Champions League
Champions League Odds Today at Prime Sportsbook: Get the Best UCL Betting Lines and Live Odds
The Champions League is the premier club soccer competition. The best European teams participate in this annual tournament, so it's incredibly lucrative to everyone’s bottom line.
It’s only eclipsed by the nationalist fervor of the World Cup, but it has a far greater impact when you’re arguing about the best players in the world.
As such, there are plenty of betting options when perusing Champions League odds, so let’s look at some of the choices bettors have at sportsbooks.
How Champions League Betting Odds Work
Champions League Moneyline Betting Example:
This is your standard moneyline bet that you see in other sports, while the second type of Champions League betting involves a three-way line where you bet on either team to win or the draw.
Manchester City -150, Real Madrid +400, Draw +300. You would lay -150 to win $100 on Manchester City, get +400 for $100 on Real Madrid, and win $300 for a $100 wager if the match ends in a draw.
Champions League Handicap (Spread) Betting Example:
Betting the spread in soccer is commonly referred to as Asian handicap betting. This is similar to what you see when betting on the point spread in other sports.
Yet, there are times when a spread bet is actually two separate bets. For instance, you might see UCL odds where Real Madrid is listed as a -0.5 and -1 favorite over Manchester United in a match. This means that half of your bet is on Real Madrid -0.5, while the other half is on Real Madrid -1.
Therefore, if Real Madrid wins by a single goal, half your bet is a push, while the other half is a win.
Champions League Over/Under Goals Example:
Betting on the over/under (also known as betting on the total) just means wagering on the total number of goals in a game.
The Champions League betting odds will show a total somewhere between 2 and 3 for the vast majority of matches, but occasionally you could see a total set at 3.5 or even 4. There are also first-half and second-half over/unders in addition to just betting on the number of goals in a game.
For big Champions League matches, you can also find live betting on the over/under, but that can be difficult for games between lesser-regarded teams earlier in the competition.
From moneylines to goal totals, our soccer betting guide helps you bet smarter.
Most Popular Champions League Betting Types
Champions League Moneyline (Match Winner): When you make a moneyline wager in the Champions League, you are simply betting on which team will win the game. There is also a three-way moneyline option if you include draws.
Champions League Handicap Betting (Asian & European): Asian Handicap Betting is essentially spread betting for soccer. You wager on a team to win by a certain number of goals or to cover that number.
Champions League Total Goals (Over/Under): This is the easiest type of bet to understand. Over/under bets are simply wagers on the number of total goals in a match.
Champions League Both Teams to Score (BTTS): Betting on both teams to score is as straightforward as it sounds. Keep in mind that these are 90-minute bets that do not roll over into extra time.
Champions League Correct Score Betting: Correct score betting can be incredibly lucrative in high-scoring matches. You just need to pick the exact score of the match at full time.
Champions League Prop Bets (Player & Team Props): The most common type of prop bets for players are whether or not a certain player will have a goal or an assist. There are more betting options for teams, including betting on corner kicks.
Live Champions League Betting: Nowadays, live betting is available in almost every Champions League match. But keep in mind, live matches are as much as 40 seconds behind the actual run of play on some providers.
Champions League Futures (Outright Winner, Top Scorer, Group Stage Predictions): There can be incredibly juicy Champions League odds when it comes to betting on futures. For example, Porto was 50-1 when Jose Mourinho led the Portuguese club to the Champions League title in 2004.
Bet on Major Champions League Events at Prime Sportsbook
Prime Sportsbook is the best place for Champions League betting because it is a reduced juice sportsbook, meaning that you don’t have to worry about 10-cent lines for major sports, and there are options for bonuses, too.
Additionally, unlike many sportsbooks, Prime Sportsbook doesn’t limit winning bettors.
If you can beat the odds, you will still have a home at Prime Sportsbook.
Champions League Group Stage
The Champions League Group Stage changed a lot in 2024. Previously, clubs were slotted into eight groups of four teams apiece, but now every club plays eight games in a massive table.
The top eight finishers earn an automatic berth into the Round of 16, while the teams that finish between 9th and 24th are matched against one another for the right to advance to the Round of 16.
Champions League Knockout Rounds
Under the new format, knockout rounds start before the Round of 16.
All teams play each other home and away before reaching the Champions League Final. The team with the highest combined score on aggregate advances to the next round in the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals.
Champions League Final
The Champions League Final is the biggest spectacle in club soccer. Over a billion footy fans from across the world tune in to watch the event, and there is plenty of pomp and circumstance in the run-up to the finale.
This match is played at a predetermined neutral site every season, but a few clubs have been fortunate enough to get a home game.
Champions League Live Betting
There has been an explosion in live betting over the last decade. As internet speeds have increased, millions can watch or stream the action on the pitch in close to real time.
That has led to sportsbooks offering live betting to players who like to see how the game unfolds on the field before placing a bet.
There is a few-second delay on every live bet, and sometimes live betting comes off the board completely in the final minutes.
Common Champions League Terms
UEFA Champions League (UCL) – The top European club football competition.
Group Stage – The first phase of the tournament, where 32 teams compete.
Knockout Stage – Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final.
Aggregate Score – The combined score of two-legged ties in knockout rounds.
Extra Time – Two 15-minute halves if a knockout match is tied after 90 minutes.
Penalty Shootout – A tiebreaker if extra time doesn't determine a winner.
Away Goals Rule (Historical Context)
The Away Goals Rule was enacted when teams started playing home and away in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
That lessened the home team’s advantage if the second leg went into extra time on its home turf; however, if there are inverse score lines after home and away games, the second leg must go into extra time.
VAR (Video Assistant Referee) & Betting Impact
Few things in soccer have been as controversial as VAR. Critics have lamented this aid to help the referees since its inception, claiming that it stalls the game unnecessarily and disrupts the flow of the action.
The impact of each goal in soccer is tremendous, so every goal is reviewed now.
Aggregate Score & Two-Legged Ties
In the knockout rounds, the winner is decided by aggregate score.
Teams play each other home and away to determine who advances to the next stage of the Champions League. The team that scores the most away goals advances if the aggregate is even and the two games didn’t have matching results.
If the matches had inverse results, extra time is played.
Golden Boot & Top Scorer Race
The top scorer of the entire tournament receives the Golden Boot. Typically, a player on one of the teams in the finals receives this honor since they have continued to play games and rack up stats.
But it’s a little awkward to see a player from a previously eliminated team earn this award immediately after the Champions League Final.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bet on Champions League player stats like goals scored, assists, shots on goal, tackles made, offsides, penalties, etc.