The UEFA Champions League is one of the most popular sports events on the planet. In the league, 32 teams get to compete for the Champions League title. The tournament was introduced in 1955, and its first name was the Champion Club’s Cup.
In 1992, the tournament’s name was changed to the current one; the UEFA Champions League. This change allowed multiple teams to participate. Currently, the league begins with the qualifiers, which is the UEFA Super Cup, where all the teams within the UEFA league compete to be a part of the 32 qualified teams. After the qualifiers, the 32 enter the group stage of the tournament.
That means there are lots of fixtures that some teams have to play if they manage to progress in this cup. A lot of opportunities to win some money if you back the right team! View our sportsbetting tips for Champions League here.
The Champions Qualifying League Set-Up
The Champions League begins in June every year. Twenty-six teams always pre-qualify for the tournament. The actual tournament is then organised into the following stages;
The preliminary round Three qualifying rounds Playoff round
After these three stages, six more teams join the 26 to make them 32 for the main league to begin.
How the 32 Team-Tournament is Organised
The 32 teams that survive the qualifier rounds get to play in the main tournament. They are usually subdivided into eight groups. The setup of the tournament has expanded over time. While initially, the countries were only allowed to enter their champion into the league, now they can have up to four teams.
The winners of the eight group matches and the runners up enter the last 16. This is known as the knockout phase of the tournament. The knockout stage is what leads to the final tournament, where the winner of the cup is declared and crowned.
Teams that Have Won the Tournament in the Past
It is good to understand the history that each of the teams which participate in the league has. Twenty-two clubs have won the tournament since its inception. Some clubs have won the league more than once. The team that has recorded the highest number of wins is Real Madrid, with 13 total wins.
The 2019 league final was between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, and Liverpool won. England, Italy, and Spain have produced the highest number of wins for the tournament since it started.
The UEFA Leagues Favourites for this Year
This year’s tournament is the 66th season of the tournament since its inception. It is also the 29th season of the tournament since it was renamed to the UEFA Champions League. The timetable for this year’s league was affected by the coronavirus outbreak, which is why the qualifiers started later than they usually do.
Here are some of the methods that the UEFA League uses to break ties when they occur between the Champions League teams, and also to determine the winner;
The team with the higher number of points in the group matches always gets a better rank. The team with the higher goal difference in the group matches gets a better rank than the one with fewer goals. Scoring goals away from home earns a team more points than when they score at home. Teams receive disciplinary points during matches. Usually, a yellow card earns a team one point while a red card leads to three points. Odds and Predictions for the 2020-21 Tournament
The Champions League is just getting going, with last season’s final taking place less than a week ago.
Here are the top contenders for the Cup;
Bayern Munich -The team has given consistently excellent results throughout the season. They beat Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate over the 2 legs and are in amazing form having won this year’s trophy. Manchester City- Most football analysts and betting experts say that Manchester City is the most likely team to win this years Champions League, but then they say that every year. They have won the Premier League for two out of the last three consecutive years, meaning that Pep is doing an amazing job. PSG-Paris St. Germain- The team has been dominating the French tournament for the past five years. Betting companies are giving them 5/1 odds to win their maiden UEFA Champions League Cup, having made the final this year. Conclusion
The UEFA Champions League is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, with millions of pounds to be won. These are just a few pointers to how the UEFA Champions League is structured. Odds and predictions help you bet on the team that’s likely to win the Champion Club’s Cup.