Three Champions League underdogs who could shock people this season | OneFootball

The 2025/26 Champions League has already delivered some fantastic entertainment and surprises.

While the new and revamped league stage of the competition, which came in last season to replace the group stage, has had varying reviews, there is no debate that it has added an element of jeopardy with only the top eight going through to the knockout rounds automatically.

It means some big teams are bound to miss out. And while the favourites from before the competition started are still just that after the first couple of games, according to bookmakers such as those on NonGamStopBets, some of the pre-tournament underdogs look as though they have a real shot of having a good run in the tournament.

We’ve had a look at some of the lesser fancied clubs that could prove a lot of people wrong…

Qarabag

Few people would have had the Azerbaijan side down as going through to the knockout rounds. But so far, they have been the surprise outfit of this season’s competition.

They picked up a memorable 3-2 away win at Portuguese side Benfica in their first game before following that up with a 2-0 win at home to Copenhagen.

Obviously, there are bigger challenges on the way, but those two wins could be massive for Gurban Gurbanov’s side and they have a real shot of making it out of the league stage.

Bodo/Glimt

While two games and two draws might not seem much to shout about, Bodo have already shown they will be a very difficult opponent to overcome on their home turf.

Kjetil Knutsen’s side found themselves 2-0 up against Tottenham in their second game before letting their lead slip and drawing 2-2, but the fact they have been able to compete against sides with much bigger budgets than them deserves recognition.

The adverse Norwegian weather and their plastic pitch can often work in their advantage too and they are absolutely in contention to finish in the top 24 clubs.

Marseille

While Marseille might be a bigger club than the others mentioned previously, it would be tough to find many who believed they were well prepared for a deep run in the competition, and it probably still is now.

But under Roberto De Zerbi, they have impressed. Their first clash was among the most difficult of all, Real Madrid away, but they gave a fantastic account of themselves and were only beaten by two Kylian Mbappe penalties having led 1-0 for much of the game.

They bounced back in style, however, thrashing Ajax 4-0 in their second game and have proved they will not be a pushover for anyone.