Europa League 2026 Odds and Betting Guide
Many see this competition as the consolation for not reaching the Champions League. But those who do that are totally wrong. Europa League or the old UEFA Cup is one of the best things football can offer. Why? Because it gives a chance to clubs, which are not among the major continental powerhouses to experience what it is like to appear on the international stage.
Especially if one small team somehow gets through the domestic cup and earns a spot in this competition. You have to admit, something like that is beautiful to see.
The Europa League probably has a more significant impact on the development of football in Europe than the Champions League, where the majority of the clubs are regular participants. In EL, however, you see new faces all the time, which is great, because that is the original mission of football – to join together as many people as possible.
Europa League Odds
Best Sportsbooks for Betting on the Europa League
Europa League Schedule & Format
The UEFA Europa League features a single 36-team League Phase. After comes the knockout stage where some go directly, some have to go through the playoffs.
The League Phase Format
- 36 Teams, One Single Table: Instead of small group stages, all 36 qualifying clubs compete in a single league table.
- 8 Matches Against 8 Opponents: Each team plays eight matches in the league phase (four at home, four away) against eight different opponents.
- Direct Advancement: The top 8 teams in the standings automatically qualify for the Round of 16.
- Knockout Play-offs: Teams finishing 9th through 24th enter a two-legged playoff round to secure the remaining 8 spots in the Round of 16. Teams finishing 25th or lower are completely eliminated (no dropping down to lower European competitions).
History
The Europa League was at first UEFA Cup, up until 2009 when that competition underwent a massive change in its entire organization. The UEFA Cup was established in 1971 as the successor of the Inter-Cities Fair Cup, which lasted for 16 years. However, the UEFA officially does not recognize this competition in any way because the European house of football didn’t organize it. But for sure, it later used its infrastructure to establish the UEFA Cup, so it deserves to be mentioned in this text.
The first edition of the newly formed UEFA brand was launched in 1971/72 season, with two English cubs reaching the finals – Tottenham Hotspurs and Wolverhampton Wanderer. The Spurs would capture the trophy and become the inaugural winners.
Sevilla is the most successful club in this competition with seven titles, and all won since 2006. Five teams have won it three times, Liverpool, Juventus, Inter Milan, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid. Many were surprised to see IFK Goteborg as two-time winners, same as Ipswich Town or Galatasaray, who have one trophy each. In total, 31 clubs have won this prestigious trophy. The Spanish clubs are the most successful with 14 wins, then come the English with 11 and Italian sides with 10 trophies.
The latest winner is Aston Villa who defeated Freiburg in the 2026 finals, 3-0.
How To Watch The Europa League
The Europa League is still one of the most interesting to watch in the world of soccer, and that means that millions of fans from around the world will be looking to catch the games. The different time zones that are in-play throughout the competition means that there are often games taking place throughout the early evening in Europe. You can see a list of the broadcasters for the Europa League below:
| Country | Broadcaster |
| Australia | Stan Sport / Paramount+ |
| Belgium | RTL, Proximus, Canal+ |
| Brazil | ESPN, Disney+ |
| Canada | DAZN / Paramount+ |
| France | Canal+ |
| Germany | DAZN |
| Italy | Sky Sport, TV8 |
| Latin America | ESPN, Disney+ |
| Spain | Movistar Plus+ |
| United Kingdom | TNT Sports, discovery+ |
| USA | CBS Sports, Paramount+, TelevisaUnivision |
2026/27 Final On TV In The USA
The biggest game of the competition comes at the end of the Europa League, as the winners of the competition are crowned. The final is competed between the two sides that have been able to navigate their way through the rounds, and is competed over one game in a neutral stadium.
The final in 2026/27 will take place in Frankfurt, Germany, at the Waldstadion, home of Eintracht. For those looking to watch the event in the USA, they will be able to watch the game on CBS and Paramount+.
Europa League Stream
Due to the competitive broadcasting rights that come with UEFA competitions such as the Europa League, the only way to watch the action is on the channels listed above. Betting companies do not have live streams of the action on their websites of app.
