EL 2025/26 Preview
Aston Villa and AS Roma are amongst the tournament favourites in the EL 2025/26 campaign, which kicks off this week. Let’s take a closer look at some of the favourites to lift the trophy in Istanbul in May next year!
Tottenham beat Man Utd in last season’s EL final, with Atalanta (2023/24) and Sevilla (2022/23) having won the previous two editions of the popular tournament. Which team will go all the way to the final and lift the trophy this season?
Let’s take a look at some of the favourites and outsiders this season!
Who will go through as top 8?
As with the CL, which we have also previewed here, this year’s EL uses the same league phase format as last year, with the old group stage having been phased out. Which teams will go through to the knockout phase directly from the league phase? Let’s take a look at our EL outrights odds!
These are the teams currently favourites to make the top 8 in the league phase:
Aston Villa (1.50), Porto (1.57), AS Roma (1.72), Real Betis (1.72), Lyon (1.83), Nottingham Forest (1.90), Bologna (2.00), Celta Vigo (2.25)
Aston Villa have had a very poor start to the PL season, and they are without a win in their first 5 league matches. They are still considered the favourite in the upcoming EL, though, and looking at their schedule, you’d expect them to qualify fairly easily from the league phase. Bologna come to Birmingham on opening day, while Feyenoord and Fenerbahce away are, on paper at least, their most difficult matches.
Porto have won this tournament (including its earlier variations) twice, with the latest triumph coming in 2011, and they’re considered one of the favourites in this year’s edition as well. Their first match is a tough one, away at RB Salzburg, and with an away match against Nottingham Forest and a home fixture against Nice, qualifying won’t be easy for them, but they should be able to secure enough points for a top 8 finish.
AS Roma have started the season fairly well, winning 3 of their first 4 matches. Their new manager Gasperini could celebrate his first Rome derby win this previous weekend, but they have a tough opening fixture in Europe this season away at Nice. After their first two matches, the other one being at home to Lille, their schedule looks fairly “easy” however. They’re going to Scotland twice to face both Celtic and Rangers, and are expected to have no problems grabbing a spot in the top 8. Can they finally win their first EL tournament?
Real Betis are chasing their first European title ever, hoping to put their agonizing ECL final loss in 2024/25 against Chelsea behind them. The Spaniards host Nottingham Forest in their opener, before facing Ludogorets (A), Genk (A) and Lyon in their subsequent three games. They’re going to hope to grab the points they need ahead of their final match away at Feyenoord, which can be a tricky spot for any team to grab a result.
Lyon are away at Utrecht in their opener, with their away match against Real Betis and home game against RB Salzburg on paper their biggest worries. The French side should qualify to the knockout phase quite comfortably this season, and a top 8 spot seems very likely for Paulo Fonseca’s team.
Nottingham Forest have been handed a tough opening match away at Real Betis, and they also need to take on Porto at home, but their schedule in the EL this season seems to be fairly gentle on Ange Postecoglou’s team. With fixtures like Utrecht (A), Midtjylland (H) and Braga (A), you would expect the English team to grab enough points to see them through to the knockout phase via a top 8 finish in the league phase.
Bologna are away at Aston Villa, who as mentioned have been struggling in the league so far this season, in their opener, before hosting Freiburg in their first home match of the tournament. RB Salzburg and Celta Vigo will be tough opponent’s for the Italian side, but they should be strong enough to compete for a top 8 finish and a spot in the knockout rounds.
Celta Vigo‘s first match of the tournament is also quite possibly their toughest one, away at VfB Stuttgart. Nice (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A) and Lille (H) are all tough fixtures, but Claudio Giráldez’ side should definitely be strong enough to compete for a top 8 finish this season, and if not, anything but a finish in the 9th – 24th position would be a major upset.
Here are the odds of these 8 teams to WIN the tournament:
Aston Villa – 7.00
AS Roma – 10.00
Porto – 11.00
Real Betis – 11.00
Bologna – 11.00
Nottingham Forest – 12.00
Lyon – 15.00
Celta Vigo – 15.00
The Top 8 Outsiders
There are plenty of other teams hoping to grab a top 8 spot, so let’s take a look at some of them!
VfB Stuttgart are at 2.60 to manage a top 8 finish, and the Germans who have started their league season with 2 wins in four matches will be hoping for a win in their opener against Celta Vigo at home. With the Spaniards amongst the top 8 favourites, a win there would be very helpful for Sebastian Hoeneß’ side.
Freiburg is another German side that could sneak into the next phase without having to go through the playoffs, but they do have a few tough matches, including Lille and Nice away. Julian Schuster’s side are currently at 2.85 to manage a top 8 finish in the league phase, which is the same as one of their aforementioned opponents, Lille. Bruno Génésio will be hoping to take his French side through to the later stages this season, but they do have a few tough fixtures coming up, including away fixtures against AS Roma and Celta Vigo.
Here are the odds of the 10 teams behind the 8 favourites to make it top 8 in the league phase:
VfB Stuttgart – 2.60
Freiburg – 2.85
Lille – 2.85
Basel – 3.50
Feyenoord – 3.50
Celtic – 3.75
Fenerbahce – 4.00
Nice – 4.00
Braga – 4.00
RB Salzburg – 6.00
Opening Week Highlights
Below are some of this week’s highlights:
Nice – Roma (Wednesday at 21:00 CEST)
Real Betis – Nottingham Forest (Wednesday at 21:00 CEST)
Dinamo Zagreb – Fenerbahce (Wednesday at 21:00 CEST)
We can’t wait for the EL 25/26 campaign to get underway. You’ll find EL match odds and outrights here!
Last Updated: 22.09.2025
PS: Odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
