UEFA Europa League Betting Guide 2023

The UEFA Europa League (UEL) is Europe’s second-tier football competition. Featuring both titans and minnows within the sport, 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!

Europa League Fixtures & Results

Europa League 2022 Group Standings

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, as a result, there is one extra knockout round. Teams qualify for the group stages 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 qualifying 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 the UCL or the UEL through the league route).

To put it in more simple terms, the following qualify for the Europa League:

Group Stage

The Group Stages, which is where the proper competition starts, consist of 32 teams split into 8 groups of 4 teams each. Teams in the same group play each other twice (once at home and once away from home). The top team from each group advances 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 third in their Champions League group.

The teams who finish in third place in the Group Stage join the Conference League, while those who finish last are eliminated.

Playoff Round

What is unique to the Europa League is that after the Group Stages, the eight Champions League teams that finished third in their respective groups join the competition. This adds both drama and excitement, as there are always one or two big teams who under-perform in the UCL and suddenly become the squad to avoid in the UEL.

Rather than a Round of 32, though, a playoff round to qualify for 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, and teams will face each other home and away in a two-legged knock-out affair.

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. Teams are split into two pots again, with those who won their UEL group seeded against the sides who won their playoff fixture.

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 eight remaining teams will randomly be picked and sorted. At this stage, teams from the same national association can be drawn against each other. The Semi-Finals will also be drawn on that same night, so those squads who won their Quarter-Finals will find out who they could be facing.

The knockout round will then continue until there are only two remaining teams, who will go on to face each other in the Final for the title of Europa League winners. The winner of the whole thing is who you will be betting on with Europa League betting outright markets.

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Best Bookies We Recommend for Europa League Betting

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Upcoming Europa League Betting Fixtures

The draw of the knockout round playoffs, which will determine the final participants in the round of 16, took place on the 7th November.

We now know that the first legs will take place on the 16th February, with the second legs taking place on the 23rd February. They will be contested between the runners-up from the group stages of the Europa League as well as the third-placed teams from the group stages of the Champions League. Here’s a breakdown of the individual fixtures.

• Barcelona vs Manchester United
• Juventus vs Nantes
• Sporting CP vs Midtjylland
• Shakhtar Donestsk vs Rennes
• Ajax vs Union Berlin
• Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco
• Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven
• Red Bull Salzburg vs Roma

2022/23 Europa League Betting Odds*

These are 2022/23 Europa League betting outright winner odds* for six of the favourites at the time of writing. Do note these are subject to change based on performances and results in and out of the Europa League, with other markets for teams with longer Europa League odds to win also available. These bookmakers are also great among the top Europa Conference League and Champions League betting sites.

*Subject to change

A Look at the Remaining Europa League Teams

From the 58 teams which began with a chance of winning the Europa League, only 24 remain. That means half of our potential champions have gone before we’ve reached the knockout stages. To help you utilise a betting strategy that works, we’re going to break down every single team still in contention.

Already Qualified for the Round of 16

Only a loss to PSV prevented Arsenal from achieving perfection in the group stages – they have otherwise dominated this competition. There’s good reason they are so highly rated in the Europa League betting odds winner markets, with highlights including their dominant, assured 3-0 victory over Bodo/Glimt. Here we saw the hidden depths of their firing squad with Nketiah, Holding and Viera all tasting the back of the net, while their solid 1-0 win over FC Zürich saw them equal their longest winning streak at home since 2009.

Turkey’s sole hope at winning the Europa League lay on the capable shoulders of Fenerbahçe, who are surprisingly lowly rated by bookmakers as a Europa League betting odds winner. Don’t get us wrong, we would be surprised to see them walk away as champions, but they are certainly too good to be dismissed. They already fought off tough European competition in the form of France’s Rennes to make it straight through to the Round of 16, having recovered from three goals down to secure a point in thrilling, resilient fashion. If they are wise, big clubs will not underestimate their attacking power and toughness.

While other Spanish teams may get more headlines and shorter Europa League betting odds, Real Betis have left no doubt that they are contenders capable of taking it to all the European heavyweights. Like Arsenal, they were a single win away from a perfect run in the group stages. Perhaps most impressive of all was their dramatic 88th minute 2-1 win over AS Roma, which made a hero of Henrique and showed immense depth of talent with the performance of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. They aren’t always consistent, but no one can doubt their abilities when they bring their A-game.

