Man City and Real Madrid achieve mixed results on the Champions League odds board

There aren't many surprises at the top of the odds table for the UEFA Champions League winner ahead of the 2024-25 season: Manchester City (+220) and Real Madrid (+350), who have won the title together for the past three seasons, are well above all other contenders according to ESPN BET odds. However, the action of the two favorites on the American sports betting market is very different.

Real Madrid, by far the most successful club in the history of European competition with 15 titles, is heavily represented, leading at BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel with over 25% of tickets and 35% of revenue. At ESPN BET, the Spanish giant is top in bets (26.0%) but second in money (25.1%). According to BetMGM, Los Blancos are the biggest drag on the market.

Meanwhile, there is significantly less going on at City. The Sky Blues have some peaks in betting and turnover at other bookmakers, but are not doing well overall.

Punters' mood towards Man City may be somber as the hearing into 115 charges of alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules began this week – although this will have no direct impact on the club's performance in the Champions League as they fended off similar charges from UEFA on appeal in 2020.

Nevertheless, bettors are betting that City star Erling Haaland will be the top scorer in the competition (favorite at +300). in masses. DraftKings and FanDuel have over 32% of the money on the 24-year-old to score the most goals, while ESPN BET calls it “the vast majority of tickets.”

After the top two teams, Arsenal (third place at +800) have seen plenty of action across the board, even leading the ESPN BET handle share at 28.4%. But in general, there isn't much consensus after that, with the UCL's new “league” format raising plenty of questions about who will come out on top.

“By increasing early-stage matches and removing the 'home and away' format in small groups, we can see more of Europe's top teams on the biggest stage, providing ample opportunities to excite bettors throughout the season,” said an ESPN BET trading spokesperson.

Thus, the line movements of the teams swirl around on the odds boards, with the odds of Liverpool (+1400), Paris Saint-Germain (+2000) and Inter Milan (+2500) getting longer or shorter depending on the bookmaker.