ECL Final 24/25 Preview – Spanish or English success?

The second of the European finals is upon us and it is the turn of the ECL, the third tier competition. Let’s take a look at this Wednesday’s big final!

Normally, the reward for winning this competition is a place in the EL next season but both Real Betis and Chelsea have already qualified for European competition, the Spanish side confirmed their place in that tournament already via a sixth place league finish whereas Chelsea went one better and have managed to qualify for the CL next season.

Spanish success?

Real Betis go into this match in not the best form, they are winless in their last five matches and ended the season with a 1-1 draw against Valencia. They have saved their best form for this competition with only one defeat in the ten matches played. They don’t have much of a positive record against English sides, with only one win in eight matches and have never managed to score more than once in any of those games. It would be some achievement if they manage to win their first ever European trophy in their first ever final, especially against such a strong opponent. Since arriving in January, Antony has been their star performer and has contributed to seven goals in eight ECL matches. He will know all about playing against Chelsea from his time at Manchester United and is likely to be key to the Spanish team’s chances. Real Betis will hope to score first as they have done in twelve of their previous thirteen ECL matches. 

Record-breaking Chelsea?

Chelsea will be the first club to ever win all five major European club competitions should they be successful on Wednesday. They managed to secure their spot in next season’s CL with a strong win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend, a tense match that eventually went their way, as did results from other matches. The fact that all matches from England’s top division were played on Sunday afternoon means that Chelsea have two days less rest going into this match but they have a bigger squad and should be able to motivate themselves for one final match and their final chance at ending the season with some silverware. One thing that Chelsea will need to be wary of is the terrible record that English teams have against Spanish teams in European finals, with the last nine meetings going the way of Spanish sides. On the other hand, Chelsea themselves have won eleven of their twelve matches in the tournament. The London side will welcome back Nicolas Jackson to their front line, he has been suspended for the final three domestic matches so he should be well rested and fresh heading into this match. He scored in the semi-final against Djurgården and Chelsea tend to win when he gets his name on the scoresheet. 

The referee for this match is from Bosnia & Herzegovina and the city of Wroclaw will be preparing itself for an invasion of Spanish and English fans. The Wroclaw stadium has a 45,000 capacity but the chances are there will be many more fans making their way to the Polish city, as was the case last week in Bilbao. These two sides only met twice before, in a two legged tie in the CL back in 2005 with both sides winning the home legs. Chelsea are understandable favourites to win and lift the trophy, currently priced at 1.85, whereas Real Betis can be backed at 4.65. 

Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last updated: 26.05.25