The 2025/26 Europa League kicks off on Wednesday night with 36 teams battling it out in one of UEFA’s most prestigious competitions. Money is flooding in ahead of the opening round of fixtures, and we’ve evaluated the markets to see where the value lies ahead of our Europa League winner predictions.
It’s the second season of the Swiss-style league format, which, for the most part, was a success last season. With Champions League dropouts no longer featuring in the competition, it means the betting is once again wide open and we’ve some cracking outrights before a ball is kicked.
Europa League Winner Tips for 2025/26
We’ve got three picks as part of our Europa League betting tips preview, each offering value in its own right. Odds have been compared across dozens of the best online bookies to find the best price and where you should bet.
| Market | Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outright Winner – Value Bet | Aston Villa | 13/2 | 888Sport |
| Outright Winner – Longshot | Feyenoord | 33/1 | bet365 |
| League Phase Top-8 Finish | Fenerbahçe | 3/1 | bet365 |
*Odds correct as of 10:15 BST on 24/09/2025. Odds subject to change.
Outright Winner Value Bet: Aston Villa – 13/2 with 888Sport
Aston Villa have had a torrid start in the league. No wins, just three points and only one goal scored. It’s not been pretty, but it’s still early days, and the Europa League might be just the tonic to kick-start their season.
Let’s not forget about their qualities. A manager in Unai Emery, who has four Europa League titles to his name. A huge squad that can manage the Thursday – Sunday rotation. Superstar players like Emiliano Martínez, Ollie Watkins, Harvey Elliott and Morgan Rogers. And a friendly opening run of games in the league phase, with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Young Boys at home.
Tottenham’s 2024/25 Europa League win, despite finishing 17th in the Premier League, proves that league form doesn’t always correlate with European nights. They’ve drifted from 5/1 to 13/2 already, which only makes this a more exciting pick and our value bet for the Europa League outright winner market.
Outright Winner Longshot: Feyenoord – 33/1 with bet365
Feyenoord are a team that no one will want to play this season. They were unlucky not to make the UEFA Champions League after losing to Fenerbahçe in the qualifiers, and enter the competition with a powerhouse of a team, a hostile European atmosphere, and genuine depth across the squad.
Robin van Persie’s side look a real package and have started well domestically with five wins from six games. There’s quality throughout with the classy Ayase Ueda up top, a dynamic midfield with Quinten Timber and Hwang In-beom, and a rock-solid backline that includes Anel Ahmedhodžić and Tsuyoshi Watanabe.
Whether they can transfer domestic form into cup-winning glory remains to be seen. If they can turn De Kuip under lights into a real fortress, 33/1 is a great price for an underdog storyline that could well come to fruition.
League Phase Top-8 Finish: Fenerbahçe – 3/1 with bet365
It’s always interesting to shift focus at this stage to see which teams offer value to make the top eight (automatic qualification for the Round of 16), and Fenerbahçe at 3/1 has really caught our eye. Granted, they are without José Mourinho, who left in August and is now at Benfica, but this is a squad packed with talent, and they’ve moved quickly to appoint Domenico Tedesco, who left his role as Belgium head coach in January 2025.
Following Mourinho’s departure, their price has drifted from 6/4 to 3/1, but this is unwarranted. We keep banging on about squad depth, but it’s critical for success in the Europa League and with the likes of Marco Asensio, İrfan Can Kahveci, Youssef En-Nesyri and Jhon Durán, that’s a formidable group of match-winners.
When you look at how short the likes of Celta Vigo (13/10), Bologna (evens) and VfB Stuttgart (17/10) are, 3/1 is a massive price for Fenerbahçe to finish top eight and a great value bet.