The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s premier soccer club competition – featuring the biggest teams in world football. We have expert predictions, best bets and analysis for you throughout the season as the famous trophy is up for grabs.
We are now down to the last two teams in the 2021-22 season, and we have expert advice for the final.
Predictions & Best Bets
Salzburg vs Chelsea (Tuesday October 25, 1245 ET)
Group E is one of the tighest groups in the Champions League this season, with only three points separating all four teams with two matchdays left.
These two sides are the top two, which means both are likely to be reasonably satisfied with a draw. That will certainly be the case for Chelsea, who will then have Dinamo Zagreb at home in the last game.
Salzburg have drawn three of their four games in this group, and probably should have drawn their other game too.
Chelsea are still lacking something of a cutting edge in attack and have drawn their last two matches, only scoring one goal from a penalty.
This all points to a draw being the most likely outcome in this one.
OddsCritic Predictions
NB: Odds correct when picks made at 0500 ET on Monday October 24
Napoli vs Rangers (Wednesday October 26, 1500 ET)
Napoli have probably been the best team in the Champions League this season. They have scored more goals than anyone else in the competition – 17 – and have already qualified for the next round.
They have thrashed all of their opponents so far, beating Liverpool 4-1, Rangers 3-0, and Ajax 6-1 away and 4-2 at home.
It’s hard to bet against the Serie A table-toppers winning this one comfortably again at home against a team with four defeats out of four and 16 conceded.
The best bet to make is probably a healthy win for Napoli, who may rotate their starting XI but will still score goals.
OddsCritic Predictions
- Over 3.5 goals +140 (Caesars SportsBook)
NB: Odds correct when picks made at 0500 ET on Monday October 24
When is the Champions League?
The Champions League starts with qualifying rounds in the summer, before the big guns enter at the group stage in September. There are eight groups of four teams, and each team plays each other home and away. The top two from each group then qualify for the knockout stages.
Those knockout stages kick off in February with the Last-16 ties (over two legs, home and away). Then come the quarter-finals and semi-finals – again home and away games.
The final of the 2022-23 Champions League will take place at Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium on June 10, 2023.
How to watch the Champions League on TV
If you want to watch the Champions League, you have a ton of options in the U.S.:
CBS has the English-language rights and will show games on CBS, CBS Sports Network (CBSNN). Check weekly listings for which games land where. You can also stream the games on Paramount+.
Those wanting to watch Spanish-language broadcasts, can watch games on Univision, Galavision, UniMas and TUDNxtra. Again check listings for availability. There are Spanish streaming options on PrendeTV, fuboTV, TUDN.tv and the TUDN app.
Games in the group stages and knockout stages are all played Tuesday and Wednesday evenings local time – with the final being played on a Saturday.
Kickoff times for most games are either at 1245 ET (0945 PT) or at 3pm ET (noon PT).
Champions League Winners
It’s no surprise when you look at the most recent winners to find out that Europe’s footballing giants dominate the landscape. It’s almost like that controversial ‘European Super League’ already exists, right?
Real Madrid, then anchored by the brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo, won the big trophy four times in five seasons between 2014 and 2018. Madrid’s bitter rival Barcelona also has a good record (at least until Messi waved goodbye) while Liverpool grabbed its sixth victory in the competition in 2019.
Chelsea was the most recent winner, beating Manchester City in the 2021 final with a goal from Kai Havertz. City, despite all their big spending, has yet to win the biggest prize in club soccer. PSG – with Messi, Neymar et al – is also in the same boat.
The last 10 winners of the Champions League are as follows:
- 2020-21: Chelsea
- 2019-20: Bayern Munich
- 2018-19: Liverpool
- 2017-18: Real Madrid
- 2016-17: Real Madrid
- 2015-16: Real Madrid
- 2014-15: Barcelona
- 2013-14: Real Madrid
- 2012-13: Bayern Munich
- 2011-12: Chelsea
Free Predictions, from experts
Just a reminder folks that we do not charge for our betting predictions. Our expert analysis is totally free and gratis.
Our predictions and picks come from experts who have been producing in-depth analysis of the European game for decades – put simply they’ve got this.
Champions League Signup Bonus Offers
All sportsbooks have signup bonus offers, and we have some terrific ones to pass along right now.
We have a mix of risk-free bets (up to $2000 with PointsBet for example) or matched first deposits for new users (the sportsbook matches whatever you put down up to a certain amount). Here’s the full state-by-state rundown.
| State | Sportsbook/Casino | Special Signup Bonus Offer |
| Multiple | BetMGM | First Bet Risk-Free up to $1000 |
| NJ | Unibet | $250 Risk-Free Bet |
| NJ | Unibet Casino | $10 free + $500 bonus on first deposit |
| IA | Unibet | $250 Risk-Free Bet |
| NY | BetRivers | Bonus Matched Deposit up to $250 |
| NJ | SugarHouse | Bonus Matched Deposit up to $250 |
| IL | BetRivers | Bonus Matched Deposit up to $250 |
| CT | SugarHouse | Bonus Matched Deposit up to $250 |
Money Line Betting
Often this will be our bet of choice. Why you ask? It’s the simplest soccer bet of all, you are betting just on the result of the game – nothing else. So one of the two teams to win, or a Draw. How much you win depends on the odds of course.
For more details on how to bet on soccer, check out our simple guide.
Over/Under Goals
A really popular bet market, and one we’ll look to capitalize on regularly on this page.
Here you are betting on how many goals will be scored. Not an exact guess – just more or less than the relevant betting line. The same as Over/Under on total points in the NFL for example.
For example if Real Madrid is playing Juventus, if you go over a 2.5 line and the final score is 2-1 to Madrid – you win.
Sportsbooks offer multiple lines, all with different odds. So the further you go away from what they expect – the bigger the odds.
Goalscorer Betting
Really popular betting lines are around who scores the goals. Basically it can give you an interest right through the game.
You can bet in a number of ways here:
- First Goalscorer: Like it says on the tin, you are betting on a player. to score the first goal in the game.
- Last Goalscorer: Again, self-explanatory. Your pick scores the last goal – you win.
- Anytime Goalscorer: Worse odds, but interest all the way. Your pick just has to score at any time in the game.
You can also bet certain players (normally the forwards like Ronaldo and co) to score multiple goals. So potentially bet on the to score 2, 3 or more. Obviously you’ll get better odds the higher you go.
Handicap Betting
This is like betting against the spread in American pro sports. The sportsbooks will give one of the teams a start based on how they think the game will finish up. As with over/under goals, you decide which side to pick.
Also known as ‘Asian Handicap’ betting, again you will get different options for each game. For example if Leeds is playing Chelsea you might be able to bet Chelsea -1.75 goals. In this scenario Chelsea needs to win by 2 for you to collect.
Champions League Props
This is a really fun way to get involved with betting on the UEFA Champions League.
There are ton of props (proposition bets) available for every Champions League game – basically looking at anything bar the result of the game.
So it could be whether a player will complete X number of passes, or how many corners a certain team will have. Crazy stuff and all to give you an interest throughout the 90 minutes of play.
Futures
This is where you place long-term bets – so you can bet on who wins the Champions League right at the start of the season. There are pretty nice odds available if you are confident about who you think will win.
The Top Scorer market is another red-hot betting proposition – especially with the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe, Lewandowski and Salah all playing in the competition most seasons.