Updated on: November 25th, 2024
The UEFA Europa League isn’t as coveted as the UEFA Champions League is. But that doesn’t mean that it is a worthless tournament. Formerly known as the UEFA Cup, this tournament celebrates all of the up-and-coming teams in Europe. (Or, traditionally successful teams going through a rough patch).
UEFA club tournaments are always exhilarating and often provide the best betting opportunities because of the surprise giant-killings. This is particularly true in the Europa League because of the diversity of the teams involved. So, Europa League odds are extremely popular at online sports betting sites.
For example, unless you watch the Polish, Turkish or Ukrainian leagues, you can’t say you know whether a team from one of those countries is strong. As such, you could make a lot of money on an underdog bet on Beşiktaş J.K. to take down a Spanish giant like Valencia CF on a bad day.
If you would like to find out more about betting on the Europa League, stick around. Below we have a look at all you need to know about the Europa League odds, including:
- The lines available
- How to read odds
- Betting tips to keep in mind
We also list all the best online gambling sites with great soccer betting odds so that you can bet on the Europa League and so much more at great prices.
Bet on the Europa League Here
Top Europa League Betting Lines
You will find all of the most popular soccer betting lines on the Europa League and a little more because it is a major tournament. This list includes the following:
3-Way Moneyline
The 3-way moneyline is a simple bet on the outcome of the game. Do you think that either one of the two teams in the game is going to win? Or, do you think that the game will end in a stalemate?
These are the options available to you in every single soccer game. Unless the game needs a winner, there is a possibility that it could end in a draw. Even if you bet on a knockout game, you better make sure that you select the 2-way moneyline if you want to bet on the overall winner and not the first 90 minutes.
Moneylines are usually very predictable in the early stages of the tournament. So, there isn’t always a lot of money to be made on these lines. If this is the case, and you still want to make outcome-based bets on a game, we suggest that you look at handicaps.
Handicaps
Handicap is just another way of saying spread bet. If you are unfamiliar with the whole idea of spreads/handicaps, this is a unique bet where a sportsbook declares a favorite and an underdog. The sportsbook sets a line they expect the favorite to win by or the underdog to lose by. You can bet on either the favorite or underdog to beat the line.
This all sounds like a mouthful so let us explain with an example. Let’s say you visit a sports betting site and see the following line:
Sevilla -1.5 -105
Bayer 04 Leverkusen +1.5 -115
Sevilla is a firm favorite to win this hypothetical game. Thus, sportsbooks have set a spread line, which requires them to win by at least two goals for a bet on them to payout. We can see this by looking at the symbol next to the goal number next to the team name.
A minus denotes a favorite, which means the team needs to win by a distinct difference. A plus indicates an underdog, which needs to lose the game by less than the stated difference.
Over/Unders or Totals
An over/under or total is a bet on the total number of goals scored in a game by both teams. For example, if a game ends with a score of 3-2, the total number of goals in the game is 5.
Usually, sportsbooks will set several over/under lines with different numbers. You can then bet on whether the total will come in under or over that line. Generally, the more outrageous your bet, the more you stand to win.
As over/unders tend to be slightly more forgiving, many new bettors usually start with these bets to get a few easy wins.
Futures
A future bet involves betting on the result of a tournament or a game set to take place a long-time into the future. In line with the Europa League, this could mean betting on the winner of the tournament before it even starts.
On the UEFA Champions League, there are future bets available on several different outcomes, such as the winner of a group, etc. However, as the Europa League features teams that play in leagues that sportsbooks pay less attention to, most will only allow you to bet on the winner of the tournament.
All futures have long odds; even the teams favored to win the tournament because it is difficult to predict the outright winner of any sporting league at the beginning of the season. So, while they promise big payouts, you should not spend too much money on these types of bets because they probably won’t payout.
How to Read Europa League Odds
If you are new to sports betting, chances are you trying to learn how odds work. We won’t go into too much detail in explaining odds here because we have a dedicated guide. But we will try to teach you enough to get you to understand lines if you visit one of our recommended sportsbooks.