In what was one of the toughest groups of the Europa League, Union Saint-Gilloise managed to escape to the Round of 16 by a single point. Bundesliga’s Union Berlin nearly took them out of the contest too with a hotly fought 1-0 victory, but Union Saint-Gilloise had already done enough to make it through. This was thanks to a 2-0 win over Malmo, as well as their spellbinding 3-3 draw against Braga. The latter saw a magical hat-trick by Vitinha, who will surely be on the radar of all future opponents. This could be a banner 12 months for international Belgian football, with Union Saint-Gilloise showing promise in a key battleground.

Talk about close calls. Real Sociedad make their way to the Round of 16 through the grace of a single point of goal difference, despite losing to Manchester United 1-0. Even with that rather lacklustre final outing in the group stages, it’s an accolade they deserve having handily toppled Omonia and Tiraspol. They were also successful against Manchester United in their first group stage outing by the same score which defeated them. People may scoff at them besting Manchester United in the current state of The Red Devils, but make no mistake – Real Sociedad proved themselves strong in attack and difficult to score against throughout this process. In terms of likely Spanish winners, we’d put them right behind Barcelona.

At the beginning of the group stages, the selection of Feyenoord, Midtjylland, Lazio and Sturm Graz didn’t get much attention, but turned out to arguably be the most exciting of that stage of the competition. All teams were evenly matched, finishing with 8 points apiece and knocking favourites Lazio down to the Europa Conference League. It was Dutch heavyweights Feyenoord who emerged victorious. They bested Lazio 1-0 thanks to a longshot by super sub Santiago Giménez in a game many thought belonged to the Italians. But fate, and a VAR check which went their way, means Feyenoord are free to upset more world-class teams in the knockout stages.

While their run in Group G wasn’t totally perfect, having dropped four points due to draws, German team SC Freiburg have undoubtably excelled thus far. They are the only team to not have lost a much thus far in this competition alongside Real Betis, and they look poised to shock this international tournament just as they have the Bundesliga since their promotion in 2016. Indeed, there are times during the group stages they looked unstoppable, having dismantled Nantes twice without conceding a goal and outclassing Olympiacos 3-0 in their barely disputed path to the Round of 16.

Hungarian side Ferencváros looked lucky to have made it through to the Round of 16. Their last two matches saw them draw 1-1 with Monaco and lose 1-0 to Trabzonspor, both in games that could have easily gone worse. Their comeback against Monaco to rescue their position in the 83rd minute was a nail-biter. Considering they won on goal difference, their qualification has been on very thin ice. But their previous form was enough to see them through at 10 points. Their fans will hope they can keep defying the Europa League betting odds.

Europa League Group Stage Second Place Qualification To the Knockout Playoffs

There’s a very good chance that PSV Eindhoven would be straight to the later rounds were they in another group. Unfortunately, they were hit by the near unstoppable momentum of Arsenal, who bested them by two points. Even so, they managed to topple the Gunners (Arsenal’s only loss) 2-0 in a euphoric penultimate group stage match, which featured goals from Veerman, de Long and an outstanding performance by Simons. They are one of the very best Dutch football has to offer, with everything it takes to go further if they can make it past Sevilla.

Much like PSV Eindhoven, French side Rennes found themselves in a two-horse race in their group, in this case falling two points behind the overachieving Fenerbahçe. A disappointment for sure, especially considering that Rennes didn’t lose a single game throughout Group B. It was a trio of draws instead which held them back. This makes them an interesting prospect going into the knockout playoffs. On one hand, they’ve proven difficult to beat – on the other, Rennes have had trouble closing victories, something the knockout round and Shakhtar Donestsk will demand.

Europa Conference League champions Roma only have one match they can look at with disappointment in the group stages. They should have beaten Ludogorets, but were caught sleeping and paid the three-point price. Against Betis, they may have been beaten, but there was no need to feel ashamed. They made the Spanish side suffer for the duration and looked unlucky to lose. Elsewhere, Roma trounced HJK 3-0 and even got revenge in a 3-1 thriller against Ludogorets, just to show they learned their lesson. Italian’s Roma knows how to win a tournament like this – it’s how they got here, after all. And, with their penchant for set pieces and awesome talent like Zaniolo and Pellegrini, both of whom scored in their last group game, there’s a lot of reasons to feel optimistic.

The heated battle in Group D between Union Berlin and Union Saint-Gilloise may have seen the latter victorious, but no one paying attention could say it couldn’t have gone either way. Indeed, Germany’s Union Berlin bested Union Saint-Gilloise 1-0 in their final group match. They showed in that final encounter that they could rise to the challenge under immense pressure. Such fortitude will be vital against Ajax. That, and the leadership skills of Christopher Trimmel, could be the difference maker moving forward.

