About the Europa League
The UEFA Europa League, which comes into effect from the 2009/10 season, is the newest version of the UEFA Cup and will see the introduction of a new competition format in an attempt to increase the popularity of Europe’s ‘second’ cup.
The Europa League is expected to encompass 193 teams and runs from July 2nd 2009 to the final in the HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg, on 12th May 2010. The most significant structural change is the introduction