Liverpool are now predicted to win the Champions League after Tuesday’s shock events

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Liverpool are now favourites to win the Champions League, according to FiveThirtyEight. This comes after Bayern Munich’s shock exit.

Data analysis company FiveThirtyEight now believe Liverpool are favourites to win the UEFA Champions League. They rate them as having a 44% chance of winning the final, with Manchester City behind them with 38%.

This comes as Villarreal shocked everyone to eliminate Bayern Munich from the Reds’ side of the draw. Beating Benfica now lines up a semi-final with the Yellow Submarine – not a match anyone saw coming.

As a result, Liverpool are heavy favourites to progress to the final. They’ve almost certainly done enough to see off Benfica, after all, as they carry a 3-1 lead into the Anfield leg this evening.

City, on the other hand, must get past Atletico Madrid. They hold a slender 1-0 lead ahead of the game in Madrid – far from a given. The winner of that tie must face Real Madrid in the semi-finals, too. It’s not going to be routine for any of the trio.

Liverpool are Champions League favourites

Liverpool can’t exactly count their chickens yet but they unquestionably have the easiest path to the final. Benfica were fairly comfortably the weakest of the quarter-finalists and Villarreal will be the weakest of the semi-finalists. The Reds boast far, far, more experience at this level as well as more proven quality.

Tonight’s fixture with Benfica should be relatively routine, too. Liverpool can avoid a two-goal defeat in their sleep this season and we expect Jurgen Klopp to rotate ahead of the City game this weekend.

An early exit to Benfica from a 3-1 lead would be an all-time Champions League shock. If Liverpool are focused, they see it out with relative ease.

And make no mistake – Villarreal in the semis is a best-case scenario. They simply don’t have experience at this level, while Liverpool can put out an XI made entirely of Champions League winners.

So while they can’t consider it a given, Liverpool know that avoiding mistakes should be enough to land them in Paris. It’s in their hands.