Amidst all the drama which surrounded English Premier League giant Manchester United around the group stages, it’s important not to forget they remain an extremely dangerous side capable of great things. After all, they only ended runners-up to the excellent Real Sociedad by a single goal difference. And who knows how much United will have evolved and moved on from the headlines and managerial headaches surrounding the departure of Ronaldo by February. With the mighty Barcelona waiting in the wings, they’ll need to get their act together to survive the Round of 16.

Midtjylland may have failed to recapture the magic of their 2020 Danish Superliga victory in their domestic outings, but showed plenty of promise in an astoundingly tough group. They bested favourites Lazio by points difference to make it through to these knockout playoffs. Speaking of whom, there can be little doubt the highlight of the group stages for Midtjylland came with an astonishing 5-1 victory over Lazio, which was their first ever win over an Italian side. It was everything Midtjylland will need to be to be contenders to win the Europa League. They also finished their group run positively with a 2-0 win over Sturm Graz, star striker Dreyer being instrumental in both.

We finish our list of Europe League runners-up with a couple of French teams more than capable of making a big splash in the remainder of this tournament. However, Nantes were not up to their best form during the time of the group stages. Widely considered one of the greatest teams in French history, they played while floundering in the Ligue 1 and doing little better internationally. Their successive losses to group winners Freiburg without a single goal left little doubt who the better side was. However, in their last two group fixtures, we saw a little of the Nantes of old, toppling both Qarabağ and Olympiacos for another chance at European redemption.

In terms of experience in this kind of tournament and under this sort of pressure, few can match French legends Monaco. They were a mixed bag during the group stages, with their 4-0 loss to Trabzonspor representing the low point of their performances. But this old icon of French football is nothing is not resilient, and they came back fighting. They secured a point against eventual group winners Ferencvaros in a game they looked unlucky not to win, which showcased a fabulous performance by Ben Yedder. Finally, in a must-win situation, they triumphed with a 4-1 win over the Red Star Brigade to once again do battle in a big European tournament. The hat-trick by Volland which brought them here, and their brightness in the face of adversity, are both things Bayer Leverkusen must be wary of.

Champions’ League Group Stage Third-Place Qualification To the Knockout Playoffs

In a surprisingly bleak position for Dutch titans Ajax, they found themselves finishing up in the group stages of the Champions League a whole 9 points beneath what they needed to enter the next phase of that tournament. In their defence, we would say that was more to do with the strength of Liverpool and Napoli rather than any deep flaws in their play for the most part. Nonetheless, we think we’ll need to see more from them in February if they are to best a determined Union Berlin.

Much like Ajax, German side Bayer Leverkusen found themselves totally outmatched by the top two teams in their group. In fact, they’ve made it here with only a single victory to their name. Nonetheless, besting Atlético Madrid is no small accomplishment, nor is dragging Club Brugge to a tie. On top of that, they followed up, as if by proving their point, with a trio of impressive victories in the Bundesliga. They are inconsistent at times, but with talent like Jeremie Frimpong and Moussa Diaby, they could certainly cause Monaco some headaches. It is maintaining form which they find difficult, which is what they will have to do to go far in the Europa League.

For the second year in a row, Barcelona made their way to the Champions League only to find themselves in third place in the group stages and made to fight it out in the Europa League. But make no mistake, by the standard of most teams, what they can produce on the pitch remains incredible. It was a 3-0 loss to the brutal Bayern Munich which ultimately denied the most iconic of Spanish teams’ passage, and they’ll be seeking revenge here. If you doubt their abilities in 2022/23, just look at their form in the La Liga, and even their dramatic 3-3 pressure cooker of a draw against Inter in the group stages for proof. In their showdown with Manchester United, we’ll see two wounded giants attempt to reaffirm their supremacy, and we can’t wait.

Whether it’s in European football or the Portuguese domestic leagues, you can always count on Sporting CP to put up a fight. They certainly managed to take it to eventual group winners Tottenham Hotspur, first with an assured 2-0 win and then in a plucky 1-1 draw Amorim’s squad looked poised to take further. They also looked fantastic in a 3-0 triumph over Frankfurt. That said, it wasn’t all plain sailing, with dual losses to Marseille undoing much of their good work. But with the ability to beat one of England’s best, and an attacking menace like Marcus Edwards in the wings, Europa League betting is on notice.

