Soccer Betting for 2025 | As we prepare to head from 2024 to 2025, the major soccer tournaments around the world are on pause, or have ended for the year.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup, a seven-team tournament that pits the best pro soccer clubs from each continent against one another, ended on December 18 as Real Madrid took CF Pachuca to the woodshed in 3-0 fashion.
The bracket for that tournament heavily favors the European continental champion as the UEFA Champions League winner gets to wait for a team to emerge from the other side of the bracket, having to win in back-to-back fashion just to get to the final and face the top European side.
We’ll see the top clubs in the world squaring off in an expanded FIFA Club World Cup next year in the United States.
Some tournaments that are on pause include the 2024-25 Champions League and Europa League events, both of which are currently in the initial league phase stages.
Let’s take a look at some upcoming action in these major events as you plan your online betting for 2025.
Soccer Betting Preview for Upcoming Tournaments of the UEFA
UEFA Champions League
With two matchdays left in the league phase, in which all 32 teams play eight matches (four home and four away), the top of the table isn’t that surprising, with Liverpool and Barcelona sitting in the top two spots, already having clinched a place in the 16-team knockout phase.
The fact that Brest and Lille are still in seventh and eighth place is surprising, but these two have held on and each have 13 points. Monaco is slipping a bit, taking a 3-0 beating at Arsenal after a shocking start, but they still sit in 16th, with 10 points.
Real Madrid appears likely to advance to the knockout stage with nine points from six matches, needing strong performances in the final matches. Manchester City has eight points, while Paris Saint-Germain, with seven points, faces potential elimination if the league phase ended now.
Most assists in the league phase so far 🔝#UCL pic.twitter.com/h3o59wjIMx
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 26, 2024
Their 3-0 shellacking of Salzburg in Austria shows that they may be ready to pay attention. The sad state of RB Leipzig, who sit in fourth place in the Bundesliga table after 15 matches but have yet to pry a single point out of six Champions League matches, is difficult to explain.
Matchday 7
This is set for January 21 and 22, and some of the top matchups include a trip for Lille to Liverpool, where the French side need points to stay away from the possibility of a playoff. PSG will welcome Man City, as these two titans both need points – and both are struggling.
Monaco welcome Aston Villa and must prepare some quality defense for the EPL side that is known for filling the net but also having a potentially porous back line of their own.
^UEFA Europa League
The Europa League follows the same format as the Champions League, with 36 teams. However, with 36 teams, more teams face elimination after the league phase, with top eight finishers automatically advance to the knockout round, and seed 9-24 facing playoffs.
This second-tier tournament is not where Manchester United expect to be, but they sit in seventh place after six matchdays, with a spot at least in the knockout playoffs confirmed. Tottenham Hotspur, another side that has Champions League designs, currently sit in ninth. Between them are Queens Park Rangers, a team from the Championship, England’s second division, with 11 points from six matchdays.
Osimhen loving life at Galatasaray 💛❤️#UEL pic.twitter.com/AkLKvxRSj1
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) December 23, 2024
For them to finish ahead of Spurs would aggravate Tottenham’s EPL fan base to no end. Perhaps the most dismal surprise from this league phase comes from Nice, the sixth-place team in Ligue 1, currently sitting in 35th place in the Europa League table with just two points out of six matches and a -8 goal differential.
Matchday 7
On January 21-23, Tottenham faces Hoffenheim in a crucial match, while Manchester United faces Rangers in an off-season match at Old Trafford. Porto needs a win to align their Europa League performance with their domestic league results, and Olympiacos hosts them. The matches are expected to be thrilling and exciting.
AS Roma from Serie A visit AZ Alkmaar in a match that would bring them some much-needed points as they look to stave off elimination.
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