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2020/21 Europa League Odds After Group Stage Draw

Josh Ricker

by Josh Ricker in Soccer News

Updated Oct 2, 2020 · 9:29 AM PDT

Europa League
Arsenal will try to win their club's first major European trophy, as Europa League favorites this season. Photo by Shaun Brooks/Actionplus/Icon Sportswire.
  • On Friday morning, UEFA drew the group stages of the Europa League causing early speculation on who could come out victorious
  • London clubs Tottenham and Arsenal were given easy groups to say the least which is why they are favored with odds of +800 to win the competition
  • Do not forget, the eight third-place teams in the Champions League group stage drop down into the Round of 32, making it ever so harder for whomever you choose to win the Europa League

The group stage has been drawn and the Europa League odds are officially out. After what seems like months of waiting, the European away day is finally back, and while fans still might not be able to attend, we are back to somewhat normalcy. The Europa League truly defines football abroad and after a great final last season between victors Sevilla and Inter Milan, who knows what we are all in for this year.

The two heavy favorites going into the competition are Arsenal and Tottenham, who got the luck of the draw. Say what you will about these two clubs, but any top-five league powerhouse is going to be an easy favorite. However, you can make a really good case for AC Milan, Napoli and Leceister City as a dark horse in the Europa League. These three sides have slightly more difficult groups but are clearly still talented enough to get the job done.

2020/21 Europa League Odds

Team Odds
Tottenham +800
Arsenal +800
AC Milan +1100
Napoli +1100
Leicester City +1700
Bayer Leverkusen +2000
Benfica +2000
Real Sociedad +2000
Roma +2000
Villareal +2000
Hoffenheim +2500
PSV Eindhoven +3300
CSKA Moscow +5000
Celtic +5000
Granada +5000
Lille +5000
Nice +6000
Rangers +6000
SC Braga +6000
Gent +6000

Odds taken Oct 2 at DraftKings

Arsenal Should Be the Current Favorites

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have the best odds to win the Europa League, and deservedly so. They resigned Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette is showing early signs of a promising year and it seems as though the mentality in the dressing room has changed. They have only dropped points to the English champions, Liverpool, and have managed to beat Leicester City early in the year.

That does not necessarily translate to automatic Europa League success, but it seems things are going in the right direction for the Gunners. If the club can do some more business in the transfer window for a player like Houssem Aouar or Thomas Partey, they will be a force in the Europa League. Their group only consists of Rapid Wien, Molde and Dundalk so they should win easily.

Are Leicester City the Europa League Dark Horse?

Leicester City have not competed in Europe since their 2016/17 Champions League season, after winning the Premier League the year prior. Under Brendan Rodgers, they have turned things around and look like a top-four favorite in England, having already thrashed Manchester City by a score of 5-2. They added Timothy Castagne from Atalanta to their squad and he is already proving himself to be a strong addition, and will surely help them in the Europa League.

YouTube video

Additionally, Leicester got a fair Europa League drawing, being paired with Braga, AEK Athens and Zorya Luhansk. While Leicester are further down the odds table, they make more sense than Tottenham, Napoli or AC Milan. No offense to Tottenham fans, but Europe is not their strong suit, despite a Champions League final anomaly over a year ago.

Furthermore, AC Milan is in my Europa League group of death with Celtic, Sparta Praha and Lille. It is honestly difficult to tell if they can even make it to the knockout rounds. Napoli was also paired with Real Sociedad, and while they still have good chances to go through, it forces them to be perfect in the other four matches. From a logical point of view, Leicester simply has the best chances as an underdog to make it through to the final and win.

[crosspsot]

Best Bet

Finally, my best bet to win the Europa League is Arsenal, at the moment. Presently, they look like the best team in the competition and I do not think they are done in the transfer window. With Aubameyang at the helm of their offense, he could put up serious numbers this year, especially in one of the easier Europa League groups. Nonetheless, I think it is smart to wait until the Champions League teams are drawn in because there are some serious teams that could fall back into the Europa League. But, right now, Arsenal is in my opinion the easy pick to win.

My Pick: Arsenal (+800)

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