Underdogs to Watch in the UEFA Champions League This Season

The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign is already underway, and the tournament has certainly captured the attention of Europe. There were a number of heavyweight clashes in the opening round of fixtures, with Bayern Munich managing to navigate a tricky Chelsea side in a rematch of the 2012 final with a 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena.

Meanwhile, Marcos Llorente scored a brace at Anfield for Atletico Madrid against Liverpool, just as he did when he helped Los Rojiblancos knock out the Reds back in 2020. However, on this occasion, his goals weren't enough, and the Merseysiders escaped with a gripping 3-2 win thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s last-gasp winner.

 Courtesy of the start to their Premier League title defence and that thrilling victory over Atleti, it's Liverpool that online betting sites make the favorites to win the Champions League this season.

 One can bet on sports at Bovada, and the betting giant currently prices Arne Slot's men as the joint 6/1 frontrunners, level with compatriots Arsenal, reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain, and undisputed kings of Spain, Barcelona. But while those four currently dominate the betting charts, what about the underdogs? If you’re going to bet on sports, you need to think about them too.

 Well, there are several teams worth keeping an eye on this season, with the potential to fly under the radar and upset some of the big boys. Here are the two that we think have the best chance to spring some upsets.

Napoli

Napoli are somehow considered a distant 33/1 outsider to win the Champions League this season, and for the life of us, we can't figure out why. To put those odds into context, even Tottenham Hotspur is considered more likely to leave Budapest with the trophy next May. Bookies, write off Antonio Conte's side at your peril.

The Partenopei managed to see off the challenge of a stacked Inter Milan side last season to romp to the Scudetto, with a resolute defence proving crucial in claiming the Italian crown. Napoli already had some attacking quality in the form of Serie A MVP Scott McTominay, Matteo Politano, and Romelu Lukaku, but a couple of shrewd signings in the summer have the Italian champions looking imperious once again.

The first of those was the blockbuster capture of former Manchester City icon Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian playmaker may well be 34 years of age now, but he is still capable of the spectacular, and there is perhaps no one better to unlock a stubborn defence than him. Add to that the capture of young Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund, and it's clear that Conte wants his side to be more than just a one-trick pony this season.

Napoli's continental campaign did get off to a poor start, which is perhaps why their odds are so lengthy. An early red card for Giovanni Di Lorenzo in their opening game away at 2023 champions Manchester City ultimately saw the Italians slip to a 2-0 defeat. But expect form to pick back up immediately and for Napoli to progress all the way through to the quarterfinals at the very least.

Galatasaray

Turkish football has been on somewhat of a decline for a number of years now. No team from Turkey has made it out of the group stage of the Champions League since Besiktas reached the Round of 16 back in 2018, and you have to go back a further four years for the last time Gala achieved that feat. However, over the last couple of years, the reigning Super Lig champions have emerged as the dominant force domestically, and they are now ready to crack Europe as well.

Last season, the goals of Victor Osimhen propelled the Aslanlar to glory. Rather than allowing the Nigerian striker to head back to Napoli following the culmination of his loan deal, Galatasaray pounced, forking out over €75m to smash the Turkish transfer record and keep the Super Eagle in Istanbul on a permanent basis. Now, big things are expected from the prolific striker not just domestically, but on the continental stage too.

Much like Napoli, Gala's start to life in Europe was a disappointing one. In fact, it couldn't have gone any worse. Without the injured Osimhen, they were thumped 5-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt, despite taking the lead through Yunus Akgün after just eight minutes. One has to imagine that the Turkish champions will be much improved when they welcome Liverpool to RAMS Park for their second game, and with Osimhen in the lineup, the tournament favorite Reds will have to be at their very best if they are to leave Istanbul without suffering an upset loss.

Rank Outsiders

While Napoli and Galatasaray are the underdogs we think will make an impression on the tournament this season, we have to mention the two rank outsiders in the Champions League this term. Debutants Kairat Almaty stunned the world as they progressed from the very first qualifying round to reach the competition proper, last defeating Scottish giants Celtic on penalties in the playoff round. Their campaign began terribly with a 4-1 drubbing away at Sporting CP, but no team will be looking forward to the long and daunting trip to Eastern Kazakhstan throughout the league phase.

Then we have the Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag. They qualified for the Champions League for just the second time this season, and they enjoyed the dream start on the grandest stage as they rallied from 2-0 down to beat Portuguese giants Benfica 3-2 in their opening game. Don't be surprised to see them stun a few more established names as the tournament continues.