Champions League Quarter-Final Betting Begins

The UEFA Champions League is now a competition between Europe's eight best football teams, and the beginning of the quarter-finals means the start of a betting bonanza for online punters.

Although the draw is still to be announced, Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid appear to be the teams to beat. Reigning champs Barca have qualified with ease for the quarters, scoring 10 goals in their past two games, while arch-rivals Real also had no problems progressing to the next stage.

German giant Bayern Munich will pose the largest threat to Spanish domination, while Chelsea are amazingly the only English representative in the final eight despite a horror domestic season which has them sitting a distant fifth in the English Premier League standings.

William Hill and other internet betting agencies seem to think the quarter-final is the most likely exit point for Chelsea, although of course everything depends on who they are drawn to play against. Hill is offering evens on Chelsea exiting in the quarters, 7/4 on the semis, 11/2 on runner-up and 8/1 on winner.

In Champions League outright betting, the odds are as follows: Barcelona, evens, Real Madrid, 5/2, Bayern Munich, 6/1, Chelsea, 8/1, AC Milan, 12/1, Benfica, 40/1, Olympique Marseille, 66/1, and Cyrpriot surprise packet APOEL Nicosia, who are an unlikely 100/1 odds to lift the trophy.