Manchester City are the clear favorites before the semi-finals

The semi-finals of the Champions League are set.

Manchester City effortlessly dispatched Bayern Munich to knock out the German giants on Wednesday, while Inter played an entertaining 3-3 draw with Benfica to beat the Portuguese side 5-3 on aggregate.

Both City and Inter meet Real Madrid and AC Milan in the semi-finals after those two teams advanced on Tuesday. Real Madrid beat hapless Chelsea while AC Milan eliminated probable Serie A winners Napoli from the competition.

Each semi-final game also offers a lot of intrigue. Manchester City vs Real Madrid is a two-legged clash that deserves to be the final, while we’re guaranteed to see a Milan team play for the right to lift the UCL trophy on June 10th.

Here’s a look at the betting odds for each of the four remaining teams ahead of the semifinals. The first legs of the semi-finals will take place on May 9th and 10th and the second legs on May 16th and 17th.

Manchester City (-150)

City are still searching for their first Champions League title while Pep Guardiola is chasing the only thing that has eluded him at the club. There’s no disputing how and why City are favorites for the title; They have the best forward and deepest team in the world. But it’s not like City are flawless either. They can be vulnerable on counterattacks and tend to give up goals in quick succession.

The duel against Madrid will be exciting. It’s very easy to see Madrid sit back and build pressure before attempting to break with Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. Will this semi-final be Guardiola’s time to try something different? He tends to do something unexpected tactically in big Champions League games and it doesn’t always work. Playing it straight has led to dominant performances so far. He might be better off sticking with what’s working.

Real Madrid (+350)

The Champions League holders will be a huge favorite to win again if they get past Manchester City. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are still pulling the strings in midfield and are more than capable of going level with City and even dominating the game. But they could also get overrun, especially if City crowds the center of the park and expands them both.

The story goes on

Karim Benzema has been phenomenal in the Champions League and is exceptionally good at giving Vinicius space to become one of the best wings in the world. How Madrid manage City at left-back will be crucial; Camavinga has played at left-back in recent games since Ferland Mendy’s injury.

AC Milan (+650)

Here is your best bet to win the Champions League if you want to bet on someone from the other side of the league. Milan’s defense has been incredible so far this season and possession stats from the second leg of their quarter-final win over Napoli have been hilarious. Milan only had 27% possession and conceded 23 shots. But only four of those shots were on target and Napoli only scored when seconds were left.

Milan have never had the majority of possession in any of their Champions League knockout games and that certainly won’t change when they meet City in the final. It will be perfectly content to let City have the ball and try to hit the counterattack with Rafael Leao.

Inter Milan (+650)

The San Siro will rock for both legs of the Milan derby. Not only are they battling for a place in the final, Milan and Inter also sit fourth and fifth in the Serie A table with eight games left in the season Champions League next year. But the UCL winner is also automatically qualified.

Edin Dzeko, Nico Barella and Romelu Lukaku have each scored three goals in the Champions League as Inter have successfully advanced with their full-backs. Milan knows this very well. These semi-finals are the fourth and fifth time they have played each other this season. Milan won the first Serie A game 3-2 before Inter won the Italian Supercoppa game 3-0 and then won the second Serie A game 1-0.