Bringing all of the top division European clubs together into one league, the UEFA Champions League is managed by the Union of European Football Associations. The European Champion Clubs’ Cup, or the European Cup, has been running strong since 1955 when it was first brought in, offering some of the biggest talents in Soccer an international platform. This has led to a lot of bets being made, as we shall now examine in closer detail here, along with how to potentially see a profit from them.
With up to eighty-one clubs in total, there’s thirty-two teams that make it through to the group stage, making it one of the largest events of its kind. Becoming known as the UEFA Champions League in 1992 when it was successfully rebranded, it would bring in a round-robin format, leading to it being what it currently is today. So far Real Madrid is the team that has gained more wins than any other club, although this could potentially change in time. The teams themselves also get to qualify for the UEFA Super Cup, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup, going on to play beyond Europe.
There’s a lot of competition on offer here, with it being one of the most prestigious leagues in Europe, given a high amount of coverage. What can you do when attempting to successfully place a more lucrative bet then, and how can you learn to see the signs when doing so?
Where To Bet The UEFA Champions League:
America: For all those in North America, they will be best served by BetOnline, as it provides up-to-date live coverage of most UEFA games, including the Champions League.
Canada: Giving you live information on all of the latest games in the UEFA Champions League, Sports Interaction has all the bets you’ll need here.
Everywhere Else: Using Bet365 Sportsbook will be your best bet here as well, with it’s live odds in real-time on all the matches.
What is The UEFA Champions League?
Taking place all across Europe, the UEFA Champions League is the top professional league, with the UEFA Europa League being the second tier below it, and the UEFA Europa Conference League set to be the third. Competing for the Champion Clubs’ Cup, the winning team is presented with the much coveted trophy, and those that win three years in a row are awarded a commemorative badge for their uniforms. Gold medals are also awarded to the winners, along with silver medals being given to the runners-up, which started back in 2012.
Using a double round-robin system for the main portion of the tournament, the final match of the knockout phase takes place in either May or early June. This is what the current format of the league itself generally looks like:
- Group Stage: Thirty-two teams take part in a round-robin tournament, with sixteen of them going through to compete in the next stage.
- Knockout Phase: Each team plays two matches, with one at home and the other away, and eight teams get seeded if they win.
- Finals: Finding the final champions of the UEFA, the winning team also gets immediately entered into the group stages of the following Champions League.
Known by many as simply the UCL, it’s become a firm fixture annually on the European Soccer scene, celebrating international coverage worldwide. How can you potentially profit from this then, and what can you do when putting down any kind of a bet on the event itself?
Common UEFA Champions League Questions:
What bets are there on offer?:Bets are available for all the different games, as you can gamble on each of the different matches, including overall match results and who scores when. Combining bets such as the ‘Half/Full Time’ wagers with handicaps, such as the ‘Asian Handicap’, you can find odds that are more favorable. There’s also more niche prop bets, including whether or not people will draw, which you can experiment with too. Then you have the overall league outcome bets, such as ‘Nationality of Winner’, allowing you to vary them even further.
How would I go about watching the games?:
Broadcast by a number of different providers, it’s a well covered event regardless of where you are currently situated. In the UK you can watch it on BT Sport, while in Canada DAZN own the rights to the games, showing a large portion of them live. North America has the games available through the Turner Sports network, along with Univision showing many of the games too. Elsewhere you should be able to find them through outlets such as Sky Sports, and ESPN, all depending on where you are.
How to Bet The UEFA Champions League:
BetOnline: Going to the ‘Sports’ option on the navigation bar at the top of the main page, you should then be able to find ‘Soccer’ underneath ‘Main Sports’ down the left-hand side. This will open up further options, with ‘UEFA CL’ being linked under ‘Top Leagues’. After registering an account, you can then select from each of the games to see what’s on offer.
Bet365 Sportsbook: Using the ‘English’ language tab to go into the site, you can then locate ‘Soccer’ just below ‘Snooker’ down page’s left-hand side. Among all the countries near the top you’ll find that the ‘UEFA Competitions’ has its own section, with ‘UEFA Champions League’ being the one you want. Then there’s all the upcoming scheduled matches down the page center, with each one taking you through to the various bets on offer.
The UEFA Champions League Betting Strategy:
First and foremost you need to pay close attention to which teams are taking part on a national level, seeing who they are and how they play. Keeping an eye on the line-up is important, as certain players bring different styles to the pitch, changing the direction of the game in an instant. How the teams interact with one another on the field is the key to success, and how this is managed can potentially make or break a game. The way you use the bets and combine them can potentially reflect this, hedging them across the board for more favorable odds.
Take your time and watch older games, getting a basic history of the teams playing, whilst also watching for any up-and-coming clubs that could make a surprise entry. Knowing what’s on offer to you can make all the difference when making a more successful and informed bet.