Liverpool knocked off perch as Champions League favourites after being handed tricky Paris St-Germain draw

Arne Slot will be feeling frustrated following Friday's Champions League draw as although Liverpool took top spot in the league phase, the Reds have been handed one of the toughest possible Champions League last-16 opponents, Paris St-Germain. 

The Parisians comfortably swept aside their Ligue 1 foes Brest with a 10-0 aggregate victory and will provide a stern test for Liverpool, who  are no longer favourites for outright glory after being pushed out to 11-2 by bet365.  

That honour now belongs to holders Real Madrid, who asserted their dominance with a 6-3 aggregate win over Manchester City in the playoff round and will now do battle with their city rivals Atletico for a place in the quarter-finals.

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Paddy Power are offering Liverpool to win at 60-1 on Man City at 80-1 in Sunday's crunch clash at the Etihad

Carlo Ancelotti's side are 10-3 in bet365's outright market, narrowly ahead of rivals Barcelona, who are 9-2 after being handed a kind round-of-16 clash with Benfica. 

Arsenal have shortened into 11-2 after drawing the only side to beat Liverpool in the Champions League, PSV.  

But Mikel Arteta will be well aware of what the Gunners must overcome if they are to land a first ever Champions League crown. 

Arsenal are on the tougher side of the draw, meaning they will have to beat either Real or Atletico Madrid in the quarters before facing, most probably, Liverpool or PSG in the semis. 

Aston Villa, despite enjoying an impressive League Phase, have also been drawn on that tricky side. 

They will fancy their chances of beating Club Brugge over two legs in the last 16 – despite the Belgian side's 1-0 triumph in the League Phase – but their journey may come to an abrupt end in the quarters, explaining their big 33-1 outright price. 

An already under-pressure Ange Postecoglou may not be too happy to see Tottenham became outright 4-1 favourites for the Europa League on Friday, but he cannot deny that Spurs have been granted a golden route to the final, starting with a last-16 tie against AZ Alkmaar. 

Four of the other top five sides in the outright market are on the other side of the draw, with only Lazio likely to offer a real challenge to Spurs should they meet at the semi-final stage. 

Manchester United and Rangers, however, do find themselves on that trickier side of the draw, alongside European heavyweights Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Roma. 

The Red Devils are still 6-1 second-favourites for outright glory, but the current form of Ruben Amorim's side means they are not even assured of getting past a talented Real Sociedad side in the round of 16. 

Rangers are 33-1 for the trophy, with their own last-16 clash with Basque opposition, Athletic Bilbao, also potentially signalling an early exit. 

Chelsea, unsurprisingly given their dominance in the League Phase which saw them score 26 goals while winning all six matches, remain strong favourites to lift the Conference League come May. 

The Blues are 4-6 in the outright betting – well ahead of next-shortest Real Betis at 5-1 – and should have far too much for Copenhagen in the last 16. 

Enzo Maresca's side are also boosted by the fact that the only real challengers, Real Betis and two-time runners-up Fiorentina, find themselves on the other side of the draw, meaning it may be smooth sailing for the Blues, who could become the first team to have lifted all three European trophies.  

Now read . . . 

Everton vs Man Utd predictions: Red Devils in for another difficult trip 

Aston Villa vs Chelsea predictions: Blues could come unstuck in the Midlands 

 Premier League predictions for Saturday's 3pm kick-offs 

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