I have found the Europa League thrilling in recent years with great games, remarkable comebacks, drama and some of the game’s leading characters.
That was until I trekked to Bilbao in May and saw my beloved team produce a showing which was as predictable as it was deflating amid of a ‘car crash’ of a system I anticipated last year (full credit to Spurs, of course).
My team aren’t in any European action this term, and that is pretty hurtful to say the least, but the competition still has the capacity to produce some very special moments.
So, what has caught your attention following the draw for the group stages?
Well, over eight matchdays from September to January, the 36 teams will play four games at home and four away. The sides who finish in the top eight of the league phase will progress to the round of 16, and the teams from ninth to 24th will go into a knockout play-off round to reach the last 16.
They may have had a miserable start to the campaign domestically but one team to watch in this competition are Aston Villa.
Leading the troops is Unai Emery, the most successful manager in this competition with four previous titles and now favourable games against some of the lowest-ranked teams in the competition, including Go Ahead Eagles.
If he can strengthen his side’s offering on transfer deadline day (ongoing as I write this), then they will be ones to watch.
It’s a Midlands duo who lead the Premier League charge this time around with Villa and Nottingham Forest, while Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers are also in the competition after losing in the Champions League qualifying play-off round last week.
Neither of the Old Firm clubs are particularly well-equipped for a long European run but they have enough pedigree and quality to at least navigate the group stage. Celtic, in particular, have been handed a punishing schedule as retribution for their shock play-off exit to Kazakhstan’s Kairat. They now face, on paper at least, the third-toughest league phase fixture list of all 36 teams.
There are only 14 Europa League teams other than Brendan Rodgers’ side to be in the Opta Power Rankings’ top 72, and Celtic will play against five of them: Roma (24th), Bologna (42nd), Feyenoord (45th), Sporting Braga (60th) and Crvena Zvezda (72nd).
The team this SBOTOP observer sees as the biggest threat to Villa – and our Europa League 2025 betting odds concur – is, in fact, Roma, who have no shortage of recent European experience.
Claudio Ranieri came out of retirement to lead a spectacular resurgence in the Italian capital last season, leading them to fifth in the Serie A table thanks to an outstanding defensive record.
Add in the fact that new manager Gian Piero Gasperini is a masterful tactician who inspired Atalanta’s Europa League triumph two seasons ago – when they knocked out Liverpool and beat Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen in the final – and they have the capacity for plenty of Europa League 2025 highlights.
Brighton striker Evan Ferguson is an eye-catching loan signing for the Italians who will be hoping for a strong campaign both domestically and in Europe.
Watch out also for Fenerbahce as, whoever succeeds Jose Mourinho as manager (harshly fired last week) will inherit a strong squad with bundles of top-level experience and a decent draw, including four winnable away fixtures at Dinamo Zagreb, Viktoria Plzen, FCSB and Brann.
The final is actually scheduled for Turkish soil and Besiktas next May which could prove an extra incentive.
I’d also select two darkhorses in FC Porto and Lyon. Porto have often demonstrated consistency in Europe and have a well-drilled tactical set-up, while Ligue 1 side Lyon will look to use the tournament as a path back to continental relevance.
The club won an appeal against relegation in July after the seven-time French champions had initially been demoted into Ligue 2 because of their poor financial state.
Had that relegation been upheld, they had agreed to be excluded from the Europa League, so they must feel like they now have a second chance and will want to take full advantage.
Feel free to have a closer look at the runners and riders here, courtesy of UEFA. In the meantime, such is the system (introduced last season) of eight group matches, I expect most, if not all, of the big clubs to make their way to the knockout stages in a system clearly designed for their progress.
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