2019 Europa League Final Odds & Pick: Chelsea vs Arsenal
- Europa League showdown in Baku
- Chelsea start as favorites
- Arsenal strike pairing the key for Gunners
Two of London’s finest make the 2800-mile trip from the English capital to Baku this week, as Azerbaijan plays host to the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final. Chelsea and Arsenal meet in the Baku Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 3:00 pm EST to contest European soccer’s second biggest prize.
Chelsea vs Arsenal Europa League Final Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total | Odds To Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | pk, -0.5 (+101) | +139 | O2.5 (-109) | -140 |
| Arsenal | pk, +0.5 (-121) | +185 | U2.5 (-111) | +110 |
| Draw | N/A | +220 | N/A | N/A |
*Odds taken on May 27, 2019.
As the above odds show, the value is with Arsenal in what is almost certain to be a very tight final. There is so little to choose between these two based on their English Premier League results, but it’s hard to ignore the brutal way that Arsenal dispatched Valencia in the semifinal and the form of their striking duo, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
14.
Valencia 2-4 Arsenal. Absolute class performance. Few thought we would go out but our front 2 were unstoppable on the night, Auba hat trick and we won away in a big European game once again. Fans were amazing as well. Goals from Auba, Laca pic.twitter.com/z0ieKeZF0f
— @DefenceAgainstEvil (@IsraelsDefence1) May 26, 2019
With the pair in such scintillating form, +185 for Arsenal to lift the trophy in the 90 minutes is well worthy of consideration.
Comfortable Passage for Chelsea
Chelsea will be a tough nut to crack though and manager Maurizio Sarri will remind his players of the 3-2 win over the Gunners at Stamford Bridge back in August when they were dominant.
https://twitter.com/LiveLoaded_/status/1030887927453306885
He will also remind his players of their relatively smooth passage through to the last four of the Europa League; the Blues dropping just two points in the group stages, before comfortably negotiating tricky looking opponents – Malmo, Dynamo Kiev and Slavia Prague – in the first three knockout rounds.
Chelsea’s semifinal against Eintracht Frankfurt was, however, a very different story, and after two 1-1 draws, Chelsea needed penalties to get through to the showdown in Baku. Not for the first time, they relied heavily on playmaker Eden Hazard, who scored the deciding spot-kick.
Real Madrid could be offered the chance to buy Eden Hazard this summer regardless of Chelsea's transfer ban situation, with the Blues now concerned about the Financial Fair Play implications of having to replace the Belgian without receiving a fee for him. .#GET247SPORT pic.twitter.com/V3srDxmT3A
— Get247Sports News (@Get247Sport) May 21, 2019
With Hazard rumored to be in the sights of Real Madrid, it looks likely that Wednesday will be his last in a Chelsea shirt, so he will be desperate to go out with a bang.
Chelsea vs Arsenal Match-Ups
| 11/14 | Number of wins in 2019 UEL / Number of games | 11/14 |
| 32/2.29 | Number of goals scored in 2019 UEL / Per game | 29/2.07 |
| 9/0.6 | Number of goals conceded in 2019 UEL / Per game | 9/0.6 |
| 8540/89% | Total passes completed in 2019 UEL / Pass completion | 6501/85% |
| 229/16.4 | Total goal attempts in 2019 UEL / Per game | 174/12.4 |
| 5 | Number of European trophies won | 3 |
| 19 | Number of domestic trophies won | 14 |
| 6 | Number of European finals | 7 |
Arsenal’s season has shown promise in parts but has also exposed plenty of frailties in Unai Emery’s squad, particularly away from home where domestically they have struggled.
They have, however, saved their best away days for the Europa League latter knockout stages and so going toe-to-toe with familiar faces in Baku won’t create any new problems for them.
The Gunners Cruising
The Gunners, like Chelsea, also cruised through the group stages of the competition with five wins and a draw, but things did get significantly tougher for them once they entered the knockout rounds.
It’s hard to ignore the brutal way that Arsenal dispatched Valencia in the semifinal and the form of their striking duo, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
In order to progress, they had to overcome first-leg deficits against both BATE Borisov and Rennes but were able to see the job through at the Emirates on both occasions. Things really started to click for them when they reached the quarterfinals.
FT: Arsenal 2-0 Napoli
⚽️ 15' Ramsey
⚽️ 25' Koulibaly OGA brilliant result for the dominant Gunners 👊 pic.twitter.com/8ICJCD84Am
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 11, 2019
In the last eight, they beat a top-quality Napoli team 3-0 on aggregate and then, better still, managed to record excellent 3-1 and 4-2 victories against Valencia, with – as mentioned earlier – Aubameyang and Lacazette sharing the goals.
The win in Valencia’s fearsome Mestalla Stadium was particularly outstanding, not just for the composed, quality performance, but for how they handled such an intimidating atmosphere.
Europa League Pedigree
An interesting aside is that Emery has great pedigree in the Europa League after leading one of his old clubs, Sevilla, to a hat-trick of Europa League wins. And from an Arsenal perspective, he will point to the 2-0 defeat of Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in January.
Unai Emery is the first ever manager to reach the #UEL / UEFA Cup Final four times.
2013-14: Sevilla
2014-15: Sevilla
2015-16: Sevilla
2018-19: Arsenal#UEL = Unai Emery's League. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/a840TXeo6i— Squawka (@Squawka) May 9, 2019
So, while the numbers favor Chelsea – and there is an argument that Eden Hazard’s final hurrah in the blue of Chelsea will be to lift a trophy – we feel the value is with Arsenal and, in particular, with Aubameyang and/or Lacazette to get on the scoresheet.
Our pick: Arsenal to win 2-1 (+1000)
Once just a sports fanatic, fan-turned-writer Gary Gowers has been featured on European television and radio networks to discuss several professional football clubs. His work can be found in an assortment of publications like The Metro, MyFootballWriter.com, and BBC Radio Norfolk.
