Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Particularly the UEFA Europa League.  It’s a league has millions of fans worldwide. And there’s no denying the fact that Europe is where Football thrives the most. 

The Europa League started all the way back in 1971. Since then, Football lovers have got to witness several cup winners over the years. With so much competition surrounding it, it was inevitable that punters would start betting on Champions League matches. 

Today, we’re going to cover everything there is about the UEFA Europa League. From formats to rules to the different betting markets and odds, we’re going to go over everything. Let’s start.

Historical Formats

The current format of the UEFA Europa League is not the original one. In fact, the Europa League has gone through many iterations over the years. Before we talk about the current state of the UEFA Europa League, we should know about its history. 

Originally, the competition was a purely knockout format. Before 1997-98 the final was also two-legged, but it soon became a one-off match. 

We got to see another change in the rules during the 2004-05 season. From that time onwards, all teams started with two knockout qualifier matches. The teams that ranked 18 or lower during the Champions League knockout stages could enter the first round. 

Teams ranked between 9-18 would join in the second qualifying round. The winners who won the qualifying rounds joined teams from the associations who managed to place between 1-13. A total of 80 teams played in the first round. 

After the first round of qualifiers, only 40 teams would survive and they would be placed in 5 groups. Each group would have 8 teams and play in a single round-robin format. This is one of the things that separated the UEFA Europa League from the Champions League.

The top three teams from each of the groups would qualify for the main knockout round. These teams would duke it out for a sport at the grand finals, which was held one week before the UEFA Champions League final.

How does the Europa League Group Stage Work?

The group stage is when the Europa League draw live starts to take place. Punters looking to place wagers on the teams, start from the draw. They also do it during the Champions League Group stage. But how does it work? Let’s explore that. 

A total of 32 teams are selected for the group stages. These teams are drawn into groups of four for a total of 8 groups. The draw process is based on the UEFA Club coefficients of the team. Each of the eight teams is seeded into four pots. 

One of the rules for the draw is that no teams belonging to the same association can be placed in the same group. Teams playing in the Europa Conference League Group are also included in the draw as well.

The teams in the group stage along with the ones playing in the Europa Conference League are placed into different groups. This is done in an effort to keep the kick-off times different for the television audience. 

Europa League Group Tiebreaker Rules

The possibility of tieing a match is quite high for a few of the teams in the Europa League Group stage. While punters are allowed to bet on a tie outcome in 1×2 betting markets, in reality, a tiebreaker has to take place between the teams for the sake of the tournament.

Since the teams are ranked based on points, these determine the top-ranking teams during the Europa League Group Stage. The points are also useful in the tiebreakers.

There are several criteria for the tiebreakers in the Europa League Group Stage. Let’s check them out. 

1. Points in head-to-head matches. 
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches. 
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches.
4. Goal difference in all group matches.
5. Goals scored in all group matches.
6. Away goals in all group matches.
7. Win in all group matches.
8. Away wins in all group matches. 
9. Disciplinary points on cards.
10. UEFA Club Co-efficient. 

Current Format

Now let’s talk about the current format of the UEFA Europa League. It’s important to understand this if you’re playing for the long-term bet to predict the cup winners. At the first glance, it can seem a little confusing. But bear with us, as it will get much simpler once we explain it.

During the group stage, the team plays in a home and away round-robin format. The winners from each group advance to the round of 16. The runners-up will be sent to the knockout round playoffs. 

The teams that place third are transferred to the Europa Conference League knockout round playoffs. They will compete to become the Europa Conference League champions. However, the fourth-placed teams are eliminated from the season’s European football competition.

Prize Money

The prize money distribution for the Europa League is similar to the UEFA Champions League. The prize is distributed among the cup winner, group stage winners and participants, and is divided into stages for commercial purposes. Just by qualifying in the group stages, the teams can win a large sum of the prize.

As for the cup winners, they keep winning the prizes for passing each of the stages. But just for becoming the Europa cup winners in the finals, the champions can get €8,600,000.

Here you can find all the different prizes for the different stages of the tournament from the following table. 

 

Status	Prize Money
Qualified for Group Stage	€3,630,000
Match Won in Group Stage	€630,000
Match Drawn in Group Stage	€210,000
1st Place in Group Stage	€1,1001000
2nd Place in Group Stage	€550,000
Qualified to Knockout Round Play-Offs	€500,000
Round of 16	€1,200,000
Quarter-Final	€1,800,000
Semi-Final	€2,800,000
Runner-Up	€4,600,000
Cup Winners	€8,600,000

 

UEFA Europa League Betting Odds

If you’re interested in placing a bet on which team is going to become the cup winners in Europa League, then we need to talk about the betting odds. If you want to get the most out of your wager, you will need to make total use of the betting odds.

The betting odds for the Europa League are going to be different from the Champions League Group phase or the Champions League knockout stages. But the concept of Football betting odds is going to be the same. 

Football lovers can place bets on their favorite team as they go head-to-head in matches. Throughout the different stages of the competition, punters will have the option to bet on matches. The bets might be different, but the procedure is the same as Champion League Group Stages. 

Let’s take a quick look at some of the concepts that will help with understanding UEFA Europa League betting odds.

Favourites and Underdogs

When you check out a betting market for a Europa League match, you will see that the teams have a “+” and a “-” sign listed with their odds. If you’re new to betting, you might have thought what those symbols mean.

The “+” sign is reserved for the underdogs of the match. The plus sign indicates that they are being given an advantage over the clear favourites. Betting on the underdogs will pay more, but it does come with risks.

The “-” sign on the other hand, is for the favourites. To balance out, the advantage, the minus sign is used,

UEFA Europa League Odds Example

Let’s take a look at an example of a moneyline bet to better understand the betting odds. Let’s say there’s a match going on between Roma and Ludogorets. The odds are set for -120 on Roma and +150 on Ludogorets. 

The way moneyline bets work, if you bet €100 on Roma, you will get €180 total with €80 in winnings. That’s because of they are the favourites. If you had bet on the Ludogorets, you’d make €250 with €150 in profit.

Final Words

If you want the best betting odds on your supported teams, then you can try Betfinal. You can find the popular markets for placing bets on your favorite teams. There are options to place short-term bets. If you’re feeling confident, you can go for a long-term bet as well. 

And it’s not just Europa League. If you want to bet on the Champion League group stage matches or the UEFA Champions League winners, there’s the option for that too at Betfinal. It’s packed full of options for football fans that love betting.