It’s that time of year again, the UEFA Champions League is about to restart and so we’re looking at who might be in the running to win the competition this season. The current format of the Champions League was adopted in 1992 from the European Cup, and in the 17 seasons since then only 12 different teams have won the competition. This trend looks set to continue this season, with many of the pretournament favourites previous winners.

Next up in the betting are a host of English sides; Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal, priced at 5/1, 8/1 and 12/1 respectively with Bet 365. Chelsea have a fantastic squad, and Manager Carlo Ancelotti has already tasted European success with AC Milan. The fourth English qualifiers Spurs are priced at 40/1 given their relative lack of European experience.

Champions League odds

Champions League betting previews

Barcelona 3.0 Paddy Power

Barcelona are the current favourites to win the competition after defeating Manchester United 3-1 in the final last season. They are regarded by many as the best team in club football at the moment after winning La Liga for the past 3 seasons and the Champions League twice in that time. They also play an attractive passing game which sees them retain a high amount of possession which is too much for most teams to handle. The current champions have also strengthened themselves considerably this summer as well, bringing in Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez, with youngster Thiago also coming through. Although no side has successfully defended the title in its current format, this Barcelona side could well be the one to do it as they look stronger than ever.

Real Madrid 6.0 BetFred

The current second favourites are fellow Spanish side Real Madrid. Living somewhat in the shadow of their rivals Barcelona recently, they have finished second in La Liga last season and were knocked out of this competition in the Semi Final also by their rivals. Madrid have also spent some big money in recent years on players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Kaka, so there is no doubt that they have the players to win the competition. They also have Jose Mourinho, who has won the competition twice as a manager with Porto and Inter Milan. So after a year of bedding in for the manager, it could be time for the most successful side in the competition to go all the way again.

Manchester United 8.0 Sky Bet

Man United are the smallest priced English side for this season’s Champions League, after finishing runners up last season and winning the English Premier League. It has however, been a summer of transition for Alex Ferguson, with several older players such as Paul Scholes and Edwin Van Der Sar retiring and several young players coming in. After a great start to the season though, which included an 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal , It seems they could be stronger than last season as Ashley Young and Phil Jones have particularly impressed. Wayne Rooney also looks in good form, so Man United could be a good bet, although the inexperience of their young players in this competition will be their main weakness.

There are other sides currently standing just outside of the main favourites with longer odds that could also be a decent bet. Chelsea are best priced at 11.0 with William Hill, but their unconvincing start to the season, coupled with a lack of creativity in the centre of midfield seems to leave them just short of what is required. Another English side Man City could also do well this season and are a good price at 13.0 with Bet365. They have some quality players with European experience and their excellent start to the season has also put them in a good position to challenge in Europe. Bayern Munich are another side that have history in the competition, getting to the final in 2010 and have some good exciting players in Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery and could be a good outside bet at 23.0 from Coral.