Europa League Long Shots

The Manchester clubs have automatically been installed as the heavy favourites for the Europa League despite the fact we don’t really know if either side has the stomach for UEFA’s second tier tournament. City are 5/1 (Ladbrokes) and United 7/1 (Totesport), but both will surely field reserve line-ups on many occasions. With that in mind, their prices look short, and there must be some bargains to be had elsewhere in the market. We look at three potential winners who can be backed at longer odds.

Valencia: Best Odds 16/1 (Coral)

Being the third best team in Spain behind Barcelona and Real Madrid it something to be proud of. It means you would probably be winning a fair few of the other European top divisions. Valencia were only knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea after a bad night at the office last week. In truth though, the damage was really done in Gameweek 1 when Genk held the Spaniards to a 0-0 draw; the same opponents were demolished 7-0 in the return. At 16/1 they will take some stopping in the Europa League if they take the competition seriously.

Porto: Best Odds 20/1 (VictorChandler)

The defending champions. Andre-Villas Boas may have departed but the majority of the key players remain at Estadio do Dragao. They are unbeaten and joint top of the Portuguese league suggesting their standard remains pretty high. They are a match domestically for a Benfica side that finished top of Man Utd’s group in the Champions League. In their own group, Porto should have progressed, but they finished just one point off top spot, demonstrating the fine margins between success and failure.

Udinese: Best Odds 33/1 (PaddyPower)

The odds can only be this generous because, at the time of writing, they aren’t officially qualified for the final 32. But with just a point required from the a home game with Celtic, that should be a formality. We are talking about a side sat second in Serie A, only behind Juventus on goal difference. Any team that is leaving both AC and Inter Milan in their dust in Italy should be taken seriously in the Europa League. This price is worth taking right now because it will surely shorten if they avoid defeat against Scottish opponents who travel appallingly.