The 2025/26 Europa League is now underway, and the early odds suggest that we could have an English winner for the second consecutive season.
Neither the holders, Spurs, nor the runners-up, Man Utd, are in the competition this season, which means we will at least get two fresh finalists next May.
Who are the favourites to go all the way? Let's take a look.
Europa League winner odds – current leaders
Aston Villa 9/2
Aston Villa's surge in form in the Premier League last season came just a bit too late for them to finish in the top five and get Champions League football again, but a place in the Europa League is nothing to be sniffed at.
The Villains could end up looking at their Europa League qualification as a blessing in disguise, as they have a great chance of winning the competition, hence why they are the favourites with the bookies.
After a slow start to the season, the Villains have used the Europa League as a way back to form, winning both of their opening matches in the competition.
What almost doubles their chances of winning the tournament is their manager, Unai Emery. The Spaniard is the best manager in the competition's history, having won it on four separate occasions, three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
Porto 8/1
Like Aston Villa, Porto have also won both of their matches in the Europa League so far this season, and the Portuguese giants are eyeing more European glory after winning this competition in 2003 and 2011.
In Francesco Farioli, they have a highly rated manager and they also have a squad more than capable of competing with the likes of Aston Villa and Roma for the top prize this year.
With qualification to the knockout stages almost a certainty at this point, how deep they go will depend a lot on who they draw from here on out.
Roma 10/1
While Roma's Cinderella story in 2024/25 didn't end as they hoped for, they still have a lot of reasons to be happy with how last season went after Claudio Ranieri took the reins.
The former Premier League champion took over in November when Roma were 13th and with little hope of getting into Europe, but the experienced manager, who took a break from his retirement to help his hometown club, steered them to fifth place, one point behind Juventus in fourth.
Ranieri has since returned to retirement, but his replacement, Gian Piero Gasperini, is a man who has form in this competition after his Atalanta team won the competition two years ago.
Gasperini's men started the league phases with an impressive 2-1 victory over Nice before losing to Lille on matchday two.
Our prediction
If we had to pick one team at this point, we would still back Aston Villa to win their first major European trophy since 1982 (we're not counting their Intertoto Cup win in 2001 in this category), doing something similar to what Tottenham managed last season. Therefore, don't expect much from them domestically!
Lifelong Ipswich Town supporter who recently graduated from Durham University in French and German. Have developed a passion for European football based on my links abroad and am an avid supporter of Werder Bremen and Auxerre. Joined the MFT team in October 2024 and looking to take my first steps into the world of football journalism.
GambleAware
Although Tottenham are still the odds-on favourites to win the competition at 9/2.
That’s odds against, odds on under evens