Europa League: Betting Update

It’s really beginning to hot up in the UEFA Europa League, and with the next round's matches due to be played on the 7th and 14th of March it’s time to start thinking about how to use some of the free bet offers that bookies offer for those betting on this years Europa League.

The Europa League, previously called the UEFA Cup, is an annual competition that’s been around since 1971 and is the second most prestigious European club football contest.

It's also a great opportunity to make use bookies betting offers that they tend to give away at this stage of the tournament. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.

The competition has been won by 26 different clubs, 12 of which have won the title more than once. The most successful clubs in the competition’s history are Juventus, Inter Milan and Liverpool with three titles apiece.

But since the tournament changed its name and structure back in 2009 to the Europa League, no club has managed consecutive wins and is definitely something to consider if you want a decent return on the free bets offers you place.

Europa League Betting Offers

With 16 teams still in play, qualification is complicated but the two legs in Round 15 should offer plenty of opportunities to use one or two of the bookies' free bet offers.

As mentioned earlier, the next opportunity for Europa League betting starts on 7th March so there's plenty of time to take the bookies up on a range of free bets.

There’s bound to be plenty of excitement and there's already been a few surprises. If you backed Atletico Madrid to win Europa League 2013 then think again. The current holders are out of the competition despite winning 1-0 away at Rubin Kazan.

Falcao scored their only goal, but it wasn’t enough and they went out 2-1 on aggregate.

This time around the Europa League has seen its first ever penalty shoot-out, outside of the qualifying rounds, with Steaua Bucharest seeing off early favourites Ajax.

Inter Milan are going through a bit of a crisis, but they’re in the last 16 so you still might want to use a betting offer and place a bet on them if you like the look of their odds. In another surprise, Liverpool went out on away goals despite a 3-1 win over Zenit St Petersburg.

So, with no Liverpool and no Atletico Madrid just where do you put your money when placing free bet offers in the next round of UEFA Europa League betting?

Europa League Betting Odds

Well, you might want to think about claiming some free bets on new favourites Chelsea who are through to the next round after taking out Sparta Prague. Helped by Atletico Madrid's surprise exit, last year's Champions League winners are now 3/1 at Ladbrokes.

Tottenham are second favourites at 9/1 after securing their place in the last 16 with a 1-1 draw in France thanks to a late strike by Dembele, giving them a 3-2 win over Lyon.

It really is wide open. Benfica, Zenit St Petersburg, Anzhi Makhachkala, Benfica, are all in the running at under 10/1, with Inter Milan available at 11/1. Newcastle have longer odds, but if you fancy a decent return on your free bet they might be worth a flutter.

There’s still a long way to go in the competition, but there are plenty of Europa League betting offers available at most bookies; match win/draw, first/last goalscorer or total goals moneyback offers or the main market of who will go on to win the final at the Amsterdam Arena on May 15.

With so many types of free bet offers available at the bookies we've reviewed, why not see if you can come out on top along with the final 16 when Europa League betting!