With two English teams at opposite ends of the Europa League bracket, it begs the question: will we see an all-English final? Here’s who the bookies are backing.
The Europa League odds to reach the final are close. Athletic Bilbao, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Lazio can all mount a challenge. Here are the odds to reach the final from BetVictor:
So the bookies aren’t exactly backing an all-English final, but the odds are close enough to warrant a punt. Bet365 are offering a ‘Name the Finalists’ market, and the odds are 5/1. Only Lazio vs United has lower odds at 4/1.
Tottenham Hotspur to the Final
The value here is on Tottenham, as they’ll avoid both United and Bilbao, giving them a slightly easier route.
They’ll need to beat Eintracht Frankfurt first. Spurs are favourites for this leg, with odds of 33/50, compared to Frankfurt’s odds of 7/2 on bet365. Their odds to qualify are 57/100.
Both Clubs only ever met in the 2022 UCL group stage. The results were a nil-nil draw at Frankfurt and a 3-2 win for Spurs in London.
Tottenham will need to make their home leg count because their away form is shocking. Spurs have lost 7 of their last 10 away matches, so if they don’t get anything at home, this prediction could go up in flames.
If Spurs overcome that hurdle (we think they can), they’ll come up against Lazio or Bodø/Glimt. We expect Lazio to progress against Bodø/Glimt, and so do the bookies (7/25 for Lazio to qualify on bet365).
Tottenham have only played Lazio twice, two nil-nil draws. That was back in 2012. Bookies will likely back Tottenham if they can win convincingly against Frankfurt.
Manchester United to the Final
United are the second favourites to win the competition, but they’ll have to get through the actual favourites, Athletic Bilbao, in the semis.
Manchester United play Olympique Lyon at the Groupama Stadium. United are favourites this leg, priced at 3/2, while Lyon’s odds are set at 187/100.
They’re also favourites to qualify, priced at 11/25 on bet365. Man United’s away form has been decent, only losing 2 games in their last 10, winning 4 times.
United have statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in their modern history, though. Ouch. The tension will be running high, and an ‘Over 3.5 cards’ at 18/25 on bet365 could prove to be good value.
If both United and Bilbao make it to the semis, you expect the winner to go on to win the competition.
We expect the odds to be really close, and both teams to win at their home leg. It’s a toss-up from there.
