Champions League Standings
Introduction to Champions League Standings
As far as club football goes, no competition has more prestige and rich history than the UEFA Champions League.
In recent decades, European clubs have established dominance over clubs in other continents, and since this tournament only features sides from Europe, it oozes world-class quality.
This tournament is highly competitive, and only the top clubs in each nation can qualify every year. A team can secure their ticket to this contest by securing a top one, two, three, or four positions in a respective league, and this number varies based on the strength of that league.
For example, four sides from the top leagues in England, Spain, Italy, and Germany qualify for the competition the following year.
The five-round campaign begins with a standings-style structure, with thirty-two teams getting separated into eight different groups, labeled A-H. The groups are drawn from four pots before the competition starts, and similarly to the World Cup, each group prisons one side from each of those four pots.
This is essential for competition to be evenly distributed so future rounds can be more enthralling.
These group stages make up nearly fifty percent of the tournament, so the standings are always an excellent area to consider Champions League picks.
Importance of Champions League Standings for bettors
Champions League standings are very important for bettors, as the group stages ultimately set the tone for the entire tournament.
If you select a team to win the whole tournament for a future bet, make sure you know who is in their group, as they can often be stacked. There is generally one combination of four sides that people refer to as “the group of death” in every tournament, and excellent teams often fail to make it out of them.
It is also critical to stay up to date with these Champions League standings because the order in which teams finish in their groups determines who faces who in the knockout rounds. The knockout stages feature eight first-placed sides that face off against eight second-placed sides, and a draw takes place to determine who faces who.
This allows bettors to be strategic with future bets, as if a team is cruising within their Champions League standings, they could be set up well for the rest of the tournament.
How the Champions League season works
No club has lifted more UCL trophies than Spanish giants Real Madrid, who have triumphed in this illustrious competition on thirteen separate occasions. Other staples in this competition are Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and AC Milan, clubs that have all seen tremendous talent.
Historic clubs like these make the UEFA Champions League what it is, and the course of each season is truly captivating.
As previously mentioned, the Champions League begins with the group stages, and sixteen sides move on to the knockout rounds.
These sides are randomly drawn against each other for the Round of Sixteen and Quarter-Finals, and the final four sides compete within a pre-determined bracket.
Given the incredible quality of players and teams in this competition, we often see different victors hoist the glorious Champions League trophy each year. That is perhaps the beauty of one of the best competitions in world football.
Champions League Standings Frequently Asked Questions
The tie-breaker for two sides that tie on points in a Champions League group is goal-differential, and then afterward, the determining factor is the most goals scored.
Since the Champions League is at the top of the food chain when it comes to European competitions, the teams that finish third within their groups get demoted to the UEFA Europa League Round of 32, the less renowned UEFA competition. Unfortunately, the sides that finish last within their groups have to pack their bags.
There is often a misconception about the amount of matches played in the Champions League group stages. Every team plays each other twice, not once, like in the World Cup. Couples get the opportunity to play each other home and away, and afterward, all six games, the standings get finalized.
