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Only 7% chance according to Opta: PSG underdogs for Champions League three-peat

Defending champions PSG begin their Champions League campaign against Slovan Bratislava with just 7.09% probability of lifting the trophy, far behind Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

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Only 7% chance according to Opta: PSG underdogs for Champions League three-peat
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PSG are approaching their European title defense as underdogs. According to Opta’s projections published on the eve of the league phase kickoff, the Paris club has only 7.09% chance of winning the Champions League for the third consecutive year, placing them fifth among favorites.

Arsenal tops this predictive ranking with 20.88%, ahead of Bayern Munich (19.37%), Manchester City (12.28%) and FC Barcelona (8.16%). The Red and Blue, coached by Luis Enrique, are therefore far behind in their bid to join Real Madrid of Zinédine Zidane, the only club to achieve three consecutive European titles, between 2016 and 2018.

PSG’s schedule promises to be particularly demanding. After Wednesday evening’s opener against Slovan Bratislava, PSG will face Manchester City (October 14), FC Barcelona (October 20), Villarreal (November 3), AS Roma (November 25), Aston Villa (December 8), Como (January 20) and Galatasaray (January 27).

One piece of good news tempers this picture: Opta projects Paris in seventh place at the end of the league phase, which would allow them to qualify directly for the round of 16, without going through the playoffs as in the previous two editions.

The two other Ligue 1 representatives in the Champions League face a far more precarious situation. Lille is predicted to finish 24th, the last qualifying position for the playoffs, while Lens would be in 25th place, meaning elimination in the league phase.

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