Europa League Predictions: Opta Tips Manchester United and Spurs for Deep Runs
The revamped Europa League is finally here, and a host of top teams are gearing up to take part in the competition. Among them are Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who will be looking to make a strong impression. But who’s the most likely to lift the trophy? According to Opta, Portuguese side FC Porto are the favourites, with a 17.8% chance of winning it all.
The newly revamped competition sees teams face eight different opponents in the league phase, with the top eight advancing directly to the round of 16. The rest will contest the knockout round play-offs. So, who’s likely to make a deep run? Opta has got the stats, and it’s FC Porto leading the pack.
Porto the Favourites
The Portuguese side have been given a 17.8% chance of lifting the trophy, with Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao not far behind at 10.9%. Czech First League leaders Slavia Prague round out the top three with a 9.6% chance. Tottenham Hotspur, who take on Qarabağ FK on Wednesday, are the fourth favourites at 6.5%.
Manchester United’s Chances
Erik ten Hag’s men will face FC Twente in their opening match, and according to Opta, they have a 26.4% chance of making the semi-finals. Not bad, but they’ll need to up their game to compete with the likes of Porto and Bilbao.
A Emotional Return for Ten Hag
The Dutchman has spoken about his emotional return to FC Twente, where he started his managerial career. "Twente’s brought me a lot," he said. "I was put through their academy. I was part of the generation of the first youth team, when the youth competition was started up again after many years. For me, there’s a great deal of history there, at the Diekman Stadium and now the Grolsch Veste Stadium."
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