The UEFA Europa League (UEL) is Europe’s second-tier football competition. Featuring both titans and minnows of the game, this tournament offers a wide range of football betting opportunities. In this article, we'll take you through everything you need to know about Europa League betting.
- Presenting an exciting mix of teams, the Europa League features the footballing elite who missed the cut for the Champions League or crashed out in the Group Stages, together with miniscule, relatively unheard-of teams who are getting their first ever taste of European football.
- Although not nearly as prominent as the Champions League, the Europa League is no stranger to shocking upsets and unexpected runs, and with a place in the following season’s Champions League at stake, the tournament is an entertaining spectacle brimming with betting potential.
- Best Bookies We Recommend for Europa League Betting
- Best Europa League Betting Sites – Top 5 Ranked
- 2021/22 Europa League Final Odds
- 2021/22 Europa League Betting Tips & Predictions
- Important Dates to Remember for the 2021/22 Europa League
- What Are the Most Popular Europa League Betting Types?
- How Is the Europa League Structured?
- History of the Tournament
- Past Europa League Winners
- Most Successful Europa League Teams
- Europa League Trivia
- Upcoming Sporting Events
- Europa League Betting FAQs
- ThePuntersPage Final Say
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#1
Paddy Power
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY 18+ New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using cards or Apple Pay will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. Paddy's Rewards Club: Get a £10 free bet when you place 5x bets of £10+. Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#2
 888sport
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY 18+ Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Casino Bonus must be claimed within 7 days. To withdraw bonus/related wins, wager bonus amount x40 within 14 days. Wagering requirements vary by game. Deposit methods, Withdrawal restrictions and Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#3
 Coral
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY 18+ New UK+ ROI Customers only. Deposit & Bet min £5 as first bet at minimum odds 1/2 to qualify for 1x £20 Free Bet. Certain deposit methods and bet types excluded. Free bet valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions apply. Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#4
 bwin
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY 18+ | New UK players only | Min deposit req. £10 | Certain deposit methods excluded | Place 1 sport bet (3+ selections) | Excl Horse Racing | Min stake £10 | Max stake £20 | Min Odds 1/5 (1.5) for each selection | Max FreeBet £20 for football only | FreeBet valid for 7 days| FreeBet stake not returned | Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#5
10bet
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Best Europa League Betting Sites – Top 5 Ranked
- #01 Paddy Power – Best Promotions
- #02 888sport – Best Customer Support
- #03 Coral – Best Pre-Match Coverage
- #04 bwin – Best Mobile App
- #05 10bet – Best Quick Payments
2021/22 Europa League Final Odds
Find the latest Europa League odds in the table below.
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 7/5 | SportNation |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 8/11 | SBK |
2021/22 Europa League Betting Tips & Predictions
In recent years, the Europa League has continued to gain popularity as bigger clubs have found themselves taking part as a result of fierce competition in Europe’s top leagues.
Just to name a few, teams such as Manchester United, Roma, Arsenal, Leicester, Benfica, Napoli, Villareal, Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham have all recently participated in the group stage of the Europa League.
Once teams arriving third in the Champions League group stage join the Europa League, the chances of a big team clash become higher, and the odds on these matches follow suit.
This year, teams such as Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Leicester, Napoli, Real Sociedad Lazio and West Ham all had their eyes on that Europa League title as they came into the competition as top contenders to reach the final.
So, here's what went on in the first stage which ended on the 9th December 2021.
What happened in the Group Stage?
Real Sociedad faced PSV in the last group stage match in a showdown for second place and they convincingly won the match 3-0 despite have less than one third of the possession on the night.
Spartak Moscow and Napoli both ended the group stage with 10 points, but Spartak got the top spot since they won both their matches against Napoli.
We say 'surprisingly' because both Lazio and Marseille were deemed to have higher possibilities of going on to win the cup than Galatasaray did but Marseille find themselves in the Conference League now and Lazio will be facing Porto in the Playoffs while Galatasaray go directly to the Round of 16.
Important Dates to Remember for the 2021/22 Europa League
- 16th September - 9th December 2021: Group stages
- 17-24th February 2022: Knockout round play-offs
- 10-17th March 2022: Round of 16
- 7-14th April 2022: Quarter-finals
- 28th April-5th May 2022: Semi-finals
- 18th May 2022: Final (Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, Seville)
What Are the Most Popular Europa League Betting Types?
