Having won two of UEFA’s three club competitions last season, Premier League teams are eyeing even more success in Europe this time around.
Most of England’s representatives are well-placed to progress to the knockout stage, setting up the possibility of them completing a clean sweep of trophies this season.
With that in mind, we look at how the Premier League’s representatives have been faring in Europe, starting with the quartet of Champions League teams.
Manchester City Aiming to Retain the Champions League
Manchester City won the Champions League for the first time in their history last season and are eager to make it back-to-back successes this term.
Pep Guardiola’s side have already booked their place in the last-16 with two games to spare and will fancy their chances of retaining the prestigious trophy.
Online bookmakers rate them as 2/1 favourites to get the job done and it would be a brave move to wager on any of their rivals stopping them given the talent in their squad.
Last season’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal may have something to say about that having invested heavily in new players during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners are on course to win Group B ahead of PSV Eindhoven, Lens and Sevilla and could prove to be troublesome to Man City if their paths cross in the competition.
Manchester United have got themselves into a pickle in Group A, with one victory in four matches leaving them bottom of the standings.
However, victories over Galatasaray (A) and Bayern Munich (H) in their final two games should be enough to send the Red Devils through to the knockout stage.
Newcastle have dropped to the bottom of Group F after successive defeats against Borussia Dortmund and they look likely to miss out on progressing to the last-16.
Ireland Striker Hoping to Make His Mark in the Europa League
Brighton & Hove Albion have bounced back from losing their opening Group B game in the Europa League to put themselves in a good position to progress to the knockout stage.
They were defeated 3-2 by AEK Athens in their first match, before taking a point from their visit to Marseille. Two subsequent wins against Ajax moved them up to second place in the group.
Young Irish striker Evan Ferguson has yet to make his mark in the Europa League, with manager Roberto De Zerbi handing him just 53 minutes of game time in the last three matches.
The Republic of Ireland star has been in fine form in the Premier League, netting five goals in 11 appearances, and will likely get his chance to shine in the final two group games.
Many Irish punters will be watching Brighton’s progress with interest after wagering heavily on them in the outright market over the past few weeks.
Several new online bookmakers in the Emerald Isle have reported a flood of money for Brighton as bettors look to latch on to the hype surrounding Ferguson.
Elsewhere in the competition, Liverpool and West Ham United have also come in for support from punters after taking control of their respective groups.
Both teams have collected nine points from the four group games and are well placed to book their places in the knockout phase of the Europa League.
Aston Villa Hoping to Enhance Unai Emery’s Remarkable European Record
Aston Villa are the Premier League’s sole representative in the Europa Conference League and are well on course to make progress from Group E.
Villa kicked off their campaign with a 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw, but recovered to claim a narrow 1-0 home victory over Zrinjski in their second outing.
A pair of wins against AZ Alkmaar has moved Unai Emery’s side level on points with Legia at the top of the group and they should have little difficulty going through to the next round.
Villa’s transformation since Emery replaced Steven Gerrard as manager last October has been remarkable, and it would be no surprise to see them win this competition.
The Midlands outfit looked destined for relegation under the former Liverpool midfielder, but Emery has proved to an inspired replacement.
Emery guided Villa up to seventh in the Premier League last season, and they have continued their upwards trajectory during the current campaign.
They are currently fifth in the league, just three points behind reigning champions Man City, and are being touted as possible contenders for Champions League qualification.
Odds of 4/1 to win the Europa Conference League look great value given Emery has previously won four European trophies with Sevilla and Villarreal.
