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By Jonathan Lewis | 6th Sep 2023
The Premier League’s eight representatives in UEFA’s club competitions will embark on their respective campaigns dreaming on winning silverware.
After winning the Champions League and Europa Conference League last season, English clubs have earned the right to be feared in Europe.
With online bookmakers installing Premier League teams as favourites for each of the three tournaments, we assess whether they can complete a clean sweep.
Champions League
Manchester City are 2/1 favourites to win the Champions League for the second successive year and it would be a brave move to bet against them achieving the feat.
They have landed a favourable draw in the opening stage, with RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys unlikely to cause too many problems in Group G.
Neighbours Manchester United will also fancy their chances of reaching the last-16 having landed in Group A alongside Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray.
Bayern will be the biggest threat to United’s hopes of winning the group, but they should have little difficulty seeing off the other two teams.
Arsenal will also expect to progress to the knockout phase despite being drawn in Group B with Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and Lens.
All three teams have the talent to cause problems for the Gunners, but it would be a major surprise if they failed to finish in the top two.
The same cannot be said for Newcastle United, who have been drawn in a fiendishly-tough Group F alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan.
The Magpies look destined to exit the Champions League at the group stage, leaving the other English clubs to battle in the knockout phase.
Man City unsurprisingly make the most appeal for outright betting purposes, with their star-studded squad expected to deliver yet another winning return for punters.
Europa League
Having been tipped to challenge for the Premier League title last season, Liverpool endured a thoroughly miserable campaign before staging a late rally.
Their efforts were enough to secure a place in the Europa League and the bookies think they will be the team to beat in this season’s competition.
Odds of 4/1 reflect their status as one of the big-hitters in UEFA’s second tier tournament and their group stage draw gives them every chance of making progress.
The Reds have been paired with LASK, Union Saint-Gilloise and Toulouse in Group E and should have little difficulty claiming top spot.
However, punters looking for a bit of value may well believe that Brighton & Hove Albion are overpriced at 14/1 to lift the trophy.
That mentality will likely be heightened by punters on football betting sites in the Republic of Ireland, with bettors there eagerly following the exploits of Brighton striker Evan Ferguson.
After netting four goals in four appearances this season and the Irish youngster could be an interesting proposition in first goalscorer markets in Europa League games this season.
While Brighton and Liverpool are fancied to reach the latter stages of the competition, West Ham United stand out at odds of 20/1 to win the tournament.
The 2022/23 Europa Conference League winners have made several excellent signings this summer and look a good bet to get their hands on more European silverware.
Europa Conference League
Aston Villa’s transformation over the past year has been nothing short of remarkable, and they may cement that progress by winning this season’s Europa Conference League.
The Midlands outfit were hurtling towards the Championship under previous manager Steven Gerrard, and his sacking last October was inevitable.
Villa’s decision to replace Gerrard with Unai Emery proved to be inspired, with the Spaniard guiding them out of trouble and up to seventh in the Premier League.
That was enough to secure a spot in the Europa Conference League and they could be tough to stop in this season’s competition.
The bookies rate Villa as 9/2 favourites to lift the trophy which could represent decent value given Emery’s track record of success in Europe.
He has won the Europe League on four previous occasions with Sevilla (2013/14, 2014/15 & 2015/16) and Villarreal (2021/21), so knows what it takes to succeed in Europe.
Villa have been drawn alongside AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw and HSK Zrinjski in Group E and are strongly fancied to claim top spot.
Having made several excellent acquisitions during the summer transfer window, Villa make massive appeal from a betting perspective in this tournament.
Pairing them with Man City and West Ham in a treble looks a tasty each-way wager and could generate a sizeable payout for punters next June.