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Tottenham are clear market leaders in the Europa League Winner market, and it’s not hard to see why. Jose Mourinho he has a deep squad and has used those resources effectively. His team won their group, with an abject 1-0 defeat on the Belgian side of Antwerp, their only real setback. Mourinho has a history of taking this competition seriously: his Porto side beat Martin O’Neill’s Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup final and won the tournament again with Manchester United 14 years later.
Mourinho knows he was brought to Tottenham to hand out trophies, and the Europa League is not only an important European trophy that the Spurs manager respects, it is also a useful route to qualification for the Champions League. Yes, Spurs are the current leaders of the Premier League, but there is only a three point gap between them and Chelsea, who are in fifth place. The fight for the top four will be as fierce as ever.
I suspect Tottenham’s price has dropped further with a friendly draw. Round of 32 opponents Wolfsberger have reached the knockout phase of a European tournament for the first time, and while they are worthy of respect, they really shouldn’t upset Tottenham if the North London giants play close to their potential.
If Tottenham is seriously involved in the March title race, the Europa League may take a backseat, but if not, Mourinho’s men are worthy favorites.
After achieving a tough draw against Real Sociedad, Manchester United are priced significantly higher than Tottenham, but if they both reach the knockout stages, the gap between favorites and second favorites can narrow considerably. United reached the UEL semifinals last season, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t have another deep run.
The red devils were certainly hurt and a little embarrassed for their careless exit from the Champions League, having won in Paris and pulverized RB Leipzig 5-0, then lost three of the next four matches. This tournament offers coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a second chance at European glory and a chance to qualify for next season’s UCL.
It is worth remembering how United managed to get through the knockout phase last season, when they defeated Club Brugge and LASK Linz, before beating stubborn Copenhagen in the quarter-finals. They really should have won their semi-final against Sevilla, but they missed a lot of opportunities.
Real Sociedad is a very talented team and is the leader of La Liga. Former Manchester City star David Silva is pulling the strings, and players like Mikel Oyarzabal and Portu are stretching the field. That said, the Basque team has been uninspiring in this competition, only succeeding thanks to a slip by AZ on matchday six.
I think United will find a way to beat La Real, so if you’re going to back them to win the tournament, now is the time to do it.
Arsenal made the most of a weak group, winning all six games against Molde, Dundalk and Rapid Vienna. The performances of a handful of promising youngsters like Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith-Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Folarin Balogun have left many Gunners fans wondering why more of these stars are not being funneled to the Premier League side.
However, things will start to get tougher now, and being drawn to face Benfica in the last 32 was far from ideal. The Portuguese giants have not reached top speed in UEL or the league, but they have an expensive team and a very experienced and astute coach in Jorge Jesus.
Given that difficult draw and the general negativity surrounding the club at the moment, I cannot get involved in backing Arsenal at this stage.
2020 has been a extraordinary year for Milan. Coach Stefano Pioli came in as a safe pair of hands, but has vastly exceeded expectations. In a season where Juventus, Inter and Napoli have shown a bit of fragility from time to time, the Scudetto is really at stake.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic he has had an enormously positive impact on the club since his return. Despite all the bluster and feigned egomania, the 39-year-old Swede is actually an excellent leader and a great example to younger players. He has scored 10 league goals in just six appearances.
Milan got a tough draw against Crvena Zvezda, and it may be a good proof of how seriously the Rossoneri are going to take this tournament. If they are still in the mix of titles, they can keep their best players out of the firing line, especially Ibrahimovic. Although the Italians won four of their six group stage matches, they only got one point from their two games against Lille, so it will be fascinating to see what happens against strong teams in the knockout rounds.
Milan has impressed me a lot, but I’m not sure how seriously they will be able to take this competition if they want to win Serie A.
For the second season in a row, Leicester City have made a excellent start to the campaign. They ran out of steam last season, breaking out of the top four in the Premier League on the final day of the campaign. That desperate disappointment wasn’t enough to derail them at the start of this season, and they are just one point away from first place in the PL, and down to the last 32 of the UEL as group winners.
The Foxes defeated a seasoned Braga 4-0 at King Power, and bounced back from a deficit three times in a 3-3 draw in the reverse game. They won all three of their home games, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Slavia Prague is unlikely to be able to defeat Brendan Rodgers’ side in two games. The Czech champions have lost key players Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal to West Ham, and while they did well against a struggling Nice, they were crushed 4-0 at Bayer Leverkusen on matchday six.
Leicester have a good coach, a strong team and a good draw. 13.50 is a pretty good price.
For the second season in a row, Ajax have fallen short in their bid to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League, having had their fate in their own hands on matchday six. They were surprisingly toothless and unhurried in their 1-0 loss to Atalanta, and one wonders if they oversold.
Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech have moved on, and while there are still some fabulous young players at the club (midfielder Ryan Gravenberch could be the next big star) it’s hard to see Ajax doing all the way.
Indeed, Ajax can find it difficult to get through the first knockout round. They have been drawn in to take on Ligue 1 leaders Lille, who beat Milan 3-0 at the San Siro. If anything, I would be more drawn to supporting Lille as back to back in a fort 48.047/1.
At the time of writing, Bayer Leverkusen top the Bundesliga table for the first time in six years. They haven’t lost any of their first 11 league games and won their Europa League group. Coach Peter Bosz has found a previously elusive consistency and is trying to instill in his players a mentality that they can compete for trophies. He has done all of this despite the loss of star player Kai Havertz to Chelsea.
Jamaican winger Leon Bailey is finally fulfilling his potential, Moussa Diaby has lightning speed on the other flank, and there’s a good battle between Patrik Schick and Lucas Alario for the central role. Edmond Tapsoba is an exceptional young defender, and 17-year-old attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz is improving all the time.
Leverkusen are likely to strengthen the right-back position in January and if they do, they will have strength in almost every position. The Swiss champions, the Young Boys, are not easy to convince, but I hope Bayer will find a way to overcome them in two stages, and I think they can go far in this competition.
Notable outsiders
Rangers 36.035/1 – Steven Gerrard has built an excellent record at this level and is racking up the scalp. Antwerp can be beaten in the last 32, especially if Rangers play as well as they did against Benfica in both group matches.
Shakhtar Donetsk 28.027/1 – The Ukrainian champions reached the semi-finals last season and this season they have beaten Real Madrid twice in the Champions League. They should dominate Maccabi Tel Aviv in the last 32, and they have a good mix of dynamic youngsters and seasoned artists like Junior Moraes, Taison and Marlos.
Salzburg 34.033/1 – The Austrian champions gave Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid scares in the Champions League, but in the end their enthusiastic approach won applause but not enough points. Hungarian midfield star Dominik Szoboszlai could leave in January, and that would be a heavy blow, and being paired with Unai Emery’s Villarreal was a nightmare.
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