We’re down to the final eight of the 2021 Champions League and the English are there in numbers as three Premier League giants all have serious designs on European football’s top prize.
England is the odds on favourite to be the nation which provides the 2021 Champions League winner at a price of 1.55. They have tournament favourites Manchester City, 2019 champions Liverpool, and a resurgent Chelsea all in the mix so it will take a strong European team to keep the trophy away from the shores of the UK.
2020 winners FC Bayern are the biggest threat to the British, while Paris Saint-Germain might have plenty to say as well. But those two meet in the quarterfinals and so the resistance to UK domination will lose a big gun.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund
You know what folks, we could end up with no English sides in the final four, but it would be a major shock if Pep Guardiola’s quadruple chasing side slip up against an inconsistent Borussia Dortmund, who are currently struggling to break into the Bundesliga top four.
Edin Terzic’s Borussia are outsiders for the game but they have the most potent striker in the tournament in their ranks in the 6-foot-4 frame of Erling Braut Haaland.
The 20-year-old Norwegian star has the Golden Boot in his grasp with 10 goals already in the bank, and he’s already been touted as a transfer target for Manchester City in the summer transfer window.
Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring their second goal vs Sevilla in the Champions League
Young USA winger Gio Reyna is making waves too, while the experience of Marco Reus is invaluable to BVB’s young stars.
But the Germans are up against a side which is now at full strength following the successful returns from injury of Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.
The Champions League 2021 betting odds have backed Manchester City all the way and the latest SBOTOP price at 3.20 looks pretty handy to me.
Real Madrid vs Liverpool
Now this tie is really difficult to call. It’s a clash between two of the grand old names of European football.
In 2018, Los Blancos became the first team to win the Champions League three times in a row for the second time and they have won the trophy on a record 13 occasions.
Liverpool are joint third on the all-time winners list with six triumphs – the last in 2019 when goals from Mo Salah and Divock Origi saw off Spurs in an all-Premier League clash which failed to live up to expectations.
The Reds have been a shadow of the side which won the English title last term without their centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomes and Los Blancos top scorer Karim Benzema is a potential match-winner.
This is the tie most likely to throw up an English casualty, but the Reds love those European nights which are a welcome break from domestic matters.
FC Porto vs Chelsea
The way the Blues clinically dispatched La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 raised a few eyebrows, and Thomas Tuchel seems to have transformed his side from a dysfunctional collection of highly gifted young players to a ruthless winning machine.
Porto are the rank outsiders at odds of 51.00 but they sprung the biggest surprise of all the Champions League 2021 results when they dispatched Serie A giants Juventus and they don’t come much more ruthless than the Bianconeri.
The Portuguese side have shown that they can be dangerous, scoring four times over two legs against Leonardo Bonucci and co. But Chelsea have some serious momentum behind them and are now third favourites to win the Champions League at odds of 5.50.
Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain
This tie with the only one without a Premier League team featuring is the clash of the round. It’s a repeat of the 2020 Champions League final when Kingsley Coman scored the winner for Die Bayern and the English clubs will make no secret of their delight that one of Bayern and PSG will disappear.
Hansi Flick’s side are second favourites to retain their trophy and they made it seven triumphs in total having dispatched an in-form Lazio 6-2 on aggregate
However, with the prolific Robert Lewandowski missing Poland’s World Cup qualifier with England this week, the Parisians might be hoping the ferocity of the Germans’ artillery is subdued.
And if there is any let-up from the Bavarians, they could easily suffer as Barcelona did when Kylian Mbappe blew the Blaugrana away with a first leg hat-trick in the Round of 16.
This match is sure to be a fantastic watch and the winner will fly the flag for mainland Europe!
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post Champions League: Can Mainland Europe Deny the Premier League’s Finest? appeared first on SBOTOP.