they were well beaten by Real Madrid.

PSG’s campaign reminded punters of the importance of peaking at the business end of the tournament as Liverpool had looked the best team in Europe until the turn of the year.

The Reds topped the league standings, winning their first seven matches, and were unfortunate to run into a rapidly improving PSG side in the round of 16.

Reinforced Gunners ready to take the next step

After winning the Premier League and making a fast start to their title defence, Liverpool are one of the biggest threats to PSG but last season’s semi-finalists Arsenal could lead the English charge.

The Gunners’ 1-0 league defeat at Anfield before the international break again raised questions about Mikel Arteta’s cautious approach but they have looked supremely comfortable since returning to the Champions League in 2023-24.

The Gunners won nine of their 12 Champions League home games to nil in the past two seasons and produced a couple of terrific away performances last term, thrashing Sporting 5-1 in the league phase and PSV 7-1 in the last-16 first leg.

A 5-1 aggregate victory over Real Madrid felt like a coming-of-age moment for Arteta’s young side although they came up short against PSG in the last four.Enrique’s side have a similar blend of steel and style to Arsenal but their ruthless finishing made the difference in the semi-final tie.

Arsenal invested heavily over the summer, freshening up their attack with striker Viktor Gyokeres, who scored a Champions League hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last term, and Eberechi Eze.

Real couldn’t cope with a Declan Rice-inspired Arsenal midfield last term and the Gunners – quarter-finalists and semi-finalists in the last two years – should be major players again.Barcelona, last season’s leading goalscorers, have to be respected given their talented young squad. They lost 7-6 on aggregate to Inter in a sensational semi when slightly more streetwise defending would surely have taken Hansi Flick’s men into the final.

There are defensive concerns over Barca and Liverpool while Arsenal certainly need to improve their attacking output from open play if they are to land their maiden Champions League title.Last term’s favourites City and Real are hard to judge at this stage of the campaign. City are struggling for consistency after a significant squad overhaul, which started in January following their shocking start to the 2024-25 Premier League and Champions League seasons.

They have lost two of their first three league fixtures, against Tottenham and Brighton, and were dumped out of the summer Club World Cup by Al Hilal.

Pep Guardiola’s men remain prone to self-destruction at the back, which is far from ideal given the calibre of rivals they face in the Champions League.

Real, 15-time winners, should flourish under new manager Xabi Alonso, especially if he finds a system that gets the best out of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Bayern Munich, like Real, were hampered by injuries in last season’s knockout stage when they stumbled past Celtic and outclassed Bayer Leverkusen before losing to Inter in the last eight.

Chelsea followed up their Conference League triumph with a more surprising victory at the Club World Cup, where a first-half blitz fired them to a 3-0 win over PSG in the final.

The Premier League title betting suggests the Blues are still some way behind Liverpool and Arsenal while Newcastle and Europa League winners Tottenham could be exposed against Europe’s top clubs.

Parisians to mount bold title defence

PSG were worthy winners of the European title last termCredit: ANP via Getty Images

At the prices, Arsenal and PSG make the most appeal. Playing in Ligue 1 offers the holders a massive advantage as they are able to rest and rotate their players throughout the season without jeopardising domestic success.

They have had a relatively quiet transfer window, bringing in Bournemouth centre-back Illia Zabarnyi and signing Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier to replace Gianluigi Donnarumma. It looks like a classic case of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ for Enrique, whose team struck the perfect balance between attack and defence last season.

They needed penalties to get past Liverpool at Anfield in the round of 16 but should have been out of sight after a home leg which they lost 1-0 despite having 27 shots to the Reds’ two.

A series of minor injuries for Ballon d’Or favourite Ousmane Dembele is a concern but winger Kvicha Kvaratskhelia is a superstar and young forwards Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola are great talents.

A midfield of Joao Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz provides the ideal foundation for PSG, allowing marauding full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes to menace opposing defences.PSG looked fresh and hungry on their run to July’s Club World Cup final, beating Atletico Madrid 4-0, Bayern Munich 2-0 and Real Madrid 4-0 before their shock defeat to Chelsea.

They were not at their sharpest in last month’s Uefa Super Cup against Tottenham but fought back from 2-0 down late on to win on penalties.A tricky league-phase draw means PSG have been eased a little in the outright betting, just as they were this time last year. However, after such a long wait for their first Champions League title, they are unlikely to give up their crown easily.

Champions League 2025-26 betting odds

Here are the latest odds to win the 2025-26 Champions League.

Odds correct at time of publish

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More on the Champions League:

Champions League 2025-26: Awkward fixture list may leave Bayern facing playoffs 

Champions League top goalscorer predictions, odds and best bets: Ousmane Dembele and Viktor Gyokeres can battle it out for Golden Boot 

European Football Preview Show – Champions League predictions sponsored by SBK 

Champions League FAQs

When does the 2025-26 Champions League start?

The 2025-26 Champions League season begins on Tuesday, September 16 with six matches. There are a further six Matchday One matches on Wednesday, September 17 and Thursday, September 18.

Where is the 2025-26 Champions League final being played?

This season's Champions League final will be held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

Who are the favourites to win the 2025-26 Champions League?

Premier League champions Liverpool and Spanish giants Barcelona are 6-1 joint-favourites to win the 2025-26 Champions League. They are closely followed in the betting by reigning European champions PSG, Arsenal, 15-time winners Real Madrid and 2023 winners Manchester City.

Who are the most successful team in Champions League history?

Spanish side Real Madrid have won a record 15 European titles. Milan are in second place with seven while German side Bayern Munich and Liverpool have each been crowned European champions on six occasions.

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