Who are the top contenders for the Champions League title?

Arsenal topped Opta’s list of favorites to win the UEFA Champions League title ahead of the Round of 16, a surprising result considering the London club has never lifted the continental trophy.

According to details published on The Analyst website, the network gave Arsenal a clear advantage of 26.7% to win the title, ahead of their rivals, before the anticipated match in the next round. This reflects the high level of confidence in the work being done by Spanish coach Mikel Arteta this season.

The supercomputer’s predictions were not much different from Opta’s, also predicting Arsenal to win the tournament with a 27.4% chance in the final to be held in Budapest, Hungary. Bayern Munich came in second with 14.28%, while Liverpool finished third with 12.83%.

Champions League: PSG in trouble

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain’s task of retaining their title appears more complicated this season. French radio network RMC reported that the team is well aware that retaining the continental trophy is much harder than winning it, especially given their inconsistent results recently.

The Parisian team ranked only seventh among the favorites to win the title, with a 4.3% chance, after delivering inconsistent performances in the group stage, before struggling to overcome Monaco in the play-offs.

Furthermore, Luis Enrique’s team suffered several setbacks domestically, with two heavy defeats against Rennes and Monaco (both by a score of 3-1), which has negatively impacted their chances in the European competition.

Bayern Munich and Liverpool trail the leaders.

According to Opta’s predictions, the top contenders to win the Champions League title are:

• Arsenal — 26.7%

• Bayern Munich — 16.4% (facing Atalanta)

• Liverpool — 11.4% (facing Galatasaray)

• Manchester City — 11.1%

• Barcelona — 9.7%

• Chelsea — 6.4%

• Paris Saint-Germain — 4.3%

Featured image via the Canary