Eight teams remain in the UEFA Champions League’s rapid-fire return, with one-legged ties promising high drama in Portugal.

Who are the favourites to win the Premier League? Manchester City are 1/16 (1.06) to reclaim the title after somewhat of a down year by their lofty standards last time. Fresh off winning the. Take the 2015/16 Premier League as an example of how favourites perform on a long-term betting basis. The 2014/15 season threw up a rather conveniently even 100 wins from 150 games where the.

The quarterfinals begin Wednesday, the bracket distinctly split into one deadly half and another with upset potential.

Because of this set-up, there’s a massive challenge in divining the true favorites to win the Aug. 23 in Lisbon.

[ MORE: JPW’s European predictions ]

If you were assembling a bottom-up power rankings in terms of the talent and toughness assembled by the eight remaining clubs, it might look something like this:

Longshots: Atalanta, Lyon
Puncher’s chance: Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig
History-weighted powers: Man City, Paris Saint-Germain
Favorites: Barcelona, Bayern Munich

Here’s the rub: Three of the four biggest favorites will have to get through each other to get to the final, including the two top dogs. Barcelona and Bayern Munich will scrap Friday, and Man City’s slight advantage in facing Lyon is mitigated by one day’s less rest for a Bayern-Barca winner.

Leagues Where Favourites Windows

[ MORE: Man Utd – Copenhagen preview ]

Man City is the bookies’ favorites to win the whole thing. Do we see it that way? Spoiler alert: Nope.

And, by the way, despite changes to both outfits this is a Lyon that took four of six points from City in the 2018-19 UCL group stage. We don’t see an upset at that stage but it’s a way to note that anything is, indeed, possible.

8. Lyon

Seventh-place in Ligue 1 this season, Rudi Garcia’s men already have the beating of Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus on their resume. Moussa Dembele, Houssem Aouar, and Memphis Depay are all exciting attacking talents, but the bracket’s demands to take down Man City, then either Bayern and Barcelona just to get to the final sinks them to eighth.

7. RB Leipzig

Julian Nagelsmann is building a reputation as a man who can outwit anyone in a one-off — see two draws with Bayern in Bundesliga play this season — so it’s fitting that he’ll go tete-a-tete with Simeone in the next round. The absence of Timo Werner, who’s off to Chelsea, is a huge problem given the occasion(s). Asking three wins seems a lot, though there will be plenty of Americans pulling for Tyler Adams’ team.

6. Atalanta

The Bergamo-based side will have the support of many neutrals. For one thing, Atalanta is on a historic run for their club before taking into account their city’s status as one of the early epicenters of the coronavirus. For another, they are super fun. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men scored 98 goals in Serie A, 19 more than next-best Lazio, and lost the second-fewest games in Italy. They’ve lost once since January 25, a final day defeat to Inter Milan. Five players have scored double-digit goals in all comps this season.

5. Atletico Madrid

Ask Liverpool: Diego Simeone and Jan Oblak in knockout round football is reason to doubt anyone. Still, there’s an argument to be made that Atleti has punched well above its weight this season, even relative to El Cholo’s standards.

4. Barcelona

Lionel Messi means the club should be even higher on this list, and Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez are plenty battle-hardened in this spot. But Barca has made a mess of their last few ventures into the latter rounds of this tournament, and those ghosts combined with having to beat Bayern and perhaps Man City in consecutive weeks is brutal with several u’s.

3. Paris Saint-Germain

There’s a good argument to be made that PSG might hold the top spot on this list. Thomas Tuchel’s men are better rested and have a more straight-forward path to Lisbon, plus the Ligue 1 champs have played and won two Cup finals in the past three weeks. There are two reasons we’re keeping them below Man City and Bayern. One is the UCL-challenged history that has us as well as surely them seeing ghosts, and the other is the uncertain status of Kylian Mbappe. He’s in the squad, but at what percent?

2. Manchester City

Leagues Where Favorites Win Prizes

The reason to consider putting City above Bayern is the men in charge. Hansi Flick has done oh-so-well at Bayern but is certainly not Pep Guardiola in terms of big-game acumen or reputation. But City’s defense has proven suspect, with John Stones falling off a cliff and Nicolas Otamendi not at the levels of previous seasons. Relying on Fernandinho, Aymeric Laporte, and Eric Garcia to shut down three top attacks in two weeks is a big ask, and left back is also a huge concern with the talented wingers set to test City.

1. Bayern Munich

No weaknesses aside from potentially having to beat Barcelona and Man City inside of six days. Boasting one of the only double-double men in Europe’s top leagues in Serge Gnabry, a played who doesn’t get mentioned as often as history-chasing Robert Lewandowski and history-making Thomas Muller. A midfield duo of Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich which is just plain stupid. Speed and composure to spare with Manuel Neuer at the back. The German keeper may no longer be the undoubted 1 or 2 in the world, but he’s still a monster.

Gambling has become one of the many ways young people earn an extra coin. Every weekend, and at times during the week, gamblers stream online to check on the available matches.

However, not all leagues are favorable to place bets on. Some are known for their good returns, while others are better if not touched.

Here is a list of leagues you can place bets on and be assured of gaining something out of it.

Serie B – Italy

Italy's Serie B, which is the second tier for Italian football is common for the Under 2.5 market or a half-time draw. Most gamblers love it since very few are often scored.

Eredivisie – Netherlands

In the Netherlands, GG or Over 2.5 goals are the two common markets. With the likes of PSV and Ajax in the league, there is always over 3 goals scored freely in most matches. And even the big teams still conceded to smaller teams, making it easy for GG as well.

MLS (USA)

Most matches in the MLS are played past midnight and early mornings. Mostly the teams play Over 2.5 goals and GG. It is one of the best leagues to play.

Tipico Bundesliga – Austria

Leagues Where Favorites Winner

One key feature for the Austrian League is that any team can win against even the considered big teams. So the best way to place bets on this league is either Over 1.5, 2.5 or GG.

Super League Serbia (Jelen Superliga)

The league does not have many performing teams but have 'sure bets' in Partizan Belgrade and Red Star Belgrade. They tend to win almost all their matches, and you could combine the two for a good multi-bets when the odds are low.

La Liga – Spain

There are other teams in Spain apart from Barcelona and Real Madrid. Teams like Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Girona always have high odds and they surprise many. Always look at the lesser teams.

Premier League – England

The world's favored league is very unpredictable. Many people love it because of the media, but it's a difficult league to bet on since any team can surprise even the heavyweights. One of the best picks for the Premier League is the BTTS.

Eerste Divisie – Netherlands

This is the second league in the Netherlands. Just like their 'Premier League', this league also experiences a flurry of goals. Over 2.5 goals is a common feature and earn many gamblers.

German Bundesliga

The Bundesliga is a good league for the Over 1.5 goals market. Most matches end in over 2 goals, making it a good league to play in. Teams like Bayern can also score over 1.5 goals or score in both halves.

Leagues Where Favorites Winter

Super League – Greece

This is a very profitable league if you know how to bet. There are no many goals, but home teams tend to win in most cases.

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