While Red Bull Salzburg haven’t exactly had the most heroic route to the Europa League knockout playoffs, there can be no doubt that the ability to hold both AC Milan and Chelsea to 1-1 draw means they are an enormously frustrating team to beat. They also managed to outclass Dinamo Zagreb to make it here, and Noah Okafor has proven a foil to even the greatest teams in club football. The question that needs answering is if the Austrian Red Bull Salzburg can finish consistently enough to make it far in a knockout situation, and Roma will surely be a serious test of that.

Considering the icons that stalked the fields of Group F, we’d say that Ukrainian underdogs Shakhtar Donetsk have done themselves proud. They broke in the Champions League with an astounding 4-1 upset over RB Leipzig and even forced Real Madrid to a 1-1 stalemate – a game which was so almost the scene of a miracle of an upset. But, more importantly, they showed the depths of their quality. Oleksandr Zubkov provided fire while Anatoliy Trubin kept their defences clear until the last few heart-breaking minutes. With tons of reasons to have faith in this team, let’s just forget about the open goal miss by Danylo Sikan against Celtic.

Another great team simply beaten to the punch by some of the biggest and best the world has to offer. And to be fair to Spanish side Sevilla, not many teams could have done better when stuck in a group with both Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City. The thing that really impressed us about Sevilla through the group stages was their maturity and resiliency. They were humbled by German Juggernaut’s Borussia Dortmund in a 4-1 mauling, and then came back for their second round with a better plan and a new head coach in Jorge Sampaoli to pull a point out of one Europe’s greatest teams. Their 3-0 win over FC Copenhagen showed them cool under pressure again, with second goal scorer Isco in particular looking like a star. We don’t know how their game with PSV Eindhoven will go, but we think it’s unlikely we’ll see Sevilla rattled.

The lowest-scoring team to make it through to the knock playoffs is, surprisingly, Italian legends Juventus, who managed a singular victory on what has been an immensely bumpy road. They took it to the likes of Benfica and PSG, losing in two hard-fought battles against both by a single goal. The good news here, though, is that Juventus’ abilities remain much stronger than their group results would suggest. They were even excellent in Serie A around the same time as proof. They have the ability, now they need the goals. Looking for an underrated Europa League betting odds winner? This might be the one.

2022/23 Europa League Betting Tips & Predictions

Europa League betting predictions are incredibly tough to get right. That said, we do think there’s some strong market opportunities on the horizon.

With that in mind, here’s our Europe League betting tips and predictions based on what's taken place so far.

Important Dates To Remember for 2022/23 Europa League Betting

What Are the Most Popular Europa League Betting Markets?

Below, we have compiled a list of some of the most popular markets at the best football betting sites that will be available for Europa League betting.

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 most popular – the earlier you bet on this one, the higher the Europa League betting odds and the greater your potential payout will be.

If you want to go for something less risky, the Name the Semi-Finalists market could also be a lucrative option to go for; if you want to bet on each successive round, you can do just that with Europa League Odds to Qualify.

Both Teams to Score

Both Teams to Score is a reliable Europa League betting market. Statistics show that between 2016 and 2021, 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 leave punters spoiled for choice when creating their ideal accumulator bet, so it is no wonder that this type of bet is so popular for this particular tournament.

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 between 2016 and 2021. 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 Europa League fixtures has started to rise. 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 during the 2020/21 campaign – second only to the Italian Serie A, with the average of goals per match sitting at three.

Furthermore, over 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 four goals scored in a match, but rises significantly to 80% for two or more goals. For this reason, betting on more goals in the Europa League betting markets might prove to be a safer and more reliable option.

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. In the 2009/10 season, the UEFA Cup rebranded to become the Europa League as we know it today.

One of the most significant changes to the competition, however, came in 2014/15, when it was ruled that the winner of the Europa League would automatically qualify for the Champions League. This added a new sense of urgency and motivation for those taking part, especially the top teams, who found themselves in the Europa League and struggled in their respective leagues.

In total, the competition has been won by 28 different clubs, with Sevilla the most successful, having won the title on six occasions. Eintracht Frankfurt are the current holders after they beat Rangers in a penalty shootout in last season’s final. This marked the second time the German club have won this competition, automatically qualifying for the Champions League this season as a result.

Past Europa League Winners

Most Successful Europa League Teams

Europa League Trivia

Upcoming Sporting Events

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.

Written by Ben Gibson View all posts by Ben

Ben has been a copywriter for over a decade, with vast experience on just about everything sports related. If it has a ball in it, or someone gets to bet on it, he’s probably already obsessed with it. He resides in Yorkshire, where his articles are powered by the ever-present sound of a kettle.

ben@thepunterspage.com

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