Europa League Schedule
The complete calendar and schedule for the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League campaign:
Qualifying Phase & Play-offs
- First qualifying round:July 9 & July 16, 2026
- Second qualifying round:July 23 & July 30, 2026
- Third qualifying round:August 6 & August 13, 2026
- Play-offs:August 20 & August 27, 2026
League Phase (36-Team Swiss System)
The 8 matchdays of the main league phase run from mid-September through late January:
| Matchday | Date(s) |
| Matchday 1 | September 16–17, 2026 |
| Matchday 2 | October 15, 2026 |
| Matchday 3 | October 22, 2026 |
| Matchday 4 | November 5, 2026 |
| Matchday 5 | November 26, 2026 |
| Matchday 6 | December 10, 2026 |
| Matchday 7 | January 21, 2027 |
| Matchday 8 | January 28, 2027 |
Knockout Phase
- Knockout round play-offs: February 18 (1st leg) & February 25, 2027 (2nd leg)
- Round of 16: March 11 (1st leg) & March 18, 2027 (2nd leg)
- Quarter-finals:April 8 (1st leg) & April 15, 2027 (2nd leg)
- Semi-finals:April 29 (1st leg) & May 6, 2027 (2nd leg)
- Final: May 26, 2027 (at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany)
UEL Final 2026/27
The 2027 UEL Finals are set for May 26, at Waldstadion Stadium in Frankfurt. This venue has a capacity of 58,000 spectators and is the home of the Bundesliga team, Eintracht.
Europa League/ UEFA Cup Past Winners
Here is the complete history of UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League final results without country markers:
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-Up | Venue / Agg. Notes |
| 2025–26 | Aston Villa | 3–0 | SC Freiburg | Tüpraş Stadyumu, Istanbul |
| 2024–25 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Manchester United | San Mamés, Bilbao |
| 2023–24 | Atalanta | 3–0 | Bayer Leverkusen | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 2022–23 | Sevilla | 1–1 (4–1 p) | AS Roma | Puskás Aréna, Budapest |
| 2021–22 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1–1 (5–4 p) | Rangers | Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville |
| 2020–21 | Villarreal | 1–1 (11–10 p) | Manchester United | Stadion Gdańsk, Gdańsk |
| 2019–20 | Sevilla | 3–2 | Inter Milan | RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne |
| 2018–19 | Chelsea | 4–1 | Arsenal | Olympic Stadium, Baku |
| 2017–18 | Atlético Madrid | 3–0 | Marseille | Parc OL, Decines-Charpieu |
| 2016–17 | Manchester United | 2–0 | Ajax | Friends Arena, Solna |
| 2015–16 | Sevilla | 3–1 | Liverpool | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
| 2014–15 | Sevilla | 3–2 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | National Stadium, Warsaw |
| 2013–14 | Sevilla | 0–0 (4–2 p) | Benfica | Juventus Stadium, Turin |
| 2012–13 | Chelsea | 2–1 | Benfica | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam |
| 2011–12 | Atlético Madrid | 3–0 | Athletic Bilbao | Arena Națională, Bucharest |
| 2010–11 | Porto | 1–0 | Braga | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 2009–10 | Atlético Madrid | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Fulham | Volksparkstadion, Hamburg |
| 2008–09 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Werder Bremen | Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul |
| 2007–08 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2–0 | Rangers | City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester |
| 2006–07 | Sevilla | 2–2 (3–1 p) | Espanyol | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| 2005–06 | Sevilla | 4–0 | Middlesbrough | Philips Stadion, Eindhoven |
| 2004–05 | CSKA Moscow | 3–1 | Sporting CP | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon |
| 2003–04 | Valencia | 2–0 | Marseille | Nya Ullevi, Gothenburg |
| 2002–03 | Porto | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Celtic | Estádio La Cartuja, Seville |
| 2001–02 | Feyenoord | 3–2 | Borussia Dortmund | De Kuip, Rotterdam |
| 2000–01 | Liverpool | 5–4 (a.e.t.) | Alavés | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund |
| 1999–00 | Galatasaray | 0–0 (4–1 p) | Arsenal | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen |
| 1998–99 | Parma | 3–0 | Marseille | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow |
| 1997–98 | Inter Milan | 3–0 | Lazio | Parc des Princes, Paris |
| 1996–97 | Schalke 04 | 1–1 (4–1 p) | Inter Milan | 1–0, 0–1 (2 legs) |
| 1995–96 | Bayern Munich | 5–1 (agg.) | Bordeaux | 2–0, 3–1 (2 legs) |
| 1994–95 | Parma | 2–1 (agg.) | Juventus | 1–0, 1–1 (2 legs) |
| 1993–94 | Inter Milan | 2–0 (agg.) | Salzburg | 1–0, 1–0 (2 legs) |
| 1992–93 | Juventus | 6–1 (agg.) | Borussia Dortmund | 3–1, 3–0 (2 legs) |
