Inter Milan Now Favorites to Win 2020 Europa League Ahead of Semifinals

• The Europa League has trimmed down to four teams; Inter Milan, Manchester United, Sevilla and Shakhtar Donetsk are now left to compete for one of Europe’s biggest trophies
• In the semifinals, Manchester United will face Sevilla, while Inter Milan are tasked with playing Shakhtar
• Currently, Inter Milan are the slight favorites to win the competition over Manchester United with moneyline odds of +150

The Europa League is often dubbed as the secondary competition in Europe, as it should be. In reality, it gives smaller or building clubs a shot at playing on Europe’s biggest stage, while also giving teams that get knocked out of the Champions League, a second chance. With that being said, this year’s Europa League knockout rounds have had some scintillating match-ups. Now set up as a single-elimination tournament due to COVID-19, there are three games remaining to decide a victor.

In the quarterfinals of the Europa League, we saw Lukaku’s dream season continue against Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-1 contest. Shakhtar of all teams drubbed Basel in what could have been a 4-0 game if it weren’t for a late Wolfswinkel goal. Bruno “Pen”Andes converted from the spot late to give Manchester United the victory over Copenhagen, and Sevilla also saw a late Ocampos goal see them through over a gutsy Wolves side led by Nuno Santo. Now we are in the semifinals, with a better picture of who could end their season with a touch of glory and a Europa League trophy.

Europa League Odds

Odds taken on August 11

Inter Milan Should Be Favorites for Europa League

Despite how close they are from a Europa League odds perspective, Inter Milan are the clear favorites over Manchester United to win the Europa League. Conte and Milan have the much easier draw going up against a Shakhtar team that is always in European play but fails to ever do anything. The Black and Blue are on a tear, as they should be with two of the best attackers in the world in Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. Furthermore, their additions in January have proved useful and how they finished the Serie A campaign shows how gritty this team can be.

Manchester United on the other hand are full of inconsistency. Too often the Red Devils rely on penalties and Bruno Fernandes to take them through games. Moreover, the referees in the Europa League are much better than the Premier League which could influence if United even get out of the semifinals. Not to mention they have to play Sevilla first, a side that have won this competition five times which is the most ever.

Sevilla Will Be a Tough Surprise

Let’s be honest, Shakhtar do not really have much of a chance to win the Europa League. However, Sevilla are primed and ready to lift a piece of silverware. Julen Lopetegui’s side was level on points with Atletico Madrid in La Liga this season and have not lost a game since February 9th of this year. Lucas Ocampos has been brilliant and will test a United defense that is shaky to say the least.

👀Man Utd were knocked out of Europe in their only previous meeting with Sevilla in the @ChampionsLeague in Feb/Mar 2018

Drew 0-0 away
Lost 2-1 at home pic.twitter.com/yTFAwNB7AF

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) August 11, 2020

Additionally, history is on the side of the Spanish club. The five times Sevilla has made it to the semifinals of the Europa League, they have won the whole competition, including in 2016 when they beat Liverpool in Basel. The last time Sevilla played Manchester United? Only in 2018, a game that saw two goals come from Ben Yedder that gave Sevilla the victory. These stats make Sevilla’s +300 odds to win the Europa League a little bit more realistic.

Best Bet

Finally, the best bet for this match is Inter Milan to win the Europa League with odds of +150. However, if you want to take a risk, Sevilla is not a bad pick either and is probably the second-best choice. With that being said, Sevilla just do not have the depth of Inter Milan which could impact the Europa League final if that is the match-up we see. Manchester United should not really be considered as they have to win two extremely challenging games. Inter Milan still has great value and they should at least get to the final.

My Pick: Inter Milan (+150)