UEFA Europa League Betting Guide (April 2020)

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.

The Europa league presents an exciting mix of teams featuring footballing elite, who missed the cut for the Champions League or crashed out in the group stages, are 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.

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2019/20 Europa League Odds

Odds to Qualify

Outright Winner Odds

2019/20 Europa League Betting Tips & Predictions

Image: Chelsea Europa League Winners 2019 | ©President of Azerbaijan

Despite heavy uncertainty regarding the fate of this year’s Europa League due to influx of Corona Virus (CoVid-19) cases that emerged across Europe, if the competition does indeed carry on, the top favourites to win the tournament according to the bookies are Manchester United, Inter Milan, Wolves, Bayer Leverkusen and Sevilla.

Manchester United’s inconsistencies in the Premier League continue but with a highly convincing 5-0 win against Club Brugge and a very favourable Round of 16 draw, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will definitely be itching to go all the way. With the fight for the Champions League places heating up in the Premier League, this could be United’s only way of getting back into the Champions League. The bookies currently have Manchester United as the favourites to win the Europa League with Marathon Bet giving United very favourable odds of 21/5 to go all the way.

Inter Milan have been slowly but surely making their way back to top of Italian football over the last few years and as it stands, look set the qualify for next season’s Champions League through the league route. The Nerazzurri sailed into the Last 16 defeating Ludogorets 4-1 over two legs and will undoubtedly feel confident enough to take on any team left in the competition. Inter have been given odds of 5/1 to win the Europa League by Bet365, 888sport, and Betway.

Wolves are another side being favourably tipped by the bookies with Bet365 and Sportingbet giving odds of 13/2 for the Wanderers to claim this year’s Europa League title. Having proven time and time again that they are capable of taking on the best teams in the Premier League, Wolves will see no reason why they shouldn’t be able to go all the way. But with a tricky test against Greek giants Olympiacos (who knocked out Arsenal) and a heated fight for Champions League spots in England, could it all prove to be too much for the inexperienced Wolves?

Spanish side Sevilla are not far down the line with odds of 9/1 at Unibet and 888sport to win the Europa League. The club are no stranger to Europa League dominance, but with a tough clash against Roma, who themselves are rated 16/1 by the same bookies to go all the way, this looks set to be the standout tie of the Round of 16. The winner of this fixture will surely be the team to avoid in the next rounds.

With strong favourites Arsenal crashing out so early on, the tournament is now wide open. Inter, Manchester United, Wolves, and Sevilla are all heavy favourites to go all the way, but with the unpredictability of this competition, it really is anyone’s game.

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What are the Most Popular Europa League Betting Types?

Image: Europa League Goal | ©Steffen Prößdorf

We have compiled a list of some of the most popular bets types which 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 on each other, there are plenty of exciting outright betting markets to choose from. The overall winner of tournament is by far the popular outright market. The earlier you bet on this one the greater your potential pay-out will be thanks to the higher odds. If you want to go for something a bit safer, the Name the Semi-Finalists 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.

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 Fewer Goals

Unlike its big brother, which has a very high goal-per-match ratio, the Europa league is actually one of the lowest scoring competitions in the top leagues of Europe, second only to Ligue 1,  with just under 50% of matches having at least 3 goals scored. This number drops to 30% when it comes to having at least 4 goals scored in a match but rises significantly to 74% for 2 or more goals. For this reason betting on fewer goals in the Europa League might prove to be a safer and more reliable option.

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How is the Europa League Structured?

The Europa League is the 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).

The Group Stages, which is where the proper competition starts, consists of 48 teams split into 12 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 two teams from each group will advance to the next round, with the bottom two teams getting eliminated from the tournament.

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 will automatically enter the next round, known as the Round of 32. This adds both drama and excitement to the Europa League as there are always 1 or 2 big teams which underperformed in the UCL and suddenly become the team to avoid in the UEL.

In the Round of 32, teams are randomly drawn against each other and face off in a knock-out round where another two matches are played (home and away). The winning teams are drawn against each other and the process is repeated again and again in the subsequent rounds until there are 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 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 five occasions.

Who are the Past Europa League Winners?

Who are the Most Successful Europa League Teams?

Important Dates to Remember for the 2019/20 Europa League

• 12 March: Round of 16, 1st leg

• 19 March: Round of 16, 2nd leg

• 9 April: Quarter-finals, 1st leg

• 16 April: Quarter-finals, 2nd leg

• 30 April: Semi-finals, 1st leg

• 7 May: Semi-finals, 2nd leg

• 27 May: Final

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Europa League Trivia

• Sevilla have won the Europa League on five 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 where they faced off in the first leg against Tottenham.
• 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.
• Prize money in the Europa League stands at around £20m which is significantly lower than the Champions league where winners get over £70m (and that is excluding money that comes from tv rights).

Image: PGE Arena | ©Pawel Nurkowski | CC BY-SA 3.0

FAQ

Where Can I Watch the Europa League?

• UK viewers can enjoy Europa League matches live on BT Sport.

When is the Final of the Europa League?

• The 2020 Europa League final will be held on Wednesday 27^th

Where is the 2020 Europa League Final Being Held?

• The 2020 Europa League final will be held at the Stadion Energa Gdansk in the Polish city of Gdansk.

How Many Teams Take Part in the Europa League?

• 48 teams take part in the Europa League group stages. This is narrowed down to 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, and then 1 eventual winner.

How Many Teams are Left in the Europa League?

• As is stands, there are 16 teams currently left in the competition.

Which Teams are Left in the Europa League?

• Manchester United, Wolves (ENG), Basel (SWI), Rangers (SCO), Copenhagen (DEN), Sevilla, Getafe (SPA), Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg (GER), Inter Milan, Roma (ITA), Istanbul Basaksehir (TUR), LASK (AUS), Olympiakos (GRE), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR).

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 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. Because let’s face it, what else are you going to be doing on a Thursday night?

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