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Odds Favor an All-England Final for 2019 Europa League Final

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in Soccer News

Updated Apr 23, 2020 · 8:47 AM PDT

Chelsea with the cup
Chelsea were UEFA Europa League champions in 2012-13. Photo By: Chelsea Debs (Wikimedia
  • Book favor an Arsenal-Chelsea final in its UEFA Europa League Name The Finalists prop wager
  • Just four English sides have played in the last 11 UEL finals
  • The first final in 1971-72 was the only all-England affair in tournament history, when Tottenham beat Wolverhampton

Is the UEFA Europa League about to go back to the future? We’re talking way back, to the days when it was known as the UEFA Cup and the final was a two-leg affair.

We’re talking all the way back to the first-ever final in the history of the competition.

Odds are touting an all-England final for this year’s Europa League, with semifinal action beginning on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Books are listing a Chelsea-Arsenal tilt as the chalk in its Name The Finalists prop wager.

2019 UEFA Europa League Name The Finalists Odds

Teams Odds
Arsenal-Chelsea +135
Chelsea-Valencia +180
Arsenal-Eintracht Frankfurt +310
Eintracht Frankfurt-Valencia +400

*Odds taken on April 26, 2019. 

There hasn’t been an all-English final since Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate in the first UEFA Cup final in 1971-72.

Bloom Back On The English Rose?

The early days of this competition were dominated by English clubs. Three of the first five titles were won by sides from England. Liverpool were champions in 1972-73 and 1975-76.

Five English squads competed in the first five finals. Ipswich and Tottenham both won titles in the 1980s.

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Lately, while there’s still been English success in the competition, it’s been much more sporadic. No English side played in a final in the 1990s.

Liverpool won its second title in 2000-01. Arsenal, (1999-2000), Middlesbrough (2005-06) and Fulham (2009-10) all lost in the final.

Chelsea put England back in the UEFA Europa League champions column in 2012-13.

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English teams competed in two of the last three finals. Liverpool lost 3-1 to Sevilla in 2015-16, while Manchester United blanked Ajax 2-0 in 2016-17.

The Chelsea Dagger

The only team among the final four that’s won the title before, Chelsea is looking good for a repeat performance.

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Chelsea went 5-0-1 to top its group, with a goal-differential of 12-3. In knockout competition Chelsea is 6-0 and has outscored opponents 18-4.

Gunning For More

Domestic honors have been aplenty lately for Arsenal. They’ve won three of the last five FA Cups and three of the last four FA Charity Shields. Winning in Europe, though, has proven elusive.

Arsenal’s lone European title came in the 1993-94 Cup Winners Cup. The Gunners were eliminated at this stage of the Europa League last year. Arsenal were runners-up in the 2005-06 UFEA Champions League.

Second Chance Valencia

Valencia was entered into the knockout phase of the Europa Cup after elimination from the Champions League. They’ve taken advantage of their second chance.

The Spaniards are 5-0-1 with a goal-differential of 13-3. They smacked fellow Spanish side Villareal 5-1 in the quarterfinals.

Spanish clubs have won three of the last four UEL titles. Since 2003-04, Spain has produced nine winners.

Valencia will face Arsenal in the semifinals. All three previous meetings between the two sides in European competition have gone Valencia’s way.

Eintracht Off-Track

Of the four semifinalists, the form charts suggest Eintracht Frankfurt as the least fashionable side to advance.

The Germans put forth a solid 6-0 performance and a plus-12 goal-differential in the group stage. They’ve delivered indifferent performances in the knockout phase.

Eintracht Frankfurt is 3-1-2. They advanced past Benfica in quarterfinal action via the away goals rule.

Facing Chelsea next, the German side hasn’t won a semifinal match in Europe since 1979-80

Go With Plan B

We like Chelsea to get past Eintracht Frankfurt but we’re not sold on Arsenal. Spain’s success in this competition is palpable, as is Valencia’s success against Arsenal.

Play a Chelsea-Valencia showdown in the UEFA Europa League final at +180.

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