After having their hopes of winning the Spanish La Liga completely vanquished, Lionel Messi and Barcelona now have their sights sets on an even bigger goal – winning the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League title. However, what soccer betting buffs across the globe need to know is how will their La Liga shortcoming affect their odds – and on-field – chances of actually hoisting this year’s Champions League crown. Let’s find out right now – after taking a look at the value packed MyBookie odds to win the Champions League crown.
Champions League Betting Analysis – Barcelona Odds for Champions affected by losing LaLiga
2019-20 Champions League Odds
- Barcelona +600
- Atletico Madrid +1200
- Juventus +1200
- Atalanta +1400
- RB Leipzig +1600
- Real Madrid +2000
- Napoli +6600
- Lyon +8000
- Chelsea +20000
Barcelona finished second to perennially powerful Real Madrid in the La Liga standings at 25-6-7 and 82 points in their pockets. Real Madrid won it all by going 26-9-3 while racking up 87 points. More importantly, Barca struggled mightily after play resumed following the coronavirus pandemic break. Barcelona held a two-point lead over Madrid when the Spanish league resumed, but the Red and Blues struggled in suffering three draws and one loss in 11 post-pandemic matches, including an absolutely crushing 2-1 loss against mediocre Osasuna on July 16. Now, Messi and company will have time to regroup before they host Napoli on August 8.
“We need a little peace of mind,” Messi said after Barca slammed Alavés 5-0 in the last round of the Spanish league on Sunday. “The break will be good to give us a clear head and allow us to come back with more motivation than ever.”
Barcelona’s last Champions League match resulted in a 1-1 draw against…you guessed it – Napoli – on February 25.
“We are aware that we have to be more consistent,” Messi said. “We haven’t had a great season, but (against Alavés) we took an important step forward in terms of attitude and commitment. We still have important things to play for.”
Barcelona will be looking to avoid its first season without a major title since 2007-08. Unfortunately, they look like a team that will be fighting an uphill battle against a handful of elite title hopefuls, three of which have better odds of winning the Champions League title, including Man City (+300), Bayern Munich (+300) and PSG (+550). To make matters even more challenging, Barca hasn’t won the Champions League crown since 2015. A year ago, the Red and Blues were eliminated by Liverpool in the semifinals.
Whether they won the La Liga title or not, I don’t believe it matters much and I just don’t believe their odds to win the Champions League title would be much better than they currently are, seeing as how Man City went 24-3-9 to finish second in the Premier League while Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga title by going 26-4-4 and PSG went 22-2-3 in Ligue 1 to claim the crown.
Barcelona went a solid, but not overly impressive 9-5-5 on the road in La Liga play this season and that makes me believe they are going to struggle on the road once Champions League play resumes.
“We didn’t expect to finish in this way, but it sums up the year for us,” Messi began. “We are a weak team who can be beaten with enough intensity and enthusiasm. We have lost a lot of points which we shouldn’t have done [and have] been very inconsistent. We need to be self-critical, starting with the players but also across the entire club. We are Barcelona, and we are obliged to win every game.”
If that quote doesn’t sum up Barca’s chances of winning the Champions League crown, check out the following quote from arguably the best scorer on the face of the planet.
“I said a while ago [that] continuing as we were it would be hard to win the Champions League, and it’s not been enough to win LaLiga. And if we don’t react and make changes, we will not beat Napoli,” Messi warned.
