UEFA Europa League odds & betting tips

On this page we will explain what the UEFA Europa League is, what the UEFA Europa League betting odds are, where to find team statistics, recent matches results and current positions. We also publish the best UEFA Europa League odds from legal betting companies.

UEFA Europa League overview

The UEFA Europa League is the secondary club football tournament in Europe. Every year, the competition involves teams that have finished in certain positions in their leagues according to the UEFA rankings, also national cup winners if they have failed to qualify for the Champions League through the national championship, as well as the previous season's UEFA Conference League winner.

The Europa League season starts with the qualifying rounds in August. The group stage starts in September. The first rounds of the play-offs are played in February and the final is in May. Tournament matches are usually played on Thursdays during the European cups matchdays.

The tournament was formed in 2009 following the reorganization of the UEFA Cup. Today, the competition format is as follows:

• The qualifying rounds determine the teams qualifying for the group stage — 12 groups of 4 teams each. The group stage is played in two rounds — home and away matches. Based on their results, the two best teams in the group qualify for the Europa League round of 16.
• The 8 third-placed teams in the UEFA Champions League group stage qualify for the UEFA Europa League play-offs.
• The third-placed teams in each UEFA Europa League group advance to the play-offs of the UEFA Conference League, the third best European competition.
• The UEFA Europa League play-offs are played in a two-round knockout format from round of 16 onwards: home and away matches.
• The final consists of one match played on a neutral ground.

UEFA Europa League Markets on Match.Center

The ODDS section on Match.Center always features the schedule and announcements of upcoming matches in the UEFA Europa League. Here we also publish match odds on the most popular markets from legal bookmakers:

• Home team to win. This bet means a win for the first team in the markets’ line-up. It is usually the team that hosts the opponents at the home stadium.
• Draw. A bet on a draw in a match between the playing teams.
• Away team to win. A bet on a victory for the away team, which is the second team in the markets’ line-up.
• Total Goals (Over/Under). A bet on the total number of goals. To win the bet a customer must guess whether both teams will score more or less than a certain number of goals. O/U 2.5 goals in a match is considered as the dividing line in the average performance of football matches.

Bets on main markets (Home team to win/Draw/Away team to win) and O/U are settled after 90 minutes. In play-off games, bookmakers offer separate bets for extra time in case of a goal tie after two matches.

UEFA Europa League winner odds

Almost all licensed and regulated bookmakers in the Republic of Ireland offer the opportunity to bet on the winner of the UEFA Europa League, in addition to betting on the main markets and various events in the UEFA Europa League matches.

The odds on the future trophy winner are placed as soon as possible. Even before all participants of the group stage are known. You can place your bets early, at the qualification stage, but there is no need to rush.

Let's take a look at some of the features of the tournament.

Motivation of teams from the top leagues

Many clubs from the top five of the European championships (English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1) may perceive the UEFA Europa League as a minor tournament. This is particularly the case for teams that previously played regularly in the Champions League but are now experiencing a temporary setback, such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Lazio, Roma, Monaco and others. When betting on group stage matches involving these teams, you should not forget about the motivation level of the favorites.

This is less of a concern for the play-offs, because in the second half of the season teams can lose their chances of qualifying for the Champions League via the national championship. As winning the Europa League guarantees entry to the UEFA Champions League group stage the following season, all teams take their matches in the decisive stages of the tournament with the utmost seriousness.

Domination of Spanish clubs

The most frequent winners of the Europa League are clubs from La Liga. In the 13 seasons since the reorganization of the tournament, Spanish teams have won the trophy 8 times. In recent years, English clubs have also frequently made it to the decisive stages of the UEFA Europa League: the internal rivalry in the English Premier League for entry to the UEFA Champions League makes it necessary to properly prepare for matches in the second strongest European competition.

Bets after the group stage

At the end of the Champions League group stage, 8 third-placed clubs head to the UEFA Europa League play-offs and could seriously escalate the battle for the trophy. Betting on the eventual winner in the middle of the season is more justified: all participants in the round of 16 are known in December, and these could include strong clubs from the top 5 European championships, such as Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in 2021/22, Manchester United in 2020/21 and Inter in 2019/20.

UEFA Europa League top scorer odds

As well as betting on the winner of the UEFA Europa League, most betting sites in the Republic of Ireland allow you to bet on the tournament's top scorer. A bet on the tournament's highest scorer will win if the selected player scores the most goals in the UEFA Europa League season.

But this title does not always go to one player. In the 2020/21 season, for example, four players — Borja Mayoral, Pizzi, Yusuf Yazıcı and Gerard Moreno - scored 7 goals each. If this is the case, you have to study the rules of the particular bookmaker carefully and find out how the bet will be settled.

When determining the odds for the top scorer of a particular football tournament, bookmakers often choose the leaders in the attacking line of the favorite teams. That makes sense — the stronger the team, the more rounds it can play in the UEFA Europa League and consequently the more chances the attacking player will have to score. But this formula does not always work, defender James Tavernier of Rangers Football Club scored the most goals in the 2021/22 season.

Why is it better to choose a bet on Match.Centre?

The ODDS section of our website provides important information about upcoming matches in all popular tournaments: World Cup and European Championship, national leagues of England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, the Republic of Ireland and other championships around the world.

The following information is provided for each game: kick-off time, results of the last games involving the current opponents, current position in the league table, tentative and official team line-ups, as well as the odds of legal bookmakers for the main markets — Home team to win/Draw/Away team to win and Total Goals (O/U). A bettor doesn’t need to search for the best match odds — this information can be found on Match.Center.

All information in the ODDS section is regularly updated, so the customers always see actual statistics and odds from licensed and regulated bookmakers in the Republic of Ireland.

FAQ UEFA Europa League