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Manchester United had to get past Barca to reach the knockout stage of the Europa League, but now they are there, Erik ten Hag’s men are favourites ahead of Arsenal…
The line-up for the last 16 is complete and the draw has been made. So here are the favourites for the 2023 Europa League according to the best odds available at Oddschecker as of… now.
1) Manchester United
United had to come through a play-off to get into the knockout stages after finishing second in their group to Real Sociedad. But the win over Barcelona only served to highlight their credentials as favourites for a second Europa League title after Jose Mourinho’s triumph in 2017. They go back to Spain to face Real Betis in the last 16.
2) Arsenal
The Gunners have been able to park their Europa League campaign while they focus on an unlikely Premier League title charge. While they go toe-to-toe with Manchester City, will Mikel Arteta devote sufficient energy and resources to their last-16 tie against Sporting Lisbon and whatever might follow?
6/6 – Sporting CP have progressed from each of their previous six ties against English sides in the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, with all six coming against different teams. Warning. pic.twitter.com/VThGH9SFvV
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 24, 2023
3) Juventus
A Coppa Italia semi-final aside, the Europa League is all Juve have left this season after a 15-point domestic deduction left them in mid-table in Serie A. If they want to be in the Champions League next season, unless they can make up a 12-point gap between themselves and the top four, Max Allegri will have to go all in after getting through a tricky play-off against Nantes.
4) Roma
Roma are firmly in contention in Serie A for a Champions League spot but Mourinho knows how to win the Europa League and he has form for steering the capital club to European silverware. They survived a scare in the play-off, overturning a 1-0 deficit from the first leg to beat RB Salzburg 2-1 on aggregate, prompting Mourinho to say: “We were beautiful tonight.”
5) Real Sociedad
La Real topped a group featuring Manchester United, thanks in no small part to a very dodgy penalty at Old Trafford, but they are going strong in Spain, sitting in third between the big two and Atletico Madrid. They must get past Roma to reach the quarter-finals.
6) Real Betis
Betis were unbeaten in their group campaign, winning five and drawing one to finish six points clear of Roma. They face Manchester United next having already hosted and beaten Erik ten Hag’s team in a mid-season friendly as both clubs prepared for the restart after the World Cup. In Spain, they are chugging along in fifth, four points off Atletico Madrid. It might help if they didn’t insist on having playings sent off…
Had to look this up after seeing @CheGiaevara tweet it. Real Betis have 10 red cards in 22 La Liga matches. 11 for the season overall. Though none in the Europa League. (Reposting this tweet cos twitter still hasn”t given me an edit button) pic.twitter.com/uxRa1G063w
— Doc MUFC (@Doc_Joshi) February 24, 2023
7) Freiburg
Christian Streich’s side are having a fine season, sitting fourth in Bundesliga, only three points off the leading trio, having also topped a Europa League group, going unbeaten through a pool featuring Nantes, Qarabag and Olympiacos. Next up: Nantes’ play-off conquerers Juventus.
8) Union Berlin
The Germans beat Ajax in the play-off to set up a Union derby – another one after a couple in the group stage – against Union Saint-Gilloise, who hadn’t been seen in Europe since 1964-65 prior to this season. The Berliners are flying at home, level on points with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table before they face the Bavarians this weekend. Still, it’s ludicrous that two teams fromt he same group can meet in the next round.
9) Sporting Lisbon
Sporting could have been playing in the Champions League last 16 this week had they not lost at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on the final matchday of the group stage. Instead, they had to deal with Midtjylland to set up a clash with Arsenal in the Europa League knockout stage.
10) Feyenoord
The Dutchmen emerged as winners from a ridiculously tight group, with all four clubs finishing on eight points, each one winning two, losing two and drawing two. Their goal difference was the same as Midtjylland but they finished top having scored one goal more than the Danes. The Eredivisie table-toppers face Shakhtar Donetsk next.
