Champions League: Bettors back City to go all the way in 2019/20

Manchester City are the favourites to win the Champions League in 2019/20 ahead of Monday's draw for the first knock-out round, reports Max Liu.

Manchester City are 4.40 favourites with Exchange bettors to win the Champions League after the Group stage reached its conclusion on Wednesday with all four English clubs progressing to the first knockout round.

The draw for the last-16 will take place on Monday but City, their nearest rivals in the betting and current holders Liverpool 5.80, as well as Tottenham 27.00 and Chelsea 27.00, are all in the mix.

And they could all progress to the quarter-finals as teams from the same country can't face each other in the first knockout round.

Barca are shortest odds after English pair

The other fancied contenders in the draw include Barcelona 7.60, Paris Saint Germain 9.00 and Bayern Munich 9.40. By the time this season's final comes around it will be five years since Barca won the Champions League and Betfair Ambassador Rivaldo is among those who believe that they must win it this year of head coach Ernest Valverde will lose his job.

Bayern scored most goals in the group stage (24) and they also have the top scorer - Robert Lewandowski who's scored 10 so far. City's Riyad Mahrez has the most assists (4), ahead of a cluster of players with three, that includes Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

At the opposite end of the pitch, PSG have the meanest defence in this year's tournament, conceding only twice. That will buoy backers of the French club which has in recent seasons shown a propensity to blow promising positions in the knockout stages. Like City, PSG are under pressure to succeed in Europe's top competition for the first time.

Big names and first-timers among outsiders

But what of the competition's outsiders? The list includes some big names, with Juventus 15.50 and Real Madrid 18.00 at fairly long odds, considering their records in the competition.

Then there's Atletico Madrid 29.00 who've been to two finals under manager Diego Simeone. Borussia Dortmund and Napoli, who've just sacked their manager, are both trading at 65.00, while Atalanta 130.00, who've reached the knockout stage in their first season in the Champions League, and Valencia 130.00 are considered stronger contenders than French club Lyon 200.00.