The Conference League, compared to the two “classic” European cups, attracts much less attention from viewers, and this is understandable – the teams here are weaker. On the other hand, at the playoff stage there are no longer openly “left-wing” participants; the level of opponents is sufficiently even to expect a serious attack in each match. If you follow the Conference League and love sports betting, visit mostbet az casino giriş.
Due to the level of participants mentioned above, it is not so easy to understand the tournament layouts in the Conference League. Bookmaker analysts come to the rescue – they have already calculated the odds and made it easier for us to determine the main favorites of the current draw.
Aston Villa – 3.8
There is a widespread assertion that clubs from the Premier League are not interested in European cups below the Champions League – they will earn much more for a good performance in the championship than for efforts in the Conference League. An important remark should be made here: this is fair in relation to the grandees who solve really big sporting problems. Simpler teams are not spoiled with trophies, so every title is important for them, especially since in the Conference League any Englishmen automatically look formidable.
Aston Villa this season is somewhat out of the category of “simpler teams” – Emery works real miracles with a modest squad. At some point it seemed that the Villans were even able to compete for the championship, but now it looks like the club could lose its place in the Champions League zone. The modest team is unlikely to be much criticized for this, but a successful performance in the League of Legends can brighten up the potential loss of positions in the Premier League – especially since the English have already been eliminated from the domestic cups.
Aston Villa miss out on 1/16 according to the regulations and will start straight from 1/8, which slightly shortens the path to the trophy.
Fiorentina – 6.6
The Florentine team has never grabbed stars from the sky, but the role of a very strong middle peasant with certain pretensions is almost always relevant for it. The current Serie A season for Fiorentina is still shaping up traditionally – you can already forget about medals (a dozen and a half points behind the leading three), but until the very end you can fight, if not for the Champions League zone, then at least for getting into any European competitions.
Like Aston Villa, Fiorentina immediately got into the 1/8 of the Conference League, but in the meantime they can try to make a breakthrough in Serie A. Even if nothing works out there, it will still be possible to get into the League of Legends next season through the Italian Cup, but you shouldn’t rely on it – it’s better to also compete for the League of Legends title. At this level, “violets”, quite modest in nature, actually look very promising.
Eintracht Frankfurt – 9.0
The club from Eintracht cannot be called great: usually, even in its native Germany, it is not considered a significant contender for trophies. However, a noticeable part of the historical achievements happened in recent years: in 2018, the Frankfurt team took the national Cup, and twice more in the last seven draws they reached the final. What is much more important is the victory in the Champions League the season before last – it was definitely more difficult than winning the Champions League title.
Eintracht has several players who were once considered stars – Mario Götze, Kevin Trapp, and Makoto Hasebe. In the Bundesliga, however, they do not shine – there the club barely stays in the European Cup zone. On the other hand, there are no very scary opponents in the Conference League, and players of this level can drag a team that plays only on two fronts quite far in the tournament bracket. The Belgian Union Saint-Gilloise, awaiting Frankfurt in the 1/16, is unlikely to become a serious obstacle.
Lille – 12
Lille could have been higher in the ranking of favorites – Paulo Fonseca was able to create a tightly knit team without top stars, for which there is no shame. However, there are considerable fears that the French will prefer to focus on the internal struggle: even though they were eliminated from the French Cup, nothing is clear at all in Ligue 1. More precisely, PSG will no longer give up the title, but the Dogs can compete for silver – or they may even fall out of the European Cup zone.
The current situation is similar to that described above for Fiorentina: missing out on the 1/16 Conference League allows you here and now to try to strengthen your prospects in the championship, so that later you can perform more calmly in the European Cup. However, the Italians may lose motivation in the domestic championship by 1/8, while for the French the stakes are much higher.
Betis and Ajax – 13 each
Betis did not succeed in the rather modest Europa League group in the fall, losing out to both the Scottish Rangers and Sparta Prague. In the championship, the club is desperately trying to cling to at least the Conference League zone, especially since the team has already said goodbye to the cup. Such inexpressive performances, as well as a strong opponent in the 1/16 in the form of Dinamo Zagreb, force us to consider the Seville team as only the fifth contender for the title.
Ajax is the main favorite among the teams that do not represent the top five championships. Its fate is in many ways similar to Betis – failure in the League Europe group (though its rivals are more serious – Brighton and Marseille), unexpectedly early departure from the national cup. The once great club now doesn’t even have a strong claim to bronze in its native Eredivisie, so the rather big name shouldn’t be misleading. We’re not writing them off, but let the strong Norwegian Bude/Glimt go through in the 1/16 Conference League first.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels
