Overview
36 teams will play in the UEFA Champions League group stage, with the first match taking place from September 8. Each team will play 8 group stage matches, 4 home matches, 4 away matches to select the top 8 teams for the round of 16. Teams ranked from 9th to 24th will play in the play-off round.
The final will take place at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027. This is also the home stadium of Atletico Madrid club.
Last season, Opta supercomputer predicted Liverpool to win the championship. However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by PSG – who was only the number 3 contender in the quarterfinals. PSG then won the championship by defeating Arsenal in a penalty shootout. Last season, Arsenal was the number 2 contender for the title in Europe.
In general, Opta's final result is inaccurate but not too wrong either. Entering the new season, this supercomputer has based on 10,000 simulations to predict this year's results.
PSG surprise
After reaching the final last season, Arsenal is considered the team with the highest chance of winning the championship this season with 20.9%. Coach Arteta has a squad that is in high form, a solid defense and has played stably for the past few years. Although their group stage schedule is not light, the Gunners are still considered the number 1 candidate.
Behind Arsenal is Bayern Munich with 19.4% chance of winning the championship. Last season, the German team reached the semi-finals but lost to PSG. In the upcoming group stage, Bayern Munich will meet Arsenal and this is an opportunity for fans to witness the strength of Vincent Kompany's team.
Man City is rated as having a 12.3% chance of winning the Champions League for the second time, after first winning in the 2022-23 season. However, in three seasons since winning the championship, they have only reached the quarter-finals, knockout play-offs and the round of 16, they need to have significant improvements if they want to go further.
Moreover, among the main contenders, they have the most difficult group stage schedule, so they need to play well to be able to enter the top 8. The Supercomputer still estimates City has a 86.9% chance of reaching the round of 16.
Barcelona is the number 4 candidate with 8.2% chance of winning the championship. The last time the Camp Nou team won the European championship was in 2015. This is also the title that Hansi Flick's team is most eager for after dominating LaLiga for the past two seasons. With the recruitment of Rodri, Barca is ready to conquer the Champions League.
Defending champion PSG is only the number 5 candidate this season with a rate of 7.1%. Maintaining success is not easy for Luis Enrique's team after they have parted ways with quite a few players this season from Barcola, Ramos to Lee Kang-in.
In the following positions are Real Madrid (6.1%), Liverpool (4.4%) and Man United (3.8%) respectively. These are all 3 teams with a long history in Europe, especially Real Madrid - who has won the C1/Champions League 15 times. However, after the most recent championship in the 2023-2024 season, they did not pass the quarter-finals in the following two seasons.
