Manchester City are the favourites to win the Champions League, as revealed by the mystical powers of a supercomputer.
Pep Guardiola’s side have a 29.46 per cent chance of winning a second consecutive Champions League, the infamous computer says.
Stats boffins have been working with advanced technology to forecast the peaks and troughs of the European season so far, and have had some notable successes.
The supercomputer successfully predicted the demise of Manchester United when they needed to beat Bayern Munich in their final group game.
While City are sitting pretty in its latest statistical splutterings, the reading isn’t as encouraging for Arsenal or Harry Kane’s Bayern.
The supercomputer churned out a 10.92 per cent chance of Arsenal winning the tournament for the first time, while Bayern are stuck on 9.39 per cent.
That places the two teams – who will meet in the quarter-finals – fourth and fifth in the running.
Worse still for Bayern, they have been assigned the tiniest chance of just getting the final – 16.37 per cent.
PSG are the second-favourites to lift the trophy, scoring a solid 16.15 per cent chance.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have been assigned a 13.06 per cent opportunity of lifting the Old Big Ears again.
You imagine the 14-time victors – managed by Carlo Ancelotti, who has won it four times himself – will have something to say about such a measly percentage.
They meet Manchester City in the last eight and will be desperate to thwart the relative European upstarts.
However, the supercomputer really doesn’t fancy Jude Bellingham’s troupe to advance, handing them just a 37.63 per cent shot of progressing beyond the quarter-finals.
Down at the lower end of probabilities, Borussia Dortmund are supposedly in with a 7.86 per cent chance and sit sixth place.
Perhaps Jadon Sancho will take that – especially considering that United’s chance is now 0 per cent, as the supercomputer helpfully deigns to point out.
That leaves Barcelona and Atletico Madrid squabbling for the most diminished chances of winning, with 7.11 and 6.05 per cent chances of winning.
Diego Simeone has twice been a runner-up as a manager with Atletico and has already seen his side claim a major scalp, knocking out last year’s finalists Inter Milan on penalties.
