The UEFA Champions League is almost on its final legs, and the tournament is heating up now. With the semi-finals just less than a week away, there will be a lot of debate on which teams will be in the finals of the UEFA Champions League. But before that, there are many things we should discuss, especially the current favorites.
The odds will certainly change once the semi-finals are over, but we’re guessing the usual suspects will be there in the finals. But with that in mind, here are the current favorites to win the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League.
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Manchester City
The current top-rank favorite as of late is Manchester City. With that, everyone asks if this is the year City and Pep Guardiola land the Big One. Lately, they’ve been backed into events after smashing ten wins without reply after Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
They will then take a three-goal lead against Munich before a possible semi-against Real or Chelsea, but Real is the best possibility right now. It’s a matter of debate among football fans, but we’ll see soon enough.
Real Madrid
So far, so good in this season yet, but recently, they were 2-0 in just under 15 minutes in the first leg of the last 16 back at Liverpool. Quite an embarrassment considering that this is the team that they have beaten twice in the last five finals the team participated in. Luckily for them, this embarrassment didn’t last long as two hours and five goals later, they beat Liverpool like the last hour was nothing but a dream.
That said, many fans believe in Real Madrid’s power, even saying that winning games that matter is their specialty, especially the finals game. They also made light work of Chelsea during the first leg of the quarter-final. But then again, many teams have made light work of Chelsea before, so it’s unsurprising.
AC Milan
AC Milan has done quite terribly recently. They secured qualification on the final day, which sprouted some real doubts from football fans. It’s also ironic that they were at the top, beating Dinamo Zagreb in the Red Bull Salzburg.
However, that all stopped when the crucial double-header against Chelsea came. Across these two matches, Milan conceded after a 5-point advantage without even scoring. This made their fans doubt their participation in the finals.
Inter Milan
When joining Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the group of death, many people expected Inter to be playing their European football in the Europa League at this point in the season. However, that was not the case. It was quite bad for them since they got the first loss of the group, by having a loss from Bayern, with Barcelona also managing to beat Viktoria Plzen.
However, they made a huge comeback with four unbeaten games, including a win and a draw against Barcelona. It would’ve been better, too, but Barcelona had to come from behind, equalizing the game 3-3. Bayern defeated them, but that doesn’t change their standings even for a bit, which still makes them a good runner-up, taking on Porto in the last 16.
Bayern Munich
People normally expect the Bundesliga to be pretty much sewn up by this point if they want to concentrate on the Champions League. However, they are locked in a race where they find themselves two points clear of Borussia Dortmund. Because of that, they were prompted to sack Julian Nagelsmann and proceed to hire Thomas Tuchel.
However, City steamrolled them to oblivion, with a 0-3 standing in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Not to mention that all over the news shows that their players are fighting with each other. Quite a shameful situation, but they are still the favorites.
Napoli
Quite unexpectedly, Napoli is the hottest team in Europe right now. They led the Italian top flight by quite a huge margin and dominated their Champions League group. They only fell short in the final fixture at Anfield, but it doesn’t matter much. Kchvicha Kvaratskhelia is quickly becoming more popular, along with Piotr Zielinski, creating a deadly force that feeds their target man Victor Osimhen.
Because of this deadly trio, Napoli became the team with the most points in any group. It’s quite a stretch to say they can win the Champions League right now. Like how you play blackjack online, they don’t have the winning hand right now, but it’s not bad. It’s a tough out, but if they continue to play at a higher level until December, they might be a title contender for the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
Final Words
The UEFA Champions League is just a month away, and things are already heating up in the group stage. Right now, Man City is still the top favorite team by a small margin, meaning their rankings can change as May passes. Come June; we will see which of these teams will stand in the final stage of the Champions League.
