Who do Bettors Favor?
We’re heading for the UK versus Germany final according to the best online sportsbooks which rate RB Leipzig as the favorites to go on and lift the Europa League trophy, at around +100. Premier League team West Ham are the second favorites at odds of +200, while Eintracht Frankfurt can be backed at +500. The underdog of the four remaining teams is SPL team Rangers, at odds of +800.
| Europa League Winner |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| RB Leipzig | -110 | +120 | +100 |
| West Ham | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | +525 | +500 | +500 |
| Rangers | +900 | +600 | +800 |
Plenty of Quarter Final Drama
The last eight stages of the tournament produced plenty of drama including a major shock for tournament favorites Barcelona. Xavi’s team had secured a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt and were expected to progress in front of their own fans, but the visitors had other ideas. Thousands of Frankfurt supporters were in Camp Nou to watch their team secure a 3-0 lead by 67 minutes. Barcelona hit back with two late goals, the second 11 minutes into injury time but it was too late for the Catalan giants.
Premier League West Ham also pulled off an impressive second leg performance, thrashing Lyon 3-0 in France, having been held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, and booking their semi-final against Frankfurt. There was also drama in Italy, where RB Leipzig finally secured their passage three minutes from time, thanks to a second on the night for Christopher Nkunku. Leipzig are set to take on Scottish side Rangers, who progressed 3-1 on aggregate after a memorably entertaining game at Ibrox.
Leipzig to Progress
The transformation of RB Leipzig’s season under Domineco Tedesco has been remarkable. He has got them back into the top four in the Bundesliga and taken them to the German Cup final, as well as steering them to the last four of this tournament.
There are signs that the long season is catching up with them, and they have won only two of their last seven games, so aren’t in the best of form right now and will also be without some key defensive players for the first leg of this tie in Willi Orban, Mohamed Simakan and Kevin Kampl. Yet they are still the best team on paper of the remaining four and are up against the weakest of the semi-finalists, so they still look a solid bet in the tournament outright market.
Rangers Adventure to End
This has been a dramatic season for Rangers, who are looking like unlikely SPL winners, having seen an unexpected resurgence from Celtic. But under Giovanni van Brockhurst, their Europa League adventures have offered some consolation, while, like Leipzig, they still have a domestic Cup Final to look forward to. They came through a tough Group by a single point and then pulled off one of the European results of the season in beating Borussia Dortmund to reach the quarter-finals.
But like their opponents, they have been hit by injury, missing both Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos, their two main strikers. With less depth in their squad than Leipzig, this is likely where their run ends.
West Ham Overrated
West Ham manager David Moyes finally succumbed to the inevitable at the weekend, resting key players against Chelsea, in a clear indication that hopes of a Premier League top-four place were gone.
That should be good news for their chances in this tournament, and they have shown plenty of grit and determination to get to this stage of the competition, beating tough, battle-hardened European opponents in Sevilla and Lyon. Still, the Hammers have probably the biggest injury problems of all the teams remaining in the competition, including the absence of three of their front-line central defenders.
It could be argued they are deserved favorites to beat Frankfurt, but not by as much as the current market suggests and they look overrated for a team that has been running on empty for a while.
Frankfurt a Better Pick
On paper, Eintracht Frankfurt rank third of the teams still in the competition, but they look underestimated in the current outright market, and could be worth a bet to set up an all-German final.
Oliver Glasner’s team are in a comfortable mid-table position in the Bundesliga and although they have struggled for consistency in the league, they have been thoroughly effective in cup competitions, where their ability to pick up results on the road has been invaluable.
They picked up seven points from their three away games in their Group and then recorded away wins against Real Betis and Barcelona on their way to the last four. Like West Ham, they have injury problems ahead of this semi-final but their team spirit and style of play makes them ideally suited to two-leg European football and they look much too big a price in the outright market.
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