For the last six seasons Cristiano Ronaldo has ended the Champions League as the tournament’s leading marksman, with Real Madrid winning the tournament on four of those occasions.
The top scorer in the history of the competition swapped the Spanish capital for Juventus over summer and is second-favourite in the top scorer betting behind his eternal rival Lionel Messi.
Latest odds
Messi is priced at 5/1 (6.00) with bet365 to end the competition as top scorer, with Ronaldo offered at 6/1 (7.00) as he looks to guide Juve to a first major European trophy in 22 years.
Just behind them is Sergio Aguero at 7/1 (8.00), and the Manchester City forward could be an interesting option given that his side have an extremely favourable group draw.
The Premier League champions are the favourites to win the competition and Aguero will fancy his chances of getting among the goals against Hoffenheim, Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group F.
Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah comes next at 11/1 (12.00), with Robert Lewandowski at 12/1 (13.00) and Neymar available at an eye-catching 14/1 (15.00).
Value further down the market
There is no doubt that Real Madrid have dominated the Champions League in recent times, but we might get a better idea of how important Ronaldo was to that success even though Los Blancos feel they have enough collective firepower to cover his absence.
While they no longer boast the top scorer in tournament history, Real still have the services of Karim Benzema who is fourth on the all-time scorers list, and Gareth Bale, who scored twice in last season’s final.
An impressive 56 goals in 104 appearances underlines Benzema’s European pedigree and Ronaldo’s departure has led to a spike in his domestic scoring, with the Frenchman having netted four times already this season.
Tips and predictions
Benzema is priced at 33/1 (34.00) and that looks like a terrific value bet, especially considering Madrid’s favourable group of Roma, CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen.
Also worthy of consideration for a value bet is Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino who is priced at a whopping 50/1 (51.00).
The Brazilian netted 11 times in the Champions League last season which would have seen him end as top scorer in eight of the last 15 editions of the competition and although the Reds have a tough group, Firmino could offer value.
Prices correct at time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
Karim Benzema to be Champions League top scorer at 33/1 (34.00) with bet365
Let’s block ads!