Who will win the Champions League?

Sponsored content

The UEFA Champions League is undoubtedly the world’s greatest club competition, the biggest games in club football are played during these months. The competition is capable of glueing hundreds of millions of people to the TV. With the quarterfinals rapidly approaching and the draw for them taking place on 15 March, one important question arises: who will win the Champions League?

The UEFA Champions League, being the world’s biggest club competition, draw hundreds of millions of viewers every year. According to The Athletic, in 2023, UEFA estimated that a global audience of 450 million people would watch at least some part of the Champions League final which saw Manchester City and Inter Milan facing each other. The 2023/24 Champions League finals promise to be no less exciting, so a similarly high viewership is expected.

The groups

The 8 groups of the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 are the following:

Round 16 and quarterfinals

As the Round of 16 is progressing, with 8 more teams playing on 12 and 13 March, more and more predictions are coming to light as to who the top 8, top 4, top 2 and the Champions will be. As uefa.com reports, the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League quarter-final, semi-final and final draws will take place at 12:00 CET on Friday, 15 March 2024.

So far, 4 teams secured their places in the quarterfinals:

• Bayern Münich
• Manchester City
• Paris Saint-Germain
• Real Madrid

The following 8 teams are competing for the next 4 seats:

• Porto (POR) vs Arsenal (ENG)
• Napoli (ITA) vs Barcelona (ESP)
• PSV Eindhoven (NED) vs Borussia Dortmund (GER)
• Inter Milan (ITA) vs Atlético de Madrid (ESP)

Chances of the 4 teams already in quarter-finals

To start with, let’s summarise what coefficients are. The UEFA coefficients are statistics based on weighted arithmetic means which are used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions.

Now, let’s take a look at the chances of the 4 teams already in the top 8 to win the Championship.

Bayern Münich

Bayern’s UEFA coefficient ranking is 2. In the last 3 seasons, the German team could not advance past the quarter-finals. Do you think it will change this year? According to a UEFA.com Bayern reporter, the team “made no secret of their ambition to progress beyond the quarter-finals, the end of the line for them in the Champions League for the past three seasons”. According to the reporter, Harry Kane is the reason many fans believe Bayern might turn out to be German champions this year. In Kane, the team has an “elite striker”, a player who can fire the team up.

Manchester City

Man City’s UEFA coefficient ranking is 1. Last year’s champions are definitely showing everyone that it will not be too easy to snitch the title from them. They are the current favourites in the football betting, and as a UEFA.com Man City reporter puts it, “a trademark show of consistently brutal firepower has brought three goals in all eight of their games so far,” adding that the English team has qualified for the quarter-finals for a seventh consecutive season. According to the reporter, the team’s manager Pep Guardiola has “a relentless will to win” – and this, coupled with the team’s shared desire to be the best, is the perfect equation.

Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA coefficient ranking is 4. PSG fans have a lot to look out for as the team has qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2020/21 season. According to a UEFA.com Paris reporter, since the team had an “expertly navigated round of 16 second leg against Real Sociedad”, their hopes and optimism are on the rise. As the reporter points out, the team from the French capital currently has arguably the best player in the world, Kylian Mbappé. As for Warren Zaïre-Emery, Paris has “one of the brightest midfield talents in the game”. If they “continue to evolve as a group and key players remain fit, Les Parisiens will be a force to be reckoned with”, the reporter concludes.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s UEFA coefficient ranking is 3. According to a UEFA.com Real Madrid reporter, the team could win the Champions League simply because they are Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s team “live and breathe the stress, the pride, the ambition, the Houdini acts and the majesty which any club needs” to win the trophy, as the reporter puts it. According to him, unlike most teams, Real Madrid has an “all-consuming desire” to win this trophy.

Whatever happens in the rest of the tournament, whoever wins, one thing is for sure: we are in for one hell of a ride.

Disclaimer: the author(s) of the sponsored article(s) are solely responsible for any opinions expressed or offers made. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of Daily News Hungary, and the editorial staff cannot be held responsible for their veracity.