Will Bayern Munich be Germany’s Top Contender in the 2025 UEFA Champions League?
Will Bayern Munich be Germany’s Top Contender in the 2025 UEFA Champions League?
The UEFA Champions League is widely regarded as the world’s greatest club competition and is held annually. The tournament was first founded in 1955 and was rebranded in 1992. It is the most-watched club competition in the world and even has its own theme tune!
The BEO betting odds show that there is a 51.28% chance that Bayern Munich will be the top Bundesliga contender in the 2025 Champions League::: Discover the current Odds now HEREÂ
What is the Champions League?
Originally known as the European Champion’s Club Cup, the tournament has evolved over the years, changing from a straight knock-out event to a round-robin group format. It has been recently tweaked with the 2024-25 edition, with a league phase replacing the previously successful group stage. This resulted in most of the participants playing an extra couple of matches per season facing different opposition in each game.
Qualifying for the tournament begins in mid-July with three qualifying rounds being followed by knock-out games. The seven winners of these one-off matches will be entered into the main draw. They will join the 29 teams who have automatically qualified for the main competition with the league format getting underway shortly after September’s international break.
Real Madrid are the most successful nation in the competition with 15 titles. Spanish clubs have been responsible for 20 Champions League triumphs with English and Italian clubs accounting for a further 27. Portuguese and Dutch clubs have won this competition on ten separate occasions.
How have German Clubs Performed in the Champions League?
German clubs have enjoyed some notable success in the Champions League with eight titles in total. Bayern Munich have dominated this count with the Bavarian outfit having lifted the trophy in three consecutive seasons between 1973 and 1976. Hamburger SV, who are now in the 2. Bundesliga were winners in the 1982-83 campaign with Borussia Dortmund picking up their sole success in the late 1990s.
The Bundesliga’s most recent success story was Bayern Munich’s Champions League success in 2019-20.
This Season
As of February 7th, Bayer Leverkusen are the highest placed German side in the competition. Xavi Alonson’s men, who romped the Bundesliga title last season have automatically qualified for the next round of the tournament and will not be required to participate in the knock-out rounds later this month. Although they struggled on the road, home victories over Inter, Sparta Prague and Salzburg helped them to sixth with a 5-1-2 record.
Bayern Munich’s slow start resulted in them finishing 12th in the overall standings, just one place behind Real Madrid. As a result, Vincent Kompany’s side will be required to compete in the two-legged play-off contest with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic. Although they will be expected to progress, going to Celtic Park is far from straightforward and these games will fall either side of a crunch clash with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund missed out on automatic qualification by a single point, finishing tenth overall. Narrow defeats to Barcelona and Bologna prevented BVB from finishing in the top eight, yet the arrival of former Bayern boss Niko Kovac has improved their performances and they will back themselves to get the better of Sporting CP across two legs.
Have Bayern Got What it Takes?
Bayern Munich certainly have plenty of history in the competition and they will feel confident of progressing through to the latter stages of the tournament. The Bavarians reached the semi-final last season having been knocked out at the quarter-final stage in the two previous installments. They have a six point cushion at the top of the Bundesliga and ended the league stage of the competition strongly, albeit against slightly weaker opponents.
Should they reach the last 16, they could potentially face Atletico Madrid, however, a tie against Bayer Leverkusen is also a possibility. They have failed to beat Die Werkself in their last five attempts and could struggle to get the better of Xavi Alonso’s men.
Borussia Dortmund have been erratic this season, yet they look to have stabilised under Niko Kovac and could put a good run together. Leverkusen are capable of beating anyone on their day and have attacking weapons in abundance.
If you believe that Leverkusen will finish as the top Bundesliga team in the Champions League, you could win €240 by betting €100 at Bet365 if it happens.