| 1991–92 | Ajax | 2–2 (a) | Torino | 2–2, 0–0 (2 legs) |
| 1990–91 | Inter Milan | 2–1 (agg.) | AS Roma | 2–0, 0–1 (2 legs) |
| 1989–90 | Juventus | 3–1 (agg.) | Fiorentina | 3–1, 0–0 (2 legs) |
| 1988–89 | Napoli | 5–4 (agg.) | VfB Stuttgart | 2–1, 3–3 (2 legs) |
| 1987–88 | Bayer Leverkusen | 3–3 (3–2 p) | Espanyol | 0–3, 3–0 (2 legs) |
| 1986–87 | IFK Göteborg | 2–1 (agg.) | Dundee United | 1–0, 1–1 (2 legs) |
| 1985–86 | Real Madrid | 5–3 (agg.) | 1. FC Köln | 5–1, 0–2 (2 legs) |
| 1984–85 | Real Madrid | 3–1 (agg.) | Videoton | 3–0, 0–1 (2 legs) |
| 1983–84 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–2 (4–3 p) | Anderlecht | 1–1, 1–1 (2 legs) |
| 1982–83 | Anderlecht | 2–1 (agg.) | Benfica | 1–0, 1–1 (2 legs) |
| 1981–82 | IFK Göteborg | 4–0 (agg.) | Hamburger SV | 1–0, 3–0 (2 legs) |
| 1980–81 | Ipswich Town | 5–4 (agg.) | AZ Alkmaar | 3–0, 2–4 (2 legs) |
| 1979–80 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 3–3 (a) | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2–3, 1–0 (2 legs) |
| 1978–79 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2–1 (agg.) | Red Star Belgrade | 1–1, 1–0 (2 legs) |
| 1977–78 | PSV Eindhoven | 3–0 (agg.) | Bastia | 0–0, 3–0 (2 legs) |
| 1976–77 | Juventus | 2–2 (a) | Athletic Bilbao | 1–0, 1–2 (2 legs) |
| 1975–76 | Liverpool | 4–3 (agg.) | Club Brugge | 3–2, 1–1 (2 legs) |
| 1974–75 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 5–1 (agg.) | Twente | 0–0, 5–1 (2 legs) |
| 1973–74 | Feyenoord | 4–2 (agg.) | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–2, 2–0 (2 legs) |
| 1972–73 | Liverpool | 3–2 (agg.) | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 3–0, 0–2 (2 legs) |
| 1971–72 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 (agg.) | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1, 1–1 (2 legs) |
Finances and Sponsors
The total prize money pool for the UEFA Europa League is €565 million per season (out of UEFA’s total €3.317 billion club competition pool).
UEFA distributes this overall purse across three distinct pillars:
- Equal Shares (Starting Fee): 27.5% (€155 million)
- Performance-Related Payments: 37.5% (€212 million)
- Value Pillar (Market Pool & Club Coefficient): 35% (€198 million)
1. Guaranteed Starting Fee & Match Bonuses
Every club that qualifies for the 36-team single-league phase receives a guaranteed baseline payout, with additional bonuses awarded for match performance:
| Stage / Result | Prize Money (per club) |
| League Phase Starting Fee | €4.31 million |
| League Phase Win | €450,000 |
| League Phase Draw | €150,000 |
Note: Money unallocated from drawn matches (€150,000 per draw) is pooled together and redistributed based on final league phase standings.
2. League Phase Placement & Ranking Bonuses
The league table distribution is divided into 666 shares (worth €75,000 per share):
- 36th Place (Bottom): 1 share = €75,000
- 1st Place (Top): 36 shares = €2.7 million
- Top-8 Finish Bonus (Positions 1–8): €600,000 additional bonus
- Knockout Play-off Qualification (Positions 9–16): €300,000 additional bonus
3. Knockout Stage Cumulative Bonuses
Progressing through each round earns cumulative performance payouts:
| Knockout Stage | Stage Bonus |
| Knockout Play-offs (Ranks 9–24) | €300,000 |
| Round of 16 | €1.75 million |
| Quarter-finals | €2.5 million |
| Semi-finals | €4.2 million |
| Runner-up | €7.0 million |
| Winner (Champion Bonus) | €6.0 million (on top of final fee) |
Betting on Europa League
EL is for many bettors far more tempting for staking some money than the Champions League. Why? Well, because there are more games involved, meaning that there are more possibilities for them. Whether they look for games with a high number of goals, or with possible surprises, etc., the number of matches provides you numerous opportunities, which could lead to potential winnings.
The Europa League offers so many betting options. You have conventional ways of betting on individual matches with all the traditional markets involved. You can also make live bets during the contests, or pick an outright before the competition begins.
Betting on individual matches, which can be used in singles, doubles, or parlays. As usual, the three most frequent markets used are:
- Full-Time Result
- Total Goals Over/Under
- Asian Handicap
When talking about the in-play betting, people are often choosing the next three markets:
- Winner
- Next goal
- Total Goals Over/Under
Outright Bets
This is a chapter of its own in this article because there are so many things we wanted to tell you about outright bets in the Europa League. It is probably a more interesting way of wagering than the two above-mentioned.
At any time of the competition, you can make an outright bet, but of course, the biggest offer is before the start of the group stage. You can place a bet on how far will your favorite team go, how many points in the group will he collect, how many goals will concede or score, who is going to be its top striker, etc., virtually anything you want or can imagine.
The most frequent outrights are involving:
- Winner of the competition
- Finalists
- Top Goalscorer
But along with them, several others are pretty intriguing, and a lot of punters pick them. Before the group stage of the competition, many are placing bets on the winners of those assemblies, and at that time, it is maybe the most popular outright.
Also, betting on the number of points one team wins during the group stage is very popular among the punters. The next one is how many goals will one team score, etc.
Apart from that, you can find various other exotic offers, like which team concedes the most goals, how many red cards will one side have, and similar stuff.
So, in general, the outright betting with the Europa League involved is super-interesting, and with a little bit of creativity, you can make it very profitable.
Tips and Tricks for Betting on the Europa League
We have so many things to share with you regarding this matter. This isn’t going to be just a chapter in the article, but also a very useful one, so please, stay tuned and carefully read the next few paragraphs.
The Europa League is the competition where teams from all over the continent gather, and many of them don’t share the same interests and have their unique characteristics, styles, and many more.
Italian and Spanish Teams Love UEL, English Don’t
So, for instance, you need to know that Italian and English clubs don’t value EL the same. Up until a few years ago, the teams from both of these nations didn’t play it with full strength as they considered it to be a burden that will prevent them from making solid results in the domestic championships. We have numerous statements of the Italian club owners who are saying that the Europa League presents an expense for them without any profits. And even today, the Italian sides are not very keen on playing EL.
As for the English sides, that changed. They figured out that reaching the Champions League through this competition would be easier than through the Premier League. That is why both Arsenal and Chelsea gave their best last year when the knockout-stage began.
Also, some major clubs often use this competition to give a chance to the younger players, and that is a common situation during the group stage. When the eliminations begin, they bring in the top squad. So, always check the lineups before, let’s say Manchester United’s road game.
Something like that is frequent when there is a big match coming up in the Premiership, and earlier that week, Europa League games are on.
Schedule Conflict for Scandinavian and Easter Europe Teams
Some teams (mainly from Scandinavia and Belarus), are often handicapped when playing not only Europa League but Champions League as well. Their domestic championships finish in November or early December, while the group stage still lasts, and they don’t have any competitive matches causing their form to drop.
Time zones are also problematic because sometimes, clubs from the Eastern region of the UEFA reach the group stages. And not only do they need to play games much earlier than others, but also, the rival sides can travel up to several thousands of miles and 13-14 hours before reaching the final destination. It makes their job much tougher, especially if they don’t have impressive quality. The hosts have a massive advantage over them in those cases.
Surface and Turf Conditions
Be well aware of the surface at the match venue. Some teams have artificial turf instead of the regular hybrid or fully natural grass. It provides them a great advantage, and the guests are often handicapped because playing on such turf is an entirely different experience. There is one other thing in these situations. The efficiency of the events is pretty high, due to the speed of play caused by the turf itself. The movement of the ball is much quicker, and it often provides more chances than normally, as well as some unusual goals. For example, stadiums with such surfaces are Astana Arena, Stade de Suisse (Young Boys), Luzhniki Stadium (Spartak), etc.
Fun Facts
- Two teams stayed undefeated in Europa League but failed to win the competitions, after losing on penalties, Benfica (2014) and Espanyol (2007)
- Believe it or not, IFK Goteborg played 25 games in UEFA Cup between 1980 and 1987, not losing a single one, and winning the trophy twice, in 1982 and 1987
- In 1980 all four semifinalists were from West Germany.
- Aritz Aduriz scored five goals at one EL game. His Athletic Bilbao defeated Genk 5-3 in 2016.
- However, the guys with the most goals during one campaign was Radamel Falcao with 17 hits.
- The best goal/appearance ratio was set by Jupp Heynckess with 23 goals in 21 games, 1.095
- The all-time top-scorer is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who score 34 goals, playing for Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona and Marseille.
- Joao Moutinho played 99 games in UEFA Cup, for Sporting, Porto, Monaco, Wolves and Braga, and he leads the all-time appearance list.
- The last two-legged final was in 1997, between Schalke 04 and Inter Milan, both teams won 1-0 on their turf, but the Germans captured the trophy after penalties.
- The next year Inter won the competition beating Lazio in the first single-legged finals held at Parc des Princes in Paris.
