Champions League Betting in Ireland – Tips, Top Sites & Predictions
The league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League will commence on Tuesday, 16 September. The UCL remains one of football’s most widely watched competitions, with the 2023 final attracting around 450 million global viewers.
The 2024 final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund was also the fifth most bet-on sporting event in the world that year. But who are the favourites for the new campaign, and what odds are being offered by the best football betting sites? With so many trusted sportsbooks available for Champions League betting online, Irish players can compare odds and bonuses before making their picks.
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⚡ Best UEFA Champions League Betting Sites
The UEFA Champions League remains one of the most popular sporting events among Irish & UK bettors. The tournament unlocks a huge selection of markets too, from outrights and qualifiers to hundreds of individual match betting lines.
Our pick of the best UCL betting sites offers extensive match and tournament coverage, alongside highly competitive odds and a diverse selection of bonuses and Champions League free bet offers.
Here’s an overview of the leading Irish betting sites and their unique features.
💯 20Bet Sports
20Bet offers extensive odds boosts across both Champions League and the ‘Big 5’ league matches. You’ll also find tailored Champions League bet offers, such as cashback specials, and accumulator insurance. There’s also a dedicated ‘Boost Your Odds’ bonus. This enables you to combine up to 20 qualifying selections in a single wager, with successful bet payouts boosted by up to 2x.
When wagering on high-profile UCL matches such as the final, you can access more than 800 betting markets. These include diverse combination bets alongside competitive goalscorer lines.
If you’re new to 20Bet, you’re eligible for a 100% first-deposit match up to €100. The precise T&Cs are explained in detail in our 20Bet review.
Regular odds boosts across UCL matches
Boost qualifying combo bet returns by up to 2x
Access 800+ Champions League betting markets
No live-betting multiview
🆕 DirectionBet Sports
When you wager on the highest-profile Champions League matches at DirectionBet, you’ll have access to well over 250 individual betting markets, including competitively priced Asian handicaps and totals lines. The site also publishes boosted Bet Builder selections, which take the form of multi-line combination wagers.
The DirectionBet welcome offer comprises a 100% deposit match up to €100. Existing players are also eligible to receive up to €50 in free bet tokens each month, alongside a 50% reload bonus up to the same value.
We’ve covered all available bonuses in our detailed DirectionBet review.
Broad selection of Asian handicaps and totals
Competitive Bet Builder selections
100% first-deposit match up to €100
No livestreaming
🎁 Sportaza Sports
You can benefit from an early payout offer when betting on qualifying UEFA Champions League matches at Sportaza. If your 1x2 pick goes two goals ahead at any point during the game, Sportaza will pay out and settle your bet—irrespective of the outcome. There’s also a 100% bore-draw refund if you place a qualifying wager on a match that ends goalless after 90 minutes.
Sportaza also unlocks a huge range of match betting markets for the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of all 2025/26 UCL league-stage matches, you’ll find well over 500 individual betting lines, some of which benefit from Golden Boosts of 10% or more.
Read more in our comprehensive Sportaza review.
Early payout on qualifying UCL matches
100% accumulator boost on qualifying Champions League picks
500+ pre-game betting markets ahead of UCL games
Odds not always the most competitive
⚽ LunuBet Sports
LunuBet is our current pick as the top Champions League betting site. You can access a huge selection of match betting markets, including totals lines ranging from 0.50 to 4.75. First-half and second-half markets are available too, while the intuitive Bet Builder lets you construct competitively priced combination wagers.
There are several Champions League betting promotions. For example, the ‘Bore Draw 100% Refund’ may return your stake if an eligible match ends goalless after 90 minutes (on qualifying markets such as correct score, half-time/full-time, first goalscorer, last goalscorer and anytime goalscorer).
You can also benefit from boosted odds on selected matches—restricted to the 1x2 market. Some UCL matches enable you to claim an early payout if your 1x2 pick goes two goals ahead, regardless of the eventual outcome. To learn more, see our LunuBet review.
Hundreds of UCL match betting markets
Boosted odds on selected 1x2 bets
Early payout available on selected matches
Relatively new brand with limited market presence
💡UCL League Phase Betting Tips
Champions League football betting is especially popular during the knockout rounds, with punters taking advantage of live odds and dynamic markets. Now that you know where to wager on the UCL, here are some expert Champions League betting tips focused on the upcoming league phase, which will feature 144 matches across eight game weeks in 2025/26.
1️⃣ Betting on UCL League-Phase Outrights in 2025/26
The league phase unlocks several outright betting markets, including picking the side that will ultimately top the 36-team table, with Barcelona priced at 5.40 to do so with Sportaza. However, betting on underdogs can unlock genuine value depending on the perceived difficulty of their schedule.
