Europa League Futures 2023/24 (Knockout Rounds)

The Europa League returns on February 15 with the 1st leg of the play-off games kicking off to decide which 2nd place teams from the group stage and which drop down teams from the Champions League will be advancing to the Round of 16. The Europa League can be a lot more difficult to predict at the start of the group stage as the team that goes on to win might not even be in the competition yet. Now that the group stage has ended, no more teams can be added to the competition after this play-off round so there is a much better idea as to who can go on to win this competition now. It is time to see which teams are the real contenders to win the Europa League Title this season.

Liverpool +225: Liverpool is the team with the best chance to win the competition according to the oddsmakers. Liverpool ended up in the Europa League this season with a 5th place finish in the Premier League after a lackluster season last year, but they have improved a lot this year. They are currently leading the Premier League as they are having a great season and they have also booked their ticket to the Round of 16 already by topping their group in the group stage. They improved their team in the Summer Transfer Window by bringing in Alexis Mac Allister to stabilize their midfield and he has done a great job fixing the flow of their attack as they never truly replaced Sadio Mane which brought them a lot of problems last season. Their defense was also a big issue last season but they fixed that as well as they now have the best defense in the Premier League this year. Liverpool is by far the best team left in this competition with their talent as they have been performing at a Champions League level all season and that will show when they go up against weaker teams in this competition. They are also going to have some motivation with Klopp announcing that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season so the team will be pushing to win as many titles as they can this year. The only thing that could hold them back in this competition is the fact that they will be more focused on reclaiming the Premier League Title this season, but they still have both the talent and the depth to make a deep run in this competition regardless. There is value in Liverpool to win this competition at this price since they do have the best team left in the competition. 

Bayer Leverkusen +550: Bayer Leverkusen is the next team on the list with the best chance at winning this competition according to the oddsmakers. Leverkusen has been having a very impressive season as they are currently leading the Bundesliga with a 15-4-0 record and they also topped their group in the group stage of this competition with a 6-0-0 record. They have played in 25 matches this season between Bundesliga and the Europa League without losing a single match yet. They also have the best defense in the Bundesliga as they have allowed 14 goals in their 19 league matches, and that is a trend they continued in the Europa League group stage as they only allowed 3 goals in their 6 matches. A big reason for their success this season was the hiring of Xabi Alonso as manager as he has turned this entire club around. Leverkusen is going to be a big threat in Europe as long as Alonso is still at the helm and right now they are the biggest threat to Liverpool in this competition since they have actually been in better form all season in both the Europa League and their domestic league. They also have a lot of value at this price to win this competition as they are the closest team to standing in Liverpool’s way and they are a true contender as they continue to show. 

AC Milan +1000: AC Milan is the next team on the list with the best chance at winning this competition according to the oddsmakers. AC Milan has been having a good season this year as they are currently sitting in 3rd place of the Serie A, but they have shown time and time again that they are always a bridesmaid and never a bride. Last season, they were in the top 4 but way out of the title race with Napoli running away. They also made a deep run in the Champions League but eventually fizzled out right before making it to the finals. They have had a similar story the last few years and once again this season, they are sitting in 3rd place in the title race but still way out of it as they are 8 points behind the leaders. They also took a step back in the Champions League as they made a very deep run last year but failed to get out of the group stage this year. Now they have the added challenge of having to play in a play-off game before booking their spot in the Round of 16 for the Europa League. AC Milan has a lot of good talent in their squad but they also had to replace some key pieces they lost in the Summer Transfer Window and at the end of the day, this is a team that is not a real contender to win this competition as they always get close but find a way to hurt themselves when they need to show up most. They do not have the defense to win this competition either as that has been an issue for them in the Serie A this season and was also a reason for their departure from the Champions League with 8 goals allowed in their 6 matches of the group stage there. AC Milan is not a real contender to win this competition and there is no real value for them at this price. 

