Europa League Favourites – Bookmaker Odds
For fans of European football, it’s typically the Champions League that steals the limelight and grabs all the attention. Some would argue however, that for fans looking for gutsy performances, underdog stories, and hard-hitting football without the theatrics, that it is the Europa League that’s the pinnacle of European football.
After what has felt like an eternity for a lot of fans, the Europa League finally kicked off this week, and what a few nights of footballing action it was.
With the likes of Juventus, AC Milan, Real Sociedad, and erm, Bournemouth, all in contention, there’s a lot to play for. There’s also potentially, a lot to win if you back the right team.
But what do the bookmakers think? Will Juventus clean up, will the trophy go to Bayer Leverkusen, or could we see an upset from the likes of Sunderland or Celtic? Here are the current favourites, along with a couple of outsiders well worth a punt.
Juventus
As of this writing, it is Juventus who are the current favourites to win the Europa League trophy.
Bet365 are currently offering 6/1 odds, whereas BetVictor have them at 7/1. Considering they got their European campaign off to such a flying start, that’s hardly surprising.
Juventus kicked off the tournament in style on Thursday night, thrashing NEC Nijmegen 5 – 0. On paper, it was a vert even match, as possession was 48% – 52% in favour of NEC. The result, however, did not reflect that. Former Newcastle playmaker Nick Woltemade was amongst the scoresheet, cooly converting a penalty in the 35th minute.
Thanks to that result, Juventus are currently top of the table, though as we’re only one game in, there’s still a lot to play for.
Bayer Leverkusen
With odds of 8/1 with Bet365, and 7/1 with BetVictor, bookmakers also believe that Bayer Leverkusen are ones to watch this tournament.
Bayer may not be performing as well in the Bundesliga, but so far in Europe, things are looking very positive for Carles Novell’s squad. Bayer kicked off their Europa League campaign with a comfortable 2 – 0 victory over Celje, with Medina finding the net for the Germans, as well as Seslar scoring an unfortunate own goal.
They may not have looked as convincing as Juve, but a win is a win.
Bournemouth
It wasn’t too long ago that the Opta so-called ‘supercomputer’ had Bournemouth as favourites for this tournament. Whilst it’s likely changed its tune slightly, they’re still certainly in with a very good chance, especially after defeating Real Sociedad 2 – 1.
This was a special night for The Cherries, as it was the club’s very first stint in Europe. To defeat a team of Real Sociedad’s quality, well, that’s no small feat. While many wrote them off and expected Sociedad to batter them, there’s a fair few people now eating their words.
If you think Bournemouth have what it takes to go all the way, Bet365 and BetVictor will both give you 9/1 odds.
Outside Chancers
Finally, if you fancy backing the underdogs, here are a few outsiders worth a punt.
Celtic’s Scottish Prem season has got off to a flying start, with The Hoops currently sitting top of the table. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the Europa League, after Thursday night’s 3 -1 defeat to Ferencvaros.
Still, after just one game, there’s heaps left to play for, and they did look solid at times, with that scoreline not doing them justice. Looking to back The Hoops? If so, Bet365 will give you 100/1 odds, whilst BetVictor are offering odds of 66/1.
Another underdog, or should we say under-cat, is Sunderland. After being promoted to the Premier League, The Black Cats not only stayed up emphatically, but even qualified for European football, denying Chelsea their spot in the process.
Under Regis Le Bris, and having enjoyed a successful summer transfer window, this is a dangerous Sunderland. After 53 years away, Sunderland marked their return to Europe with a 1 – 0 victory over AZ Alkmaar, thanks to an Enzo le Fee penalty. As a result, Bet365 and BetVictor both currently have The Black Cats at 14/1. With odds like that, surely that’s got to be worth a punt?