For anyone who is a fan of soccer, they would probably agree that the quality on show in Europe is superior to pretty much anywhere else in the world. It is where the game officially began, and has been going strong for well over a century. Across the whole continent, there are huge numbers of top quality teams to watch and place bets on.
This season there is an entirely new European competition to bet on; the Europa Conference League. It is now the third official European tournament, to go alongside the Champions League and the Europa League. You might not find as high a quality team there as you would in the Champions League, but it still contains a high number of strong sides, who all have a range of betting odds to consider.
The group stage of the Conference League offered sports betting fans a huge number of games to find odds and place bets on. Many thousands of people will have searched for sports and odds on their chosen betting app, to find odds specifically on these matches. While the group stages have finished, the knockout rounds also provide bettors with a number of intriguing ties, where the betting odds will require some close examination.
With the draw for the knockout games having been made this week, we now know who will be facing. Therefore, let’s use this opportunity to preview some of the match ups, and take a look at the betting odds to find out who is the favourite to progress from each tie.
Are Tottenham going to make it through?
There is still one space up for grabs in the knockout stages, as the final positions in Group G have not yet been decided. All the games were due to have been played before the draw was made, but the game between Tottenham and Rennes was called off, due to Spurs having many players missing with COVID.
While Rennes had already qualified, it was between Spurs and SBV Vitesse for the final slot. If Spurs were to win, they would go through, but if not, it would be Vitesse who make it into the last 16. Spurs were 6/5 to win this game, but given we don’t know now when it’ll be replayed, the odds could change, especially as they have had even more players test positive for COVID.
We will have to sit tight to find out how this one will be resolved.
Leicester vs Randers FC
Under Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City have gone from strength to strength, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Champions League 2 seasons in a row. They were entered into the Europa League, but only finished in 3rd place in their group, which meant they dropped down into the Europa Conference League.
They have been drawn against the Danish side Randers FC, who finished 2nd in their group, behind the Dutch team AZ Alkmaar. They only won once in their 6 matches, so were very fortunate to qualify ahead of the Czech side FK Jablonec.
Because of this, it won’t come as a surprise to see Leicester as the clear favourite in this one, with odds of 1/3 to qualify.
PSV vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
In the Netherlands, there are 3 traditionally big sides who usually win the Eredivisie title. For a long time, especially in the late 90s and early 00s, it was PSV Eindhoven, who won the league title 8 times between 1006 and 2008. They even had a renaissance in the last 5 years, winning the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2017/18 titles as well.
They have fallen from these heights slightly in the last few years, which is why Ajax are currently doing so well in the Champions League, whereas PSV dropped from the Europa League into the Conference League.
It could be a blessing in disguise, as they have drawn Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first knockout stages. The Dutch side are 2/5 to progress, and will be one of the favourites if they take this competition seriously in the later stages.
Roma, Feyenoord & Basel safely through to the next stage
Because of their strong showings in the group stages, several teams are already safely through to the 2nd knockout stage. These sides include Gent, Copenhagen, Basel, Feyenoord and Roma.
Of these teams, it is the Italian side Roma who have great odds to go on and win the whole thing, which are currently 9/1. Of course, Roma are managed by Jose Mourinho. While in Europe they have performed well, domestically their form has really dropped off, leaving Mourinho on the cusp of losing his job. Therefore, if he is gone by the time Roma play again in the Europa Conference League, their odds could have changed quite drastically.