Brighton & Hove Albion +1200: Brighton is the next team on the list with the best chance at winning this competition according to the oddsmakers. Brighton has not been having a great season this year as they got off to a very good start in the Premier League but they are currently sitting in 8th place now as the key pieces they lost in the Summer Transfer Window are finally starting to catch up to them. Brighton still has a very good team but they are not as good as they were last year and a lot of that has to do with the loss of some very good midfield talent in Caicedo and Mac Allister who are no longer with the club. Brighton did manage to top their group in the group stage with a 4-1-1 record so they have already booked their ticket right to the Round of 16, but they have still been a very inconsistent team this year. They have also struggled away from home which is going to make their away matches that much more difficult, especially since they have had a huge issue on defense as well. They had a dominant 4-1-1 performance in the group stage yet they still allowed 5 goals in their 6 matches and they have been much worse in the Premier League with 37 goals allowed in their 22 league matches. Brighton has the talent to make a deep run here as they do have a very potent attack still, but when push comes to shove, their defense will let them down deeper in the competition and they also do not have the depth to last while also pushing to get back into a European spot for next year in the Premier League. Brighton is not a real contender to win this competition and has no real value at this price. 

West Ham United +1200: West Ham is the next team on the list with the best chance at winning this competition according to the oddsmakers. West Ham has been having a good season this year as they currently sit in 6th place of the Premier League table and have been climbing the table in recent weeks. This was a team that was awful in the league last season as they were very close to getting relegated at the end of the season, but they also underperformed in the Premier League with the talent they had as they also went on to win the Europa Conference League last year which is how they got their bid into this competition. Now they are having a much better season in the Premier League and they were also very good in the group stage as well. They topped their group with a 5-0-1 record and have already booked their spot in the Round of 16. West Ham will be trying to maintain their spot in the Premier League so they can be back in European competition next year, but they also know they are not a top 4 team in the Premier League so this will be a competition they are focused on winning as they are the champions from last year’s Conference League and winning the Europa League would also give them a bid to the Champions League for next season. West Ham has the motivation and the pedigree to win this competition with the run they made last season. They do not have the best chance to win this competition with the stronger clubs still left in it along with their struggles against Liverpool in the league, but at this price they definitely have value as a dark horse. 

Roma +1600: Roma is the next team on the list with the best chance at winning this competition according to the oddsmakers. Roma has been having a good season in the Serie A as they are currently sitting in 5th place, but they are also going through some turmoil as well. This team has had high hopes every season for the last few years yet they have struggled to even crack the top 4 and now they have finally sacked their manager Jose Mourinho. They have played better since the sacking with a new found boost in the lineup but they still lack the talent and depth to be a real contender in the Europa League right now. Similar to AC Milan, Roma is a team that always has high hopes and tends to underperform. Even when they have come close like last season as Roma did go to the Europa League final, they still found a way to lose. Roma does not have the talent and depth to make a deep run in this competition right now and they will be more focused on improving their performance in the Serie A to end the season. They also finished in 2nd place of their group in the group stage which means they have the added challenge of facing a Champions League drop down team before booking their ticket to the Round of 16, and they have a very tough matchup against a very good Feyenoord team that has experience making deep runs in Europe as well. Roma is not a true contender to win this competition and does not have any value at this price. 

There are a lot of good teams left in the Europa League right now but all of the paths to the finals are very treacherous with 2 Champions League caliber teams standing in the way. Liverpool is the best team in England right now, which could change toward the end of the season, but they are still playing at a Champions League level regardless of if they win the Premier League Title or not, the same way Leverkusen has been playing at a Champions League level all season as well. These are the two teams to beat in the competition right now so there is a lot of value in Liverpool at +225 as they do have the best team left, but considering how they were +350 to start the competition which was discussed in the pre-group stage futures segment, there is more value with Leverkusen at +550 to win the competition as they are the 1 team left that could really give Liverpool some trouble with their defensive play. Either way, Liverpool at +225 and Leverkusen at +550 are the 2 teams with the most value to win this competition this season.