Group stage of the most unpredictable competition in Europe starts this week and if it is to turn out like it has in the previous seasons, some thrilling action can be anticipated. After the first round of games, it should be more or less clear which teams have the ambition to win it this year but prior to kickoff, let’s see what the bookies have to say.
The last two seasons, Sevilla has dominated the competition by winning it both times. This season they start in the Champions League and might enter the Europa League in the spring if they finish 3rd in their CL group. Dnipro, Sevilla’s last season opponents in the final are currently priced at 40 and are rated as one of the top 18 teams in the competition. Borussia Dortmund is considered to be the biggest favorites at this stage with odds of 1.03 to pass their group and 2.85 to reach the semi-finals. At present, they have a 12-15% chance to take the trophy home.
Other favorites include Liverpool and Tottenham hailing from England. English teams usually lack motivation for this competition but winning the Europa League may be their only ticket to enter next year’s Champions League. Right behind them are three Italian teams in Napoli, Fiorentina and Lazio. Italian football is hungry for a European trophy and any of these teams could have a walk through to the semi-finals this season. Teams on the outside looking in include the likes of Fenerbahce with odds at 41.00 and Monaco and Bilbao at 26.00 according to bet365.
【bet365: 2015-16 Europa League Outright Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 15, 9:00 p.m. (GMT)
With the final match slated for May 18th in Basel, nothing is set in stone just yet. The first assignment is to get through the group stage, which should be a challenge for all teams in Group A. On paper, this group should be one of the most interesting to follow as Fenerbahce has to battle with the likes of Ajax, Celtic and Molde. Fener at 1.20 is the favorite to advance to the next stage and also to win the group at 2.05. It will be interesting to see what Celtic has to say about bookies pricing them at 2.25 to secure one of the first two places as well as Molde at 3.50.
【Unibet: 2015-16 Europa League Group A Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 15, 9:00 p.m. (GMT)
Group B’s top spot looks like it is reserved for Liverpool. In the company of Bordeaux, Rubin Kazan and FC Sion, they are priced at 1.36. However their motivation to perform well in this competition is doubtful due to the challenges they are expected to have in the Premiership.
Dortmund’s Group C looks like a couple of hard training matches at best. Krasnodar, PAOK and Qabala are certainly no match for the in-form German side and the only intrigue in this group is whether PAOK is good enough to secure 2nd place, a 47% chance of happening at this juncture.
As for Napoli in Group D, they will face three solid European teams. Brugge, Legia and Midtjalland are predicted to contend for second place as Napoli is clear favorite to win it at 1.60.
【Unibet: 2015-16 Europa League Group D Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 15, 9:00 p.m. (GMT)
In Group E, Villarreal will try to continue the Spanish domination in European competitions. Frankly, it is hard to believe that Rapid, Plzen or Dinamo Minsk can pose a serious challenge. “El submarino amarillo’s” main concern is the depth of their bench to perform at the same level for all of their league matches. If they can secure a spot in the first round of playoffs early, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if other teams are able to bite off a point or even three before the game concludes.
Groningen and Slovan Liberec will have to give their best to endanger Marseille’s (1.16) and Braga’s (1.50) chances for the top two spots in Group F. Bookies have recognized Groningen and Slovan to be at least one class weaker. Expect these two teams to only win points in mutual clashes.
【Betsson: 2015-16 Europa League Group G Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 15, 9:00 p.m. (GMT)
Group G looks interesting as Lazio will have to deny last year’s finalists Dnipro, a good French side in Saint-Etienne and an old Nordic giant in Rosenborg. Dnipro’s best player Konoplyanka transferred to Sevilla this summer so it will be interesting to see who will replace him and how the team will respond. Ten times French champion Saint-Etienne is a good match for Dnipro according to transfermarkt and they are very capable to beat all three teams in their group. Also note that Rosenborg can make things extremely difficult for anyone when playing home at Lerkendal.
Skenderbeu is the only big underdog in Group H with Russian side Lokomotiv able to surprise both Sporting Lisbon and Besiktas if they play up to their potential. However the bookmakers have the Turkish and Portuguese giants to get past their group being priced at 1.35 and 1.25 respectively.
Fiorentina is the strongest team in Group I and linesmakers are offering odds from 1.61 to 1.75 for punters to back them to take the top spot. If Basel wins against Belenenses and Lech Poznan, expect them to take one of top two places (currently priced at 1.45).
【Betsson: 2015-16 Europa League Group J Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 15, 9:00 p.m. (GMT)
With Tottenham you never know in the Europa League because they usually take this competition as a test for their reserve players. Levy wants to concentrate on the Premiership but sometimes their reserves pull off an excellent performance and the bookies have recognized this by pricing them under Monaco. Tottenham is at 2.05 and Monaco at 2.60 to win their group courtesy of Swedish bookmaker Betsson. Anderlecht will want to exploit Tottenham’s looseness in order to progress and Qarabag is just looking forward to take another Europa League scalp after they qualified over Young Boys.
Schalke should have easy job to win their group (Group K) and the bookmakers agree offering odds of 1.45 or less. With Schalke out of the way, Sparta Praha, Apoel and Asteras should be battling for second place. Asteras is the more inexperienced team out of these three in the Europa League and therefore, they come in as the biggest underdog here.
【Unibet: 2015-16 Europa League Group L Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 15, 9:00 p.m. (GMT)
In Group L, Bilbao, Augsburg and AZ will be duking it out until spring. The Basks are strong favorites to go through at 1.20 according to the sportsbook of Unibet. The German team Augsburg is capable of winning against teams like Bayern, so AZ will have to put their best performance forward if they want one of the top two positions in the group. The bookies all agree that the correct odds for this happening is 2.10. Meanwhile, nobody has points to waste against Partizan.
In a competition like the Europa League, the only thing that is certain is that there will be some surprising results. To pick who is the most certain false underdog is up to you. Just have in mind that after Thursday some of these odds will never be the same, so it is a perfect time to take advantage of them while they are being offered.
Now enough of the analysis…let the start to Europa League begin!
