Who Will Manage to Qualify: Champions League Group C Betting Odds

Group C of this season’s Champions League offers a very tight competition much to the delight of football punters.

We continue to cover each and every Champions League group ahead of the first matches scheduled for next week. Let’s take a closer look at the prospect winners and definite underdogs in Group C. All of the group’s participants are already involved in their respective domestic leagues, but playing in the Champions League is an honor and the managers and the players will have to deal with battling on two fronts.

Group C is regarded as a pretty tight competition of 4 teams. This fact is especially favorable to those betting under French gambling laws. The tighter the battles, the better and more rewarding the odds, and guessing the right outcomes here can easily result in a huge payout for punters.

Champions League Group C participants and betting

Champions League Group C trivia and betting odds

• Online sportsbooks in France are ready for Champions League Group C betting action

• The group is pretty tight according to experts and bookies

• Bayer Leverkusen seem to be the favorites, but others are very close

The last time Monaco were involved in European Cups is back in 20005/2006 season, when they’ve managed to climb until the Round of 32. A couple of years prior to that in 2003/2004 edition of the Champions League the French were even playing in the final, but were beaten by Porto 0-3.

This time around Monaco is back in action, definitely trying to put their name where it belongs on European arena. Although they’ve lost James Rodriguez to Real Madrid and Radamel Falcao to Manchester United, they’ve still got a pretty talented team, which managed to place second during last season, only beaten by PSG on the way to the top of Ligue 1.

Although Monaco are not the favorites to win the group or even qualify, they are still a force to be reckoned with and can definitely provide headaches for the bigger teams. Bet365 values Monaco’s chances of winning Group C with a line of 3.75, while the odds on them qualifying from any of the two available spots are 2.00.

Bayer Leverkusen are back to Champions League after climbing to Round of 16 last season, naturally the goal for them is to go further and maybe even all the way to the final in Berlin. They have been there already, back in 2001/2002 season, but were beaten by Real Madrid.

Leverkusen did well in the group last season, and there seems to be no reason to believe they shouldn’t at least repeat their success this time around. Those who bet on sports in France will find that Bayer got a line of 3.00 to win the group, making them the favorites in this respect, while their chances of qualifying are equal to 1.61.

Next in line if FC Zenit from Saint-Petersburg. The Russians said good-bye to Luciano Spalletti, just several games before the end of last season, and are now coached by Andre Villas-Boas, who is yet to lose a game in the domestic league this season. Their highest achievement in the Champions League was qualifying from the groups twice, while last season they have done so with only 6 points from 6 games.

Zenit are underdogs of Group C according to Bet365 giving them 4.50 odds to win it and 2.50 odds to qualify for the knock-out stages. Qualifying odds could be the smartest bet, considering Zenit has a pretty strong line-up, enforced by a couple of great players during summer, and they have proven especially good against, German, French, and Portuguese opposition in the past.

The last occupant of Group C are Benfica, definitely not a stranger to Champions League winning it twice and constantly participating in the competition. The wins might have come in the sixties, but the Portuguese side has been strong in Europe ever since, and is considered to be one of the most stable squads in history.

Benfica got 1.62 odds to qualify and a line of 3.50 to win the group. Last season they’ve just missed out on qualification on goal difference, but went all the way to the final in Europa League. Benfica will definitely be looking to do a lot better this time around.

Betting on the first matches in Group C

Both Group C openers are held next Tuesday, September 16th. Benfica will be welcoming Zenit, trying to grab three points right at the start of the campaign, but the Russians will be building on their generally strong performance in Portugal and will be hungry to take all the points themselves. Benfica are the natural favorites with 1.95 odds compared to a line of 4.00 for the Russians and 3.30 for the draw.

1-1 and 1-0 in favor of Benfica seem to be the most probable outcomes each paying at 6.00 odds from Bet365. Benfica’s 2-0 success delivers 8.00 odds, but 3-0 win is less likely with a huge payout of 17.00. As for the Russians, their 1-0 win brings a line of 10.00, but 2-0 is a much heftier line of 21.00.

Bayer Leverkusen travel to Monaco, but still enjoy favorable odds from Bet365. The Germans receive 2.25 odds at online sportsbooks in France, while the home team had to settle for a line of 3.20. Should the game end in a tie – the payout will be 3.30.

Despite favoring Bayer, Bet365 still think that 1-1 is the best possible outcome, valuing this tie with a line of 6.00. Bayer’s 1-0 win pays at 7.50, while the 2-0 success for the Germans gets 10.00 odds for punters. Should Monaco prove everyone wrong and beat Bayer 1-0, the bookies will pay at 9.00, but their 2-0 success has a much bigger line of 15.00.

~ Read more about Group A, Group B, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G, and Group H betting odds ~