Champions League quarter-final draw
Manchester City hardened as Champions League favourites after drawing Tottenham in yesterday’s quarter-final draw and the Premier League leaders are rated 2-7 shots by Betfair and Paddy Power to qualify from the all-English tie.
City, 23-10 with Betfair and Paddy Power to lift the European Cup, will meet Ajax or Juventus in the semi-finals if they overcome Spurs.
Pep Guardiola’s side are 5-6 with Power to reach the final in Madrid and 6-1 with Coral to complete an unprecedented quadruple.
Tottenham got the draw nobody wanted against City. They are 25-1 to win the Champions League and 4-1 with bet365 to reach the semis and will be hoping to have moved into their new stadium in time for next month’s first leg.
Juve are second favourites at 7-2 with Betway, while Liverpool are just behind Barcelona at 4-1 in the outright betting with the teams set for a semi-final showdown if they justify their market confidence.
Barca opened at 1-3 but are now 3-10 to overcome Manchester United, who are the shortest-priced outsiders to qualify at 16-5.
The Red Devils are out 20-1 to win the Champions League and will have to keep doing it the hard way if they are to be crowned European champions after seeing off Paris St-Germain in the last 16.
Liverpool will have been delighted with the draw as they face 100-1 outsiders Porto. The Reds are as short as 1-6 to reach the semi-finals and a best-priced 2-9.
Coral offer 8-11 about an English team winning and they and BoyleSports go 2-1 for an all-Premier League final.
It’s 7-4 with bet365 that none of the Champions League finalists are English based.
The Premier League has a strong hand in the Champions League and also in the Europa League following the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Chelsea, 15-8 favourites, got the perceived plum tie against Slavia Prague in the last eight and should they progress Maurizio Sarri’s side will meet either Benfica or Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals.
Some bookmakers offer Chelsea at just 1-20 to make the semi-finals which may be slightly disrespectful to Slavia after they eliminated Sevilla in the last round.
Arsenal will have things much tougher and are 11-10 outsiders to oust Napoli, who are second in Serie A behind Juventus.
The Gunners, 5-1 to win the Europa League, will meet Villarreal or Valencia should they get past Carlo Ancelotti’s outfit.
Champions League quarter-finals/semi-final draw: Tottenham or Man City v Ajax or Juventus; Barcelona or Man Utd v Liverpool or Porto.