The UCL group stage qualification matches have already been decided. The European club competition will restart on the 14th of February for round 16. The last Champions League winner, Real Madrid, showed their prowess as top striker Benzema showed why he was given the Ballon D’Or award.
However, Real Madrid is not the only threat to lifting the prestigious trophy. Bayern, Man City, and PSG are all top clubs that are seriously staking a claim on the trophy.
Champions League Predictions
Who Will Win The Champions League 2022-2023?
Last season, many Nigerians and other countries expected PSG or Bayern to win the trophy, but they failed. However, this season, PSG are again the favorites, especially as the team is flying high and Messi is filled with World Cup winning confidence.
Our Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain to Lift the Trophy
For obvious reasons, Paris Saint Germain is the best team to win the UCL this season. They currently look and play more like a team, and their top players are in top form.
The World Cup has shown that Mbappe and Messi were unplayable, coupled with Neymar. Even though they’re facing Bayern in their round 16 games, it would be hard for any other team to stop them this season.
- Nairabet: PSG to win the UCL is 8.00 odds as of the time of this post.
- Betway: PSG to win the UCL is 7.85 odds as of the time of this post.
- Merrybet: PSG to win the UCL is 7.83 odds as of the time of this post
Other top contenders for the 2022/23 UCL title win are Bayern, Man City, and Real Madrid.
Round 16 Prediction– Which Team Would Qualify
The UCL group stage qualifiers have seen top teams qualify, and we have also seen some top teams fail to qualify. That said, here are our predictions for the round 16 qualifiers.
Match A: PSG Qualify against Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich is not a pushover, and we certainly didn’t make this prediction blindly. We considered the team spirit and individual player motivations, which would be crucial in the next 2 fixtures.
Even though Bayern Munich players look motivated, they are not as fearful as they used to be, especially with the exit of top striker Lewandowski to Barcelona.
Lionel Messi’s arrival and World Cup win in December make this team a serious candidate to win this match. In addition to the Argentine star, the team has other great stars such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Gigio Donnarumma, among many others.
Where to Bet:
PSG to qualify is 2.04 odds at N1bet.
Match B: AC Milan to Qualify against Tottenham
AC Milan has been in top form in the UCL even though they finished second in their group. They have just lost two games in the UCL this season, and that was against league leaders Chelsea.
Antonio Conte’s men have not had it easy in the UCL this season. Also, they have not been consistent in the EPL, leading us to go with AC Milan to qualify.
Where to Bet:
AC Milan to qualify is 1.85 odds at N1bet.
Match C: Benfica Qualify against Club Brugge
Club Brugge surprisingly finished Group B ahead of Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, but that boils down to these teams’ run of poor form. However, that does not take away the fact that they merited their qualification to this stage.
On the other hand, Benfica has not lost any game this season in the UCL. They topped their group against mighty PSG and Juventus. More impressively, they didn’t lose any match, which is why we are backing them to move to the next stages instead of Club Brugge.
Where to Bet:
Benfica to qualify is 1.28 odds at N1bet.
Match D: Chelsea to Qualify against Dortmund
This is a tricky fixture, as both teams are almost equally matched. Chelsea has been in poor form in their domestic league but has been getting the job done in the Champions League.
They have many injury problems, but many injured players will be back before this UCL qualification stage is completed.
Dortmund is a decent team, but they have been reduced in terms of firepower this season, and this would hunt them in this stage of UCL. While these are our opinions, we think Chelsea will go through.
Where to Bet:
Chelsea to qualify is 1.28 odds at N1bet.
Match E: Real Madrid Qualify against Liverpool
This is another tough fixture and one that can go sideways. Liverpool has been lacking consistency in their games this season. They have been both hot and cold. In the UCL, they have lost only 1 game, which was against group leaders Napoli, but they have been decent for the rest of the campaign.
Real Madrid has been decent also and lost just 1 game like Liverpool. They have consistently delivered results in their domestic games and haven’t been struggling, unlike Liverpool.
We think Real Madrid has the upper hand in this stage and should progress to the next stage.
Where to Bet:
Real Madrid to qualify is 1.65 odds at N1bet.
Match F: Napoli to Qualify against Eintracht Frankfurt
Napoli is the most in-form team in Europe this season. They have been scoring goals for fun and blowing teams away. They topped their Group ahead of mighty Liverpool and are also top of Serie A.
Eintracht Frankfurt are decent, too but qualified from a relatively easy group without ease. They came out second in their group and had not been having it all rosy in their domestic league.
We expect Napoli to easily win the two legs of this stage and progress to the next stage.
Where to Bet:
Napoli to qualify is 1.48 odds at N1bet.
Match G: Manchester City to Qualify against RB Leipzig
If there are teams hungrier to win the Champions League, Man City would be among the top 2. They came close the last time and lost to Chelsea at the finals, and they didn’t reach the finals last season but are putting up the fight.
They have been in good form in both their domestic games and Europe. On the other hand, RB Leipzig has had a decent run in the UCL this season but lacked consistency overall. Though they have a deadly strike force of Nkunku and Timo Werner, we don’t think they’ll match the firepower of Pep Guardiola’s men.
Where to Bet:
Man City to qualify is 1.15 odds at N1bet.
Match H: Inter Milan to Qualify against Porto
This is an interesting matchup between two almost evenly matched-teams. Inter Milan has been struggling to keep up with the standards they set 2 seasons ago, but they have been doing just enough to stay afloat.
They qualified from a group with Bayern and Barcelona, which is very impressive. It wasn’t an easy call for Porto because even though they are on top of their game at the moment, they still look unconvincing in important matches.
Porto won their group, winning 4 games and losing 2. But their group wasn’t very competitive and that’s one of the reasons why we are going for Inter Milan to qualify ahead of them narrowly.
Where to Bet:
Inter Milan to qualify is 1.50 odds at N1bet.
Who will Win the Champions League 2022/23 Golden Boot?
The UCL golden boot race is greatly heated, as many players can win it. Top players like Erling Haaland, Mbappe, Messi, Salah, Oshimen, and others have bragging rights to challenge for the award.
Our Prediction: Kylian Mbappe is our best pick to win the UCL Golden Boot award.
Where to Bet:
N1Bet offers 3.25 odds for Mbappe to score the most goals in UCL this season.
There you have it. Do you agree with our analysis and tips for these games? We’ll love to have your opinion. Thanks for reading!
Hi!! I’m Benson, a Nigerian based writer, researcher and football analyst with more than 3 years of experience. My work is brought to you by my passion for sports.
