Will Robert Lewandowski Finish as Top Scorer in the UEFA Champions League This Season?

The UEFA Champions League is one of the most-watched sporting competitions worldwide and is generally considered to be the greatest club competition. Although there are many variants, such as the AFC Champions League and the CONCACAF Champions League, this elite European competition, which is organised and overseen by UEFA, attracts plenty of interest due to its vast array of high-quality matchups throughout the season.

The BEO betting odds show that there is a 23.09% chance that Robert Lewandowski will finish at top goalscorer in the 2025 UEFA Champions League::: Discover the current Odds now HERE 

How will the New Format Affect This Market?

A new format was announced by UEFA ahead of the 2024-25 Champions League getting underway. The previously successful group stage format has been replaced by an overall league table, featuring an additional four teams (rising from 32 to 36).

As part of the competition’s evolution, teams will now play eight times during this stage of the competition and will be organised into overall rankings. Each participant will play half of their games at home with the other 50% on the road. Unlike in the previous format, they will not play the same opponents twice during this period.

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The top eight sides automatically qualified for the round of the 16 whereas the teams positioned 9th-24th will compete in two-legged play-off ties. Teams positioned 25th or below will be automatically eliminated from the competition and will NOT drop into the Europa League.

Opinions remain divided on the new format, however, players will be afforded an opportunity to significantly increase their total courtesy of the additional games. Players such as Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, who will also be competing in the play-off fixtures (albeit they will be facing one another!), will also be given an extra chance to add to their tallies.

Although players who have helped their side to automatically qualify for the last 16 will be fresher during the latter stages of the competition, they have a slight disadvantage in this market.

Previous Winners

Current favourite Robert Lewandowski is the third highest goalscorer of all time in the competition, yet he’s finished as the top goalscorer on just one occasion so far (2019-20). Last season, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe were tied on eight goals each, the first time that two players have shared this honor since 2014-15.

Erling Haaland was at his imperious best in 2022-23 whereas Karim Benzema‘s heroics guided Real Madrid to glory twelve months earlier. The tempermental Frenchman scored 15 goals and looked unplayable at times.

Prior to this, the competition was dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, neither of whom play in Europe these days. Ronaldo is the Champions League’s all-time record goalscorer and finished as top goalscorer or joint-top goalscorer on for six consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2018.

How Many Goals are Required?

There is no set number of goals required, however, it is generally assumed that the winner must hit double figures in order to put himself in the frame. Last season was a surprisingly low-scoring edition of the Champions League with Kane and Mbappe notching just eight times each. Previous winners have scored 10+ goals with Cristiano Ronaldo twice breaking the record with 15 and 16 goals during the 2017-18 and 2015-16 seasons respectively.

2024-25 Contenders

Robert Lewandowski is the favourite and has scored nine goals in the competition so far. Barcelona sailed through to the last 16 where they will face either Benfica, Brest, PSG or Monaco. The Polish international has already notched twice against Benfica this season and would find it much easier against the Portuguese outfit than the possibility of facing PSG. Barca create plenty of chances and Lewandowski is highly likely to add to his total. The club unable to sign players, he is unlikely to be displaced from the XI anytime soon.

Serhou Guirassy is leading the way with ten goals, however, the market clearly doesn’t expect Borussia Dortmund to go all the way. The German outfit will take a 3-0 lead into the second leg of their play-off tie against Sporting CP and are expected to sail through to the last 16. The Guinean became just the third Dortmund player to score 10+ goals in a single Champions League season.

 

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Harry Kane is another player who will be able to rack up the goals during the play-off ties. The Englishman has seven goals to his name so far and with Bayern expected to cruise through to the round of 16, he should be able to get into double figures once again.

Erling Haaland is one ahead of Kane and has found form at the beginning of 2025. The Man City striker notched twice against Real Madrid and will get the chance to add to his tally when they meet again at the Bernabeu. There is no guarantee that his side will it through to the last 16, however, should they reach the latter stages, they will be amongst the favourites to lift the trophy yet again.

Vinicius Jr is another player whose participation in the last 16 is far from guaranteed, however, he’s always a danger and already has seven goals to his name.

If you believe that Robert Lewandowski will finish as the top goalscorer in the Champions League this season, you could win €433 by betting €100 at Bet365 if it happens.