Barcelona, PSG and Real Madrid battle for Champions League favouritism as Arsenal and Aston Villa face tough quarter-final ties

Arsenal eased into the Champions League quarter-finals thanks to a 9-3 aggregate triumph over PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday but the Gunners are 6-5 outsiders to seal a semi-final place at the expense of holders Real Madrid.

After a 7-1 first-leg victory in Eindhoven, Mikel Arteta's men played out a 2-2 Emirates draw with the Dutch outfit to tee up a clash with the reigning European champions. 

Los Blancos, meanwhile, were forced to do it the hard way in their quarter-final tie with Atletico Madrid, drawing 1-1 on aggregate with their city rivals before progressing via a penalty shootout.

Despite their contrasting midweek experiences, bookmakers make Los Blancos 4-6 favourites to qualify for the semi-finals.

While they racked up the goals in two legs against PSV, Arsenal have struggled to cope with a host of attacking injuries and Arteta will be desperate to have Bukayo Saka fit again for the first leg against Real at the Emirates on April 8.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, are 11-4 to reach the last four after they eased to a 6-1 aggregate win over Club Brugge.

The Villans won 3-0 in their second-leg tie at Villa Park with help from a brace from Marco Asensio, who will be eligible to face his parent club Paris Saint-Germain in the next round. 

The Parisians, who knocked out Liverpool in the last 16 despite losing at home in the first leg, are 3-10 to advance and 7-2 co-favourites alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona to win Europe's biggest club competition. Arsenal are 10-1 with Villa available to back at 28-1.

PSG are flourishing in the absence of a superstar such as Kylian Mbappe or Lionel Messi and no player has started 2025 in better form than PSG forward Ousmane Dembele. Their performances and tireless work-rate suggest they fully deserve their status at the front of the market.

Barcelona are 7-2 joint-favourites to win the Champions LeagueCredit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Barca eased to victory over Benfica in the round of 16 and are the shortest-priced side to make the semi-finals at 2-9 ahead of their quarter-final tie with Borussia Dortmund.

While Barcelona are among the strongest attacking units in the competition, questions remain about their defensive cohesion and their squad depth is arguably lacking compared to other contenders.

An El Clasico final is still a possibility and is second favourite in the name-the-finalists market at 11-2 with bet365. A PSG vs Barcelona final leads that market at 9-2.

In the other quarter-final, Bayern Munich, who crushed domestic rivals Bayern Leverkusen 5-0 on aggregate, will clash with defensively resolute Inter. Bayern are 1-2 to make the semi-finals and 11-2 to win the Champions League, while Inter are 6-4 to qualify and 10-1 outright pokes.

Raphinha’s brace against Benfica on Tuesday means he has leapfrogged Serhou Guirassy in the Champions League scoring charts with 11 goals and he is 9-4 to win the Golden Boot. His teammate Robert Lewandowski (nine goals) is 11-4. Bayern hotshot Harry Kane, who is available at 5-2, is sandwiched between them with ten.

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