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Champions League betting

Bet on the Champions League with William Hill

The UEFA Champions League is an elite level competition contested by Europe’s best football teams. It involves 32 teams, split into eight mini groups of four for the Group Stage. Qualification for the competition is weighted in favour of the traditionally ‘powerful’ football nations, meaning the likes of England and Spain enter four teams, France three teams and so on. The Group Stage runs from September to December (games are played midweek), with the top two in each group table qualifying for the knockout phase that runs from February to May/June. The date of the Champions League Final often changes, but the 2018 Final will be held on 26th May at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine.

The Champions League came into existence in 1992, replacing what was known as the European Cup. Although they have different formats (the European Cup was a straight knockout competition between national league winners only), their history and results are seen as intertwined, so we trace its origins back to 1955, i.e. the first European Cup. Real Madrid were the inaugural winners of the European Cup 1955, and with 12 wins, have gone on to be the most successful side in the history of the competition. Madrid dominated the early years of the competition, winning the first five tournaments, a feat that will probably never be equalled. The great Ajax and Bayern Munich sides dominated the early part of the 1970s, whereas English teams, most notably Liverpool, had a stranglehold on the competition during the late 70s and early 80s.

Modern Champions League always delivers Excitement and Drama

The modern era of the Champions League has not been dominated by one club, but rather a clutch of great teams, including Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus. Only Real Madrid – who are the current champions – have retained the Champions League trophy the season after winning it, a feat they achieved by beating Juventus in the 2017 final. Each season there are at least seven or eight teams with realistic chances of winning the competition, so expect Madrid to face stiff opposition to their quest of winning three in a row.

Who will be Madrid’s challengers in 2017/18? A long-awaited return to the Champions League beckons for Manchester United this season. In Jose Mourinho, they have a manager who has already won the trophy twice and is clearly hungry for more success. Indeed, the Premier League will see five teams in this year’s Champions League, with Liverpool, Chelsea Spurs and Manchester City joining United in Europe’s premier club competition. The English sides will be hoping to make up for a barren couple of years, having been eclipsed by PSG and Monaco (France), Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund (Germany) and Barcelona and the two Madrid sides (Spain) in recent seasons. With all the big European clubs strengthening in the summer, this Champions League tournament could be a vintage one.

Get Champions League Results and Top Odds with William Hill

William Hill will have a wide range of Champions League betting options all the way through the competition. Every single Champions League game is covered, from the qualifiers right through to the Final on 26th May. You can bet on outright markets, individual matches (with over 100 different markets) and live in-play with all odds updated in real time. Bet on the Champions League with William Hill - your number one bookmaker for European football.