Spanish La Liga side Real Madrid has gotten off to a poor start in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, which is being played under the new league-style format, which replaced the old group stage format.
Here is a closer look at whether the Spanish giants will make it through to the playoffs and continue their UCL campaign or if they will crash out early.
What is the new UCL format?
The new UCL format includes a single league of 36 top-flight European domestic league football clubs. It allows those clubs to test themselves against a broader range of European opponents.
The top eight seeded teams in the league will automatically qualify for the next phase of the competition—the knockout stage. During the first phase, each team plays a total of eight games.
The 16 teams that end up anywhere from 9 to 24 in the league will participate in a two-legged playoff. The eight outright winners of these games will advance to the round of 16 with the other eight automatic qualifiers.
The remaining 12 teams at the bottom of the league will automatically be eliminated from this year's competition.
Can Real Madrid reach the UCL playoffs?
There is a strong possibility that Real Madrid could fail to reach the UEFA Champions League playoffs this year. The quickest, easiest, and most reliable way to find out if the Spanish side can make it to the playoffs and go on to win the competition outright this year is to look at the latest UCL outright winner odds currently being offered by the official 10bet Sportsbook Canada.
This trusted iGaming site is renowned for having some of the industry's most highly competitive football/soccer betting odds. At the time of writing, the odds for Real Madrid aren't looking too bad.
They are the joint-fourth odds-on favourite team to win the 2024/25 UCL competition outright, despite winning only 2 of their first five Champions League matches. Let's take a quick look at the latest odds for this particular market and compare them for the top five favourites:
Bet type: 2024/25 UCL outright winner. Team: Liverpool (odds-on favourites). Odds: +450 (American/moneyline, 5.50 (decimal), 9/2 (fractional). Implied probability rate (IPR): 18.20%
Bet type: 2024/25 UCL outright winner. Team: Manchester City (second odds-on favourites). Odds: +500 (American/moneyline, 6.00 (decimal), 5/1 (fractional). IPR: 16.70%
Bet type: 2024/25 UCL outright winner. Team: FC Barcelona (third odds-on favourites). Odds: +600 (American/moneyline, 7.00 (decimal), 6/1 (fractional). IPR: 14.30%
Bet type: 2024/25 UCL outright winner. Team: Arsenal (joint-fourth odds-on favourites). Odds: +650 (American/moneyline, 7.50 (decimal), 13/2 (fractional). IPR: 13.30%
Bet type: 2024/25 UCL outright winner. Team: Real Madrid (joint-fourth odds-on favourites). Odds: +650 (American/moneyline, 7.50 (decimal), 13/2 (fractional). IPR: 13.30%
In other words, the bookies are optimistic that Real Madrid can easily make the playoffs, but they are less optimistic that they can win the UCL outright.
Recent results
As mentioned, Real Madrid is currently in 24th place on the Champions League table. If they drop down one position, they will be out of the playoff zone, so they must win all their remaining three games to make the playoffs.
In their first game of the 2024/25 UCL on September 17, they beat German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart 3-1 at home. Then, on October 2, they travelled away to play French Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille and lost 1-0.
On October 22, Real Madrid beat Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund 5-2 at home. Then, on November 5, they lost 3-1 at home to Italian Serie A side AC Milan. Their fifth and most recent Champions League game was Wednesday, November 27.
They travelled away to play English Premier League side Liverpool and lost 2-0. Their next UCL game is away to Atalanta on December 10. They will also face RB Salzburg on January 22. Then, in what could be their final fixture of the 2024/25 UCL campaign, they travel away to play Brest on January 29.
Final thoughts
It's unlikely that Real Madrid won't even make the playoffs, but the thing to remember about football is that anything can happen to upset the odds. In other words, betting on the favourites doesn't always guarantee a return on your initial investment, and Real Madrid could crash out early this year.
The best thing to do if you decide to wager on Real Madrid is to keep a close eye on their current form, stay on top of the latest team news and injury updates, etc., and arm yourself with as many relevant statistics as possible to give your wagers the best chance of winning.