Europa League Betting – Can Reds End Sevilla’s Run?

After a marvelous quarterfinals stage, four teams are left standing in the 2015-16 Europa League. Liverpool carry the hopes of the Premier League and lead the odds (7/4 to win the title), but two-time defending champ Sevilla (2/1) are still alive as are their La Liga mates from Villarreal (7/2). Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk round out the quartet and are the biggest longshot (5/1). But they can’t be counted out, showing in the past that they have what it takes to get to the final.

Let’s preview both semifinal matchups.

Shakhtar Donetsk (+162) vs. Sevilla (-225)

First leg: April 28 in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Second leg: May 5 in Sevilla, Spain.

Unlike the other two teams in the competition, both Shakhtar Donetsk and Sevilla started this season in the Champions League, ending up in the Europa League after finishing third in their respective groups. Both would like to punch their ticket directly back to the UCL for next year with a Europa League title.

Shakhtar are unbeaten in six games (5-1-0 overall and 2-1-0 at home) during their Europa League run, but they’ll be facing a Sevilla side that’s already made history; Sevilla became the first team to ever reach three straight semis by knocking off Athletic Bilbao on penalties in the quarters.

Shakhtar had an easy draw in the quarters, facing Portuguese side Braga (who are a distant fourth in the Primeira Liga). But they looked impressive nonetheless winning both games en route to a 6-1 route on aggregate.

Both teams are talented, but Sevilla has owned this tournament over the last few years.

Look for this one to end the same way the 2007 matchup between Sevilla and Shakhtar finished, with the Spanish side advancing.

Pick: Sevilla (-225).

Liverpool (-200) vs. Villarreal (+150)

First leg: April 28 in Vila-real, Spain.

Second leg: May 5 in Liverpool, England.

Liverpool had the toughest draw in the quarters facing tournament-favorite Borussia Dortmund. They were set up well after drawing 1-1 in Germany, but almost gave the series away by falling behind 3-1 at home in the second leg. The Reds then played their best 30 minutes of soccer all year, getting goals from Coutinho (66′), Mamadou Sakho (77′), and Dejan Lovren (90’+1) to shock Dortmund.

Liverpool, who are undefeated through 12 Europa League matches (5-7-0), are now a big favorite to advance to the final. The Reds can’t realistically reach the Champions League spots in the English Premier League, so winning the Europa League is now paramount.

Villarreal lost in the first fixture of the tournament, but then got hot and haven’t looked back. They’re unbeaten in the last 11 (8-3-0), including back-to-back wins over Sparta Prague in the quartets (4-2 away; 2-1 home).

The team reached the semis twice before (2003-04 and 2010-11 seasons) but have never made the finals. Unfortunately for them, they’re running into Liverpool at the wrong time. This won’t be the year they make their first title game.

Pick: Liverpool (-200).

(Photo Credit: ShakeFrog (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/])