The Europa League is now hitting the business end of the league phase and after matchday six, three teams are safely through to the knockout stages following victories on Thursday night.
One team, Dynamo Kyiv, are now out of the tournament following their sixth defeat in a row on Thursday when they lost 3-0 against Real Sociedad.
For the other 32 teams, the final two matchdays will be frantic but exciting with everything to play for. With those two rounds of matches to look forward to in the new year, here is how some of the key Europa League betting markets are shaping up.
Europa League betting odds news – significant moves
- Spurs are no longer the outright favourites.
- Roma's odds on finishing in the top eight are slashed.
- Athletic Club are now the favourites to win the league phase.
New outright favourites after Spurs draw in Glasgow
Manchester United have become the new outright favourites to win the Europa League at a price of 5/1 following their win against Viktoria Plzen and Tottenham's draw with Rangers.
The two results haven't done too much in terms of qualification chances but the bookies clearly feel that Man Utd are heading in the right direction under Ruben Amorim and that Spurs are going in the wrong one under Ange Postecglou.
Betting on the Europa League outright winner doesn't necessarily feel like a smart play at this point. It's better to hold off until the full bracket becomes clearer after the league phase is complete.
Is a Roma revival on the cards?
Roma have had a rough time of it this season but the club are hoping that the appointment of Claudio Ranieri can turn their fortunes around. The 73-year-old won his first league game since taking the reigns at the weekend and followed that up with a big win in the Europa League over Braga.
That result has seen their odds slashed to 3/1 to qualify inside the top eight which is quite remarkable when prior to the win on Thursday they were far from certainties to even finish inside the top 24.
Roma likely need to win out to finish inside the top eight and they face AZ Alkmaar away and Eintracht Frankfurt at home in their final two games. Neither of those are gimmes so 3/1 feels a little misplaced.
Athletic Club or Lazio for top spot?
It seems like a shootout between Athletic Club and Lazio for top spot in the league phase after both clubs won again on Thursday night. Athletic's win in Istanbul over Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce clearly impressed the bookies, though, as they are now the odds-on favourites at 8/11.
The Basque club, who are currently fourth in La Liga, do have two straightforward games remaining on paper. They travel back to Istanbul to face Besiktas before welcoming Viktor Plzen to Bilbao.
Andy is tipster who has been calling Golf tournaments for several years across many different platforms. He has covered all tournaments from the Asian Tour to the Masters.
