Ian JohnEarlier this week, UEFA conducted the draws for the next stage of their three European club competitions and while focus was on the fact that the first Champions League draw had to be voided, due to an error on one of the draws, we instead have been looking at the quality of the draws in each competition.
In this article, we are going to take you through the ties that have been drawn for the knockout phase in each competition, when these games will be played and what will happen in each competition as the new look and shape of the Europa League and Europa Conference League kicks into shape.
In addition, we will also take a look at the latest outright winner betting for each of the tournament with Bet365 Sport, although if you are based in the United States and want to enjoy some great sports betting then BetRivers Sportsbook is another great option for you.
Let’s take a look now at how the three draws panned out, starting with the Champions League
Champions League Round of 16 Draw
- Red Bull Salzburg v Bayern Munich
- Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City
- Benfica v Ajax Amsterdam
- Chelsea v Lille
- Atletico Madrid v Manchester United
- Villarreal v Juventus
- Inter Milan v Liverpool
- Paris St Germain v Real Madrid
First leg ties will be played on the 15th, 16th, 22nd and 23rd February with the second leg ties taking place on the 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th March.
The eight winners of the ties will then be placed in a random draw for the quarterfinals with every team eligible to play the other. The draws for the semi-final and the home team in the final will be determined at the same time as the quarterfinal draw.
Champions League Odds
Bet365 have Manchester City as the 11/4 favourites to win the trophy after the draw, with Bayern Munich 7/2 and Liverpool 5/1. Chelsea are 7/1, Paris St Germain 8/1, Ajax 14/1 and then Real Madrid and Manchester United at 18/1.
The draw has seen the odds on both PSG and Real Madrid lengthen given that they have been drawn against each other, while Manchester City and Bayern Munich’s odds have shortened as they are perceived to have had the better of the draw.
Chelsea have also come in in the betting slightly, while there has also been a bit of money for Ajax, after they won all six of their Group Stage games (as did Bayern Munich and Liverpool).
In truth, the Round of 16 is a tricky time to place a bet as so much depends on the draw for the quarterfinals. A favourable route through the quarters and semis for a top team can see their odds shorten drastically and my feeling is that unless you are going to bet on one of the three favourites for the trophy, you may be best waiting until the quarterfinal draw has been made before you place your outright winner bet.
Europa League Knockout Round Playoff Draw
- Borussia Dortmund v Rangers
- Zenit St Petersburg v Real Betis
- Barcelona v Napoli
- Sheriff Tiraspol v Braga
- Red Bull Leipzig v Real Sociedad
- FC Porto v Lazio
- Atalanta v Olympiacos
- Sevilla v Dinamo Zagreb
The first leg of these ties will be played on the 17th February with the second leg of the ties played on the 24th February.
The eight winners of these ties will then be drawn against the eight Europa League group winners, who were seeded into the Round of 16. The draw takes place on the 25th February and these games will be played on the 10th and 17th March.
The eight seeded teams already in the Round of 16 in the Europa League are: Lyon, Monaco, Spartak Moscow, Eintracht Frankfurt, Galatasaray, Red Star Belgrade, Bayer Leverkusen and West Ham United.
This is a new set up for the Europa League as the tournament previously had a Round of 32 before the Round of 16, however with the new Europa Conference League now taking place, the number of teams competing in the knockout stage has been reduced to 24.
Europa League Odds
The addition of the Champions’ League Group Stage third place teams to the competition has given this tournament a very different look now and the betting on it has changed markedly as a result.
German side Borussia Dortmund have been installed as the 11/2 favourites to win it, ahead of Sevilla at 7/1 and Barcelona, after being drawn against Napoli, are 8/1. Atalanta are 9/1 with West Ham 12/1, Lyon and Red Bull Leipzig both 14/1 and Napoli 16/1.
Bayer Leverkusen and AS Monaco are both 20/1 chances, with Real Sociedad, Lazio, Real Betis and FC Porto all rated as 25/1 chances. Scottish champions Rangers are rated an 80/1 chance to lift the Europa League.
Outside of that the odds drift quite quickly, and Dinamo Zagreb are the longest odds option to win the tournament at 150/1.
This is a busy period for these teams as the winners of these ties will play four games to try and reach the quarterfinals, so having a squad with depth, plus a winter break, can be an advantage for some of the teams in the draw.
Europa Conference League Playoffs
- Rapid Vienna v Tottenham Hotspur or Vitesse
- Midtjylland v PAOK
- Fenerbahce v Slavia Prague
- Sparta Prague v Partizan Belgrade
- Celtic v Bodo Glimt
- Leicester City v Randers
- PSV Eindhoven v Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Marseille v Qarabag
The new Europa Conference League follows the same set up as the Europa League in that the eight teams that dropped into the tournament from the Europa League will face off against the eight teams that finished second in their group during the Group Stages in the Playoffs
The eight teams that won their groups, qualify directly for the Round of 16. Those teams are LASK Linz, Gent, AS Roma, AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord, Copenhagen, Rennes and FC Basel.
Tottenham’s game with Rennes was postponed due to a Covid outbreak at Spurs, but as yet there has been no word from UEFA on if and when the game will be replayed or what their decision will be on the result if the match is not played.
The Playoffs take place on the 17th and 24th February, with the draw for the Round of 16 on the 25th February. The Round of 16 then takes place on the 10th and 17th March.
Europa Conference League Odds
At the time of writing bet365 are not offering outright odds on the winner of the tournament as yet, as the Tottenham v Rennes game has not yet been contested. However it is likely that teams like Leicester City, AS Roma, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Marseille will be amongst the favourites to win the trophy.
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