Friday's Champions League knockout draw is so unbalanced that every team to have won the competition over the past decade has been placed on the same side of the bracket. Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Liverpool - the six European heavyweights to win the Champions League since 2016 - have all remarkably found themselves on one half of the draw. Gifted a dream route to the final, Arsenal are now the bookies' favourites to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in May after dodging every single winner of the past 10 years. Remarkably, due to the lopsided nature of the draw, Newcastle have been given a better chance of winning the tournament than both PSG and Real Madrid at 4.66%. The current holders have been given 4.64% of a chance by comparison while Real Madrid are only predicted at 2.78% to lift the trophy.

Source: Daily Mail February 28, 2026 00:18 UTC