For example, last season’s semi-finalists Arsenal are priced higher at 7.00 to top the league phase but have the third-easiest schedule according to Opta. They face favourable matches against Olympiacos, Slavia Prague and Kairat, with the latter ranked 474th in the world in the Power Rankings.
Overall, their opponents have an average rating of 88.8, so the Gunners could offer enhanced value to finish top.
You can use similar data when betting on teams to finish in the top eight and automatically qualify for the round of 16. In this market, Spurs offer noticeable value at 3.00, as they have the fourth-easiest draw overall and home matches against Villarreal, Slavia Prague and FC Copenhagen.
Among our Champions League best bets for the league phase, we fancy Arsenal to finish in the top eight and Haaland to win the Golden Boot. You can back the Gunners in this market at 7.00.
2️⃣ UCL Over/Under Goals and Match Totals
Many of the Champions League best tips focus on individual matches, with the 144 league-phase games unlocking ample markets and opportunities. Totals betting is particularly popular, with over 2.5 goals often offering value in the UCL.
In three of the previous four campaigns, the UCL produced an average of over 3.0 goals per game, peaking at 3.27 goals per 90 minutes in 2024/25 (618 goals in 189 matches). During the league phase alone, 470 goals were scored in 144 matches—an average of 3.26 per 90.
Handicap betting can also unlock value when wagering on league-phase games. Target fixtures with a heavy favourite (e.g., when Chelsea host Pafos at Stamford Bridge on January 21 2026). Asian handicaps such as -1.5 goals can offer enhanced odds; note that whole-number lines (e.g., -1.0) can result in a push.
Finally, favour home teams where appropriate. Overall, 50% of Champions League games in 2024/25 were won by the home side, compared to 34% away wins and 16% draws.
3️⃣ UCL Top Scorer: Who Will Win the Golden Boot?
If you’re betting on the UCL top scorer and Golden Boot winner, it’s wise to wager early. Currently, prolific Manchester City hitman Erling Haaland is the favourite at 7.00 with LunuBet, implying a 14.3% probability.
The Norwegian certainly offers value at this price, having struck 49 career goals in just 48 Champions League appearances. He also has five goals in four games this season for Manchester City in all competitions as at the time of writing.
City have the 14th most straightforward league-phase schedule according to Opta, and while Pep Guardiola’s side remains in relative transition, we’d expect them to qualify for the knockouts and give Haaland a strong platform.
Real Madrid talisman Kylian Mbappé also offers value at 8.00. The Frenchman has scored 55 career goals in 87 UCL games, and Los Blancos have the 12th-easiest schedule in 2025/26 (including a trip to Kairat). As an outsider, Inter’s Lautaro Martínez offers huge value at 35.00, having struck nine goals in 14 UCL matches last season. Inter also have the ninth-easiest fixture list in the 2025/26 league phase.
4️⃣ Shots, Corners and Booking Markets: Capitalising on Game Dynamics
For prop or live Champions League betting, you can target markets such as total corners and bookings, with sportsbooks setting different totals and inviting over/under wagers.
For corners, most betting takes place between the 7.5 and 12.5 lines. Historical data suggests the average Champions League match sees around 9.28 corners per 90 minutes, so betting over 8.5 may provide an edge during the league phase.
For bookings, 713 cards were shown across 189 UCL matches last season—an average of 3.77 per 90 minutes—so focus between the 2.5 and 3.5 lines depending on the teams, rivalry and stakes.
You can also bet on total shots. As a guide, the 2024/25 Premier League averaged 21.67 goal attempts per 90, with home sides taking 12.33 shots compared to 9.33 for away teams—use team style and scoring data to inform your picks.
5️⃣ First Half vs Full Match Outcomes
Half-time/full-time betting is also popular in the Champions League. You’ll find markets on the number of goals scored in each half and the scoreline (or result) at each interval. The second half tends to be more prolific. In 2024/25, 53% of games produced over 1.5 goals in the second half, compared to 41% in the first.
Over 2.5 second-half goals occurred in 24% of last season’s UCL matches, whereas only 19% of games saw over 2.5 goals in the first half—teams are often more cautious early on.
When favourites play lowly ranked teams, it’s not uncommon for matches to be tied at half-time as the superior side breaks down a low block later. This creates opportunities to bet on first-half draws or use double-chance markets strategically.
🏁 Champions League Betting Odds
As we've touched on, the best Champions League betting sites offer odds across a broad selection of match and outright markets. Below are the latest champions league betting odds for popular markets, including outright winners and league-phase outcomes.
