Artificial Intelligence predicts the winner of the 2025/26 Champions League after the first leg of the round of 16

The first legs of the round of 16 of the 2025/26 Champions League are now history. This week, between Tuesday and Wednesday, eight games were played that left us some surprises, but, above all, many goals. Nothing more and nothing less than 32.

“This article was originally published in SI FC“

Bayern Munich fulfilled the predictions and beat Atalanta 1-6, leaving the tie sealed. Atlético de Madrid also beat Tottenham 5-2. FC Barcelona and Arsenal also started as favorites against Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, but neither of them managed to win and had to settle for a draw achieved from the penalty spot in the final minutes of the match.

The big surprises came from Galatasaray, who defeated Liverpool 1-0, and Bodo/Glimt, the great revelation of this Champions League, who beat Sporting CP 3-0. And in the two qualifying rounds that a priori seemed the most even, the scoreboard reflected the opposite.

The current European champions, PSG, beat Chelsea 5-2 at the Parc des Princes. At the same time, at the Bernabéu, Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-0. Without a doubt two results that very few could guess before the games.

The supercomputer predicts the winner of the 2025/26 Champions League

After having played the eight first legs of the round of 16, and with the second leg still to be played next week, there is a new favorite to win this Champions League. Bayern Munich, after their away win, is the number one candidate.

The German team is always among the candidates to go far in the tournament as it has a large roster of stars. The 1-6 is already a scary result, but to think that it was done without Harry Kane on the field makes the team have even more potential and room for improvement for future games.

Secondly, we have Arsenal. The Gunner team had finished the league phase in first position with full points, 24 out of a possible 24, which had placed them as the great favorite to become European champions.

However, the draw in Leverkusen ended the streak of eight consecutive victories. Now Arteta’s team must resolve the tie at the Emirates Stadium.

After Bayern and Arsenal, FC Barcelona closes the podium of favorites, although much different from the first two. The Blaugrana disappointed with their match in Newcastle, as they had already managed to win there in the group stage, and now with Lamine Yamal a victory was expected.

Despite the tie, Flick’s team is the favorite to resolve the tie at the Camp Nou and be in the next round.

The Top 5 is completed by PSG and Real Madrid. Both teams qualified for the round of 16 through the playoff, and their home victories against Chelsea and Manchester City have caused them to jump up the list of favorites. Even the whites have quadrupled their options after the first leg.

In sixth position is the other Spanish team, Atlético de Madrid, which has a foot and a half in the quarterfinals. Next come three English teams led by Liverpool. The unexpected defeat of the Reds in Türkiye has lowered their title chances, even though they are still favorites to come back and be in the quarterfinals.

Newcastle and Manchester City appear in a Top 10 that closes the Bodo/Glimt. The Norwegian team is writing its own history in this competition and has a unique opportunity to break into the top eight teams in Europe. Sporting CP’s chances of a comeback are very slim.

With less than 1% of the title options are Bayer Leverkusen despite the tie, Galatasaray who have the tie in their favor, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Tottenham. The only team ruled out for the title is Atalanta.

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