Europa League Betting Tips
Discover our detailed tips and predictions for the next matches in the 2021/22 Europa League.
The 2021/22 Europa League
The Europa League sees clubs from across Europe battle it out to lift this trophy. It may be in the shadows of the more prestigious Champions League but clubs still want to win this competition, especially as the winners go into the Champion League. Villarreal won the Europa League last season (the third Spanish victory in four years) but that has taken them into the Champions League. Only if they finish third in their group will they have a chance of retaining this trophy.
There are some key changes to the 2021/22 competition due to the introduction of the Europa Conference League. This season will see fewer qualifying rounds being played. The group stages will have only 32 clubs, compared to 48 in previous years. There will be eight groups of four as is the case in the Champions League. Only the winners of each group will automatically go into the knockout stages. In previous years, there has been a last 32 in the knockout stages but this also changes. There will be a play-off round that sees the eight second placed sides in the groups up against the eight third placed sides in the Champions League groups. The eight winners then go into the last 16 alongside the Europa League group winners. Knockout games will be played over two legs and the final is being played in Sevilla on May 18.
Key Dates
- Qualifying rounds - August 5/12 and August 19/26
- Groups - September 16 to December 9
- Knockout Stage Play-off Round - February 17/24
- Last 16 - March 10/17
- Last 8 - April 7/14
- Semi-Finals - April 28 and May 5
- Final - Sevilla May 18
Check out all the Europa League odds at Bet365
Europa League Expert Predictions
It's often a factor in the Europa League that clubs tend to rotate their squads for the ties. That was the case last season and it will happen again this term, It's understandable because the fixture list seems even more crowded than ever this season. As the competition progresses, clubs do tend to get a bit more serious, particularly if this is the best route into the Champions League. For most of the season, especially the group stages it is an idea to have a look at the line-ups before placing a bet. Those clubs that have strong squads can withstand leaving out key players. Others with thinner squads may well struggle.
Statistics play a key part in the betting world we live in. Our team of betting experts will be studying as many of them as possible to back up the predictions they make. If the stats show that a team is playing a series of low-scoring games, then a suggestion to bet on the under 2.5 goals market will be made. Our experts will be looking at the home and away records of all the clubs they have the task of predicting results for.
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Look out for the Europa League Trends
Last season, the overall goal average was 3.03, one of the highest of any international tournament. Another important figure to remember when betting on the Europa League is the high proportion of home wins. For many seasons, and this has been largely verified in 2020-2021, almost half of the games are won by the home team, in 44.6% of the cases to be more precise. Given the odds usually offered by sports betting sites - usually around 1.50 - it will be necessary to try more than once for the 2021-2022 edition of the Europa League. For your information, 36.8% of the matches last year saw a victory for the visitors, compared to 18.6% of parity scores.
In order to bet on the Europa League, you should also bear in mind that it often sees goals pouring in. For example, in the last edition of the Europa League, 57.1% of the games saw more than 2.5 goals in the match, and 22.4% more than 3.5 goals. Here again the bookmakers' offers can be interesting so don't hesitate to try the over.
Another key statistic of the Europa League is the offensive performance of the teams that travel. Last year, 70.6% of the games saw the visiting teams score at least one goal in the group stage, with the ratio remaining constant at 70% in the final round. This is the type of market that you should focus on when making your Europa League bets again this season.
Then, if you are a fan of betting on goals per quarter of an hour, note that the Europa League is like any other competition. Last year, as is often the case, it was the 76-90' period that saw the most goals again. In total, 22.2% of goals were scored in this interval last year, so don't underestimate this market.
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Group Stages
The draw for the group stages has been made. The first set of fixtures takes place on September 16. Some interesting match-ups have emerged from the Europa League draw. English Premier League side Leicester City are in the same group as Serie A's Napoli. Celtic are up against Bayer Leverkusen, Real Betis and Ferencvaros, while West Ham play Dinamo Zagreb, Genk and Rapid Vienna.
Group A: Lyon, Rangers, Sparta Prague, Brondby
Group B: Monaco, PSV Eindhoven, Real Sociedad, Sturm Graz
Group C: Napoli, Leicester, Spartak Moscow, Legia Warsaw
Group D: Olympiakos, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce, Royal Antwerp
Group E: Lazio, Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, Galatasaray.
Group F: Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Ludogorets, Midtjylland
Group G: Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic, Real Betis, Ferencvaros
Group H: Dinamo Zagreb, Genk, West Ham, Rapid Vienna
Place your Europa League group wagers at bet365
Europa League 2021/22: Our free betting tips
What we have to remember in the Europa League though is that we don't know all the teams who are taking part. We won't know that until the Champions League group stages are completed. The teams finishing third in those groups are moved into this competition. 2017/18 saw that happen to Atletico Madrid and they then won the Europa League. The past two seasons have seen Inter Milan and Manchester United moved into the Europa League and reaching the final.
Make sure you read all our previews written by our team of betting experts. Also, check out the odds comparisons to make sure you get the very best odds when placing your bets.