Champions League – Top League-Stage Winner Team Odds
Champions League – League Stage: To Finish Bottom Odds
Champions League – League Stage: To Reach Final Odds
Champions League – Outright Winner Odds
🔮 Champions League Predictions
Through each Champions League campaign, our team of experts in charge of sports betting guides will make individual match predictions. We’ll also publish Champions League best tips and insights about outright markets, such as the eventual winner and top goalscorer. You can check out all our expert predictions in the section below.
📈 Champions League Betting Markets
As noted, our recommended sportsbooks offer hundreds of Champions League match betting markets. There are plenty of outright markets available too, including which teams will qualify from the league phase or reach the final. Here’s a summary of the most popular UCL betting markets and how they function.
Outright / Match Betting
Outright wagering is the most straightforward market: pick the eventual Champions League winner for a particular season. Betting early is highly recommended here, as this tends to unlock the most competitive odds (especially when backing favourites). You can also pick individual match winners for each of the 189 games throughout the tournament, although this is complicated slightly by the prevalence of drawn games—16% of all UCL matches in 2024/25 ended tied.
Individual Player Markets
The most popular individual player market is the UCL Golden Boot, which can offer long and competitive odds if you bet before or early in the competition. The odds for the most prolific strikers typically shorten as the tournament progresses and teams are eliminated. There are also extensive goalscorer markets during each match (first, last or anytime) at variable odds.
Both Teams to Score and Over/Under Markets
When engaging in match betting, you can also wager on both teams to score (BTTS) and the over/under on total goals during the 90 minutes. Such markets become particularly popular in the latter stages of the UCL, as you look to create value and build competitive combination wagers. Most over/under betting clusters around the 2.5-goals line, with 61% of all games in 2024/25 seeing over 2.5 goals. In total, last season’s 189 UCL matches produced 618 goals at a rate of 3.27 per 90.
To Reach Final
You can also wager on one or more teams to reach the UCL final. This market offers lower odds than the outright winner market, with slightly higher implied probabilities. For example, Barcelona are priced at around 7.00 to win the 2025/26 UCL outright (14.3% implied probability), but around 3.75 simply to reach the final (26.7% implied probability)—a potentially attractive option for risk-averse bettors.
🏆 Previous UCL Winners
Although Real Madrid are only the fifth favourites to win in 2025/26 according to the latest Champions League odds, they’ve won a record 15 titles overall and five in the previous 10 years. However, Luis Enrique’s young and dynamic PSG team are the defending champion and has a 13.35% probability of winning again this season.
🎩 Champions League Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer
What are our Champions League predictions for player of the year and top goal scorer? Picking a potential Golden Boot winner remains one of the most profitable Champions League bets. Erling Haaland is the favourite in 2025/26, having scored 49 goals in just 48 tournament appearances and won the Golden Boot in two of the previous five campaigns. Last season, the honour was shared by Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy and Barcelona’s Raphinha, with 13 goals each.
❓ Champions League FAQs
Who’s favoured to win the 2025/26 Champions League?
Our recommended sportsbooks have made Liverpool and Barcelona the early UCL favourites for 2025/26 at around 7.00. The 2025 winners, PSG, can be backed at around 7.50 to defend their title this season, implying a 13.3% probability.
Which betting site is recommended for the Champions League?
All the betting sites featured on this page come highly recommended for Champions League betting. Although LunuBet is our overall pick as the best UCL betting site, 20Bet offers highly competitive odds, while Sportaza is running exceptional cashback and early payout Champions League betting offers. Compare each site before choosing the one that best suits your needs.
What’s the best value bet in the 2025/26 Champions League?
This depends on your wider strategy and risk appetite. There’s value in backing Arsenal to top the league phase—the Gunners are consistent and have the third-easiest fixture list. They can be backed at 7.00 with LunuBet. Erling Haaland also offers significant value to win the 2025/26 Golden Boot at around 7.00, though his odds are likely to shorten as the tournament progresses.
Which clubs have the most Champions League titles?
Real Madrid have won 15 Champions League titles, including five in the last 10 years. They last won in 2023/24 and are intriguingly priced at around 9.00 to win again this season (≈11.1% implied probability).
What channel is the Champions League on in Ireland?
Premier Sports holds broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League in Ireland through 2026/27. You’ll also be able to watch up to 17 UCL matches via a Prime Video subscription in 2025/26 on a co-exclusive basis.
Lewis Humphries
A business and iGaming copywriter from the UK, who has a passion for sports betting and remote casino betting. He's reviewed some of the world's leading casino platforms while creating blog posts and landing page content for various sports betting brands. His content has also been featured on a number of different sites, including Life Hack, Investopedia, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider. He also pens regular sports features for sites including 90 Minutes, Think Football Ideas and Sportsblog.