Below, we have compiled a list of some of the most popular bet types that you can take advantage of when betting on the Europa League.
Outright Betting
As you would expect from a large tournament like the Europa League, where teams from across the continent take each other on, there are plenty of exciting outright betting markets to choose from. The overall winner of the tournament is by far the popular outright market. The earlier you bet on this one, the greater your potential payout will be thanks to the higher odds.
If you want to go for something a bit safer, the Name the Semi-Finalists market could also be a lucrative option to go for, whilst if you want to bet on each successive round, with the Odds to Qualify market, you can do just that. There is also a market for Outright Group Winners, but the Europa League odds on the favourites are unlikely to be high.
Both Teams to Score
Both teams to score is another reliable betting market in the Europa League. Statistics show that in the last 5 years, 51% of Europa League matches have seen both teams get on the scoresheet. Conversely, only 7% of matches in this same period have finished without a goal.
Accumulator Betting
Unlike the Champions League, where fixtures are spread over a period of days or weeks, in the Europa League all matches in each round take place on the same night. All these games (especially during the Group Stages where there can be up to 32 matches in one day) leave punters spoiled for choice when creating their ideal accumulator bet, and it is no wonder why this type of bet is so popular in the Europa League.
You should also keep in mind that, just like in the UCL, the Europa League has a high home advantage, with home teams having won 47.5% of their matches at home in the last five years. This is greater than all other top European domestic leagues.
Betting on More Goals
In the past few years, the number of goals per match in the Europe League fixtures has started to rise and from a statistical point of view, it’s just behind its big brother, which has a very high goal-per-match ratio.
In fact, during last season, the Europa League was one of the highest-scoring competitions in the top leagues of Europe, second only to the Italian Serie A, with the average of goals per match sitting at just 3 goals scored.
More than 50% of the matches played saw more than 2.5 goals being scored. This number drops to 35% when it comes to having at least 4 goals scored in a match, but rises significantly to 80% for 2 or more goals. For this reason,betting on more goals in the Europa League might prove to be a safer and more reliable option.
How Is the Europa League Structured?
The Europa League is a second-tier pan-European football competition organised by UEFA. The tournament is structured very similarly to the Champions League, except that there are more teams involved and, therefore, there is one extra knockout round. Teams qualify for the group stages of the tournament depending on where they finish in their respective leagues or domestic cup competitions.
The number of teams that are able to qualify for the Europa League depends on each league’s coefficient. In the bigger leagues, for example, the top two or three teams which finish outside of the Champions League qualifying spots will earn a place in the Europa League. In England, the winner of the FA Cup will also earn a spot in the tournament (if they haven’t already qualified via for the UCL or the UEL via the league route).
Group Stage
The Group Stages, which is where the proper competition starts, consists of 32 teams split into 8 groups of 4 teams each. Teams in the same group will be play each other twice (once at home and once away from home). The top team from each group will advance directly to the Round of 16 while the second placed teams will face a playoff round against the teams coming into the Europa League after finishing 3rd in the Champions League group. The teams finishing in 3rd place in the Europa League groups will join the Conference League while those finishing last will be eliminated.
Playoff Round
What is unique to the Europa League is that after the group stages, the 8 Champions League teams that finished third in their respective groups join the competition. This adds both drama and excitement to the Europa League, as there are always 1 or 2 big teams which underperform in the UCL and suddenly become the team to avoid in the UEL.
For the first time in the Europa League rather than having a Round of 32, a playoff round to join the round of 16 will take place. For this playoff round, teams are split into two pots of 8 teams each – the teams finishing second in their UEL groups in one pot and the sides coming from the UCL in the other. The fixtures are decided by a draw (which took place on Monday 13th December 2021), and teams will face each other off in a two-legged knock-out round (home and away).
No team can face another team from the same national association at this point.
Round of 16
Winners from the Playoff Round will proceed to the Round of 16 where another draw will take place. This time round teams will be split into two pots again. The teams who won the UEL group stage are seeded against the teams which won the playoffs.
The draw will take place on the 25th of February 2022. In this round, teams from the same national association cannot be drawn against each other. The UEL Group Stage winners will play the second leg at home.
Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final
The final draw will be for the Quarter-Finals, where the 8 teams remaining will randomly be picked and placed against each other. At this stage, teams from the same national association can be drawn against each other. On the same night, the semi-final matches will also be drawn on the same night, so teams winning their quarter-final will find out who they could be facing in the semis.
The knockout round will then continue until there are only 2 remaining teams, who will face each other in the Final for the title of Europa League winners.
History of the Tournament
The Europa League made its debut back in 1971 when it was called the UEFA Cup. Since its inaugural season, the format of the tournament has remained relatively the same, with only minor changes being made on occasion. One of the most significant changes to the competition, however, came in the 2014/15 season, when it was ruled that the winner of the Europa League would automatically qualify for the Champions League.
This added a new urgency to win the tournament, especially for the top teams, who found themselves in the Europa League and struggled in their respective leagues. The UEFA Cup rebranded in the 2009/10 season to become the Europa League as we know it today. In total, the competition has been won by 28 different clubs, with Sevilla being the most successful having won the title on six occasions.
Past Europa League Winners
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | Villarreal |
| 2019/20 | Sevilla |
| 2018/19 | Chelsea |
| 2017/18 | Atletico Madrid |
| 2016/17 | Manchester United |
| 2015/16 | Sevilla |
| 2014/15 | Sevilla |
| 2013/14 | Sevilla |
| 2012/13 | Chelsea |
| 2011/12 | Atletico Madrid |
| 2010/11 | Porto |
| 2009/10 | Atletico Madrid |
Most Successful Europa League Teams
| Club | Winners | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Sevilla | 6 | 0 |
| Inter Milan | 3 | 2 |
| Liverpool | 3 | 1 |
| Juventus | 3 | 1 |
| Atletico Madrid | 3 | 0 |
| Borussia Monchengladbach | 2 | 2 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 1 |
| Feyenoord | 2 | 0 |
| IFK Goteborg | 2 | 0 |
| Real Madrid | 2 | 0 |
| Parma | 2 | 0 |
| Porto | 2 | 0 |
| Chelsea | 2 | 0 |
Europa League Trivia
- Sevilla have won the Europa League on six occasions, having never lost a final.
- Benfica and Marseille hold the record for most UEL final appearances without winning the tournament, each losing the final on three occasions.
- The first ever Europa League final was hosted by Wolves in 1972, when they faced Tottenham in the first leg. Tottenham won the final 3-2 on aggregate.
- Radamel Falcao holds the record for most goals in a single Europa League season, having accumulated 17 goals for Porto in the 2010/11 edition of the competition.
- The record for most consecutive appearances in the Europa League is held by Club Brugge, who obtained 20 appearances between the 1996/97 and the 2015/2016 seasons.
- Inter are the team with the most matches played in the Europa League, followed by Sporting CP. Inter’s Beppe Bergomi is the player with the most appearances in the tournament (96).
- Prize money in the Europa League stands at around £20m, which is significantly lower than the Champions league, where winners are awarded over £70m (and that is excluding money that comes from TV rights).
Upcoming Sporting Events
Europa League Betting FAQs
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UK viewers can enjoy Europa League matches live on BT Sport.
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The 2021/22 Europa League final will take place on Wednesday 18th May, 2022.
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The 2021/22 Europa League Final will take place at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Seville, Spain.
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32 teams take part in the Europa League group stages. This is narrowed down to 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, and then 1 eventual winner.
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The 3rd placed Champions League teams join the Europa League for the Playoff knockout round.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
Europe’s second-tier football competition may not be as popular with neutral supporters as the Champions League, but make no mistake, the Europa league has its own share of triumphs and turmoil.
As a greater number of teams are starting to face up against and challenge the traditional giants in the domestic leagues, more and more top clubs are ending up in the Europa League. The competition is a great spectacle, one which presents countless exciting betting opportunities, and which should definitely not be overlooked.
David is a sports fanatic with a particular interest in stats and figures. When not writing about sports, you would probably find him playing or watching football, researching stats or sharing the latest news with anyone willing to listen.