EL 2025/26 Preview
Who else is ready for the return of the EL? The new season’s league phase kicks off this week, with plenty of big matches on the opening matchday. Let’s take a look at favourites, the dark horses and the teams not given any chance to lift the trophy in Istanbul next May!
The Favourites
Last season’s winner Spurs are competing in the CL this season, which we have previewed here. Will we get another English winner in the EL this year? Aston Villa are odds favourites to win it this season. See below the favourites to lift the trophy in Istanbul 20 May next year:
Aston Villa – 7.00
AS Roma – 10.00
FC Porto – 11.00
Real Betis – 11.00
Bologna – 11.00
Nottingham Forest – 12.00
Unai Emery is the most successful manager in EL history, having won it three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. Now he is hoping to do the same with Aston Villa, but the Birmingham club have struggled in the league so far this season and are without a win in 5 matches. They are still odds favourites however, and their squad is definitely good enough to go all the way. They are currently at 3.60 to reach the final and 5.60 to top the league stage.
AS Roma, now under former Atalanta manager Gasperini, are hoping to win their first EL title and put the agonizing loss to Sevilla on penalties in the 2023 final behind them. Gasperini won the title in 2024 with his former club, and would love to repeat the feat with the capital club. Dybala, Manu Koné and Mile Svilar are just some of the key players for the Italian club if they are to go all the way, and they are currently at 5.00 to reach the final and 10.00 to top the league stage.
Next up amongst the favourites are Porto, Real Betis and Bologna, all currently at 11.00. Starting with the Portuguese club, they’ve won the tournament on two occasions, in 2003 and 2011, and Porto manager Francesco Farioli will be counting on players like Diogo Costa, Samu Aghehowa and Alan Varela to take them to the latter stages of the tournament and hopefully all the way. They are at 5.40 to get to the final and 10.00 to top the league phase.
Real Betis suffered a heartbreaking loss in the ECL final to Chelsea last season when the English side won 4-1 after Real Betis had been 1-0 up thanks to an early goal from Ezzalzouli. This year, they are hoping to see players like Antony, Giovani Lo Celso and Sofyan Amrabat help them to a spot in another European final. They are at 5.00 to reach the final and 10.00 to top the league stage.
Bologna is another dark horse in the tournament, with the supporters hoping to see Santiago Castro score the goals to take them to the latter stages. The Italian club has kicked off the league campaign with 2 wins and 2 losses and face a very tough match in their EL opener away at Aston Villa. They are at 7.40 to reach the final and 13.00 to top the league phase.
Nottingham Forest is the only other English team involved in this year’s EL, and Ange Postecoglou’s side are considered a potential outsider in the tournament. Wood, Ndoye and Gibbs-White will be important players if they are to succeed, and you’d expect them to get through to the latter stages. Once in the knockout stages, Ange’s team could beat any of the teams in the EL on a good day, and their odds of reaching the final is currently at 5.40, with a top position in the league stage at 13.00.
The Dark Horses
Behind the top 6 favourites, we’ve got plenty of other teams that are capable of going all the way to the final in Istanbul and win, so let’s take a look at some of the outsiders of the EL 25/26 campaign:
Lyon – 15.00
Celta Vigo – 15.00
Lille – 21.00
VfB Stuttgart – 23.00
Freiburg – 23.00
Basel – 23.00
Feyenoord – 23.00
Lyon and Celta Vigo are both at 15.00 to win the tournament, and the former have been in good form early on this season, winning 4 of their 5 league matches so far. Their only loss came away at Rennes when they got a red card in the 75th minute when they were 1-0 up, losing 3-1 thanks to three late goals. Celta Vigo have had a very tough start to the season, having played 6 matches without registering a win thus far.
Lille face a few though matches in the league phase, including away at Roma, but their fans will be hoping to see Bruno Génésio steer his team, which includes Giroud and Ethan Mbappé to the latter stages. They are at 11.00 to reach the final and 26.00 to top the league phase.
Lastly, all four of VfB Stuttgart, Freiburg, Basel and Feyenoord are at 23.00 to win the title.
No chance?
There are a few teams that aren’t given much of a chance to get to the latter stages, but they’ll probably be more than happy to even participate in the tournament and getting the chance to play some big teams. These are the teams with the highest odds of winning the EL:
Maccabi Tel Aviv – 250.00
Ferencvarosi – 200.00
Sturm Graz – 200.00
We’re excited for the new EL campaign, and you can find all our outrights on the tournament right here.
Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last updated: 23.09.25