The first thing you need to know is that there are three types of odds systems: American/Moneyline, Fractional and Decimal. The format used at online sportsbooks available to you depends on where you are situated in the world. Still, usually, Moneyline is used in the USA, Fractional in the UK, and Decimal in the rest of Europe and Australia.
Many sportsbooks we recommend default to the American system. So, we will focus on teaching you how to read such a line here. (If you want to learn about the others, please refer to our dedicated sports odds guide.)
Example
When you visit one of our sportsbooks, Europa League lines will appear in the following manner:
SL Benfica +147
LOSC Lille -102
Draw +200
When reading a line, you need to pay attention first to the symbol next to the number listed next to a team name, and then the number. In the example line, we can see that Benfica is considered the underdog because there is a plus next to the number. LOSC Lille is the favorite because there is a minus next to their number.
Generally, a plus denotes an underdog, and a minus indicates a favorite. However, there are situations where all outcomes could have pluses or minuses. In such a case, you will need to look at the number next to the team name to determine who is favored.
If the numbers seem a bit confusing to you, you can use one of these two formulas to calculate how much you could win on a bet:
- Positive Odds – Odds x (Stake/100)
- Negative Odds – (100/Odds) x Stake
Usually, sportsbooks will tell you how much a wager could win you before you accept the bet.
UEFA Europa League Betting Tips
The Europa League is significantly harder to bet on than the Champions League because it features a load of teams that most soccer fans aren’t familiar with. As such, here are some betting tips to help you make better decisions the next time you wager on the league:
Focus on Teams from Big Leagues
Just like with the Champions League, Spain is the most prosperous country in the Europa League. Spanish clubs have a combined total of 12 victories, with Sevilla leading the way with six titles.
Italy and England then follow Spain with nine wins each, with Inter Milan and Liverpool leading the way for each of their respective countries.
Overall, if a team comes from La Liga, the English Premier League, or Serie A, they are more likely to win. In fact, over the last decade, only one team outside of Spain or England has one the trophy, and that was FC Porto of Portugal in 2011.
Focus on Team Form and Line-Ups
Jose Mourinho was once quoted comparing the Europa League to Formula 2, which shows that some teams don’t hold the tournament in high regard. As such, favorites sometimes under prepare for games. This is especially true when they are playing a team considered unlikely to win. Think of historically less successful teams like Glasgow Rangers and AC Sparta Prague.
As such, favorites could enter the game with a line-up filled with second-string players and lose against a well-prepared underdog. This happens a lot with big teams like Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, who are more focused on their performance in their local league.
Search for Value Bets
As the Europa League plays second fiddle to the Champions League, it is usually chock-full of value betting opportunities. As some of the teams involved in this tournament come from leagues of questionable repute, it is easy for a keen soccer fan to make a load of money quickly if they know what they are doing.
Europa League Betting Odds – FAQs
Who is favorite to win Europa League this season?
Tottenham Hotspur is considered the favorite to win the Europa League this season. Spurs has a strong team and is led by Jose Mourinho, who has already won the Europa League and Champions League twice.
Usually, winners of the Europa League win entry in the next season’s UEFA Champions League tournament.
Usually, an English team that wins the Europa League also performed well in the Premier League – i.e., a top-four position, which gives you automatic entry to the Champions League. If you win the Europa League, you also get automatic entry to the Champions League.
If an English team who has already qualified for the Champions League wins the Europa League, the Champions League spot is given to the team who finished third in France’s Ligue 1. There cannot be more than four teams from one country in the Champions League at any given time.
Barcelona has never won the Europa League in its current incarnation, but they won it four times when it was known as the UEFA Cup and three times when it was known as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Arsenal has also never won the Europa League in its current incarnation. But they did win it once as the UEFA Cup and once as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Three English teams qualify for the Europa League. This is one less than the number of teams that qualify for the Champions League.