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Wolves Europa League Odds Shorten to 16-1 After Group Stage Draw

Gary Gowers

by Gary Gowers in Soccer News

Updated Apr 23, 2020 · 9:16 AM PDT

Stadion Energa
The Stadion Energa in Gdańsk plays host to the 2020 Europa Cup final next May, but who will be in the final? Wolves have a chance but ahead of them in the betting are fellow EPL teams, Manchester United and Arsenal. Photo by Yanek (Wiki Commons).
  • The draw for the group stages of the 2020 Europa League has been made
  • Manchester United head the betting at +500 but are closely followed by Arsenal at +650
  • Among the ‘chasing pack’ are Wolves who beat Torino to make it to the group stages

With the group stage draw of the Europa League having now been completed, sportsbooks have updated their odds on who they think will win the competition. Manchester United remain favorites, as they have since the odds were first compiled but in the ‘chasing pack’ there looks to be some value.

UEFA Europa League 2019/20 Odds

Team Odds
Manchester United +500
Arsenal +650
Sevilla +1200
Roma +1600
Wolves +1600
Lazio +2800
Borussia Monchengladbach +3300
Porto +3300
PSV +3300
Wolfsburg +3300

Odds taken on 08/30/19.

Among a group of teams who believe they can go on to lift the trophy are Wolves, who finished seventh in last season’s EPL. They averaged odds of +2800 in July, +2000 earlier in August and now after the UEL draw, they have come in to +1600 in he Europa League odds. The question we are asking is, are they a good bet still?

The first thing to say is it’s been an arduous route for Wolves to even reach the group stage. Their seventh-place finish in the EPL earned them a place in the Europa League’s second qualifying round, with two more to follow in order to make it to the competition proper.

Torino Victory For The Wolves

That Wolves managed to successfully negotiate all three rounds was an achievement in itself, and has been rewarded with a group containing Besiktas (Turkey), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) and Braga (Portugal). It didn’t come easy though as after two fairly comfortable qualifying rounds – they beat Crusaders FC 6-1 on aggregate in the first and FC Pyunik 8-0 in the next – they found themselves paired with Italian giants Torino in the playoff.

As it transpired, the game was effectively won in the first leg in Turin when they came home with a fine 3-2 lead after goals from Jota and Jiminez added to an early Torino own-goal. The job was completed at Molineux when goals from Jiminez (again) and Dendonker earned Wolves a 2-1 win on the night and a 5-3 win on aggregate.

Nuno’s International Quality

Whether their tough introduction will gear Wolves up to go a long way in the competition remains to be seen, but there is no doubting the quality of the squad that Nuno Espírito Santo has pulled together, one that’s full of international quality throughout. There’s even an argument that this team, given how many gifted technicians are in it, will be more suited to European football than it is to the high-octane hurly-burly of the EPL.

Players like Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho will thrive in European competition and so could be instrumental in Wolves going a long way. Even though they’ve now come in to 16/1, it still offers value. This is a team that’s on the rise and who knows where their journey could end.

Of course, there are some big hurdles still to overcome, and it’s a tricky group, they find themselves in, but if they can make the knockout phase anything is possible.

Sevilla in the Frame

Sevilla, beaten semifinalists last season, also look a worthy shout at 12/1, although last season’s beaten finalists Arsenal’s 13/2 is not especially attractive, the same as United’s 5/1.

For those who love an outsider, Porto’s 33/1 is well worth a small bet, especially as they’ll be desperate to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the UEFA Champions League.

My pick: Sevilla to win the Europa League (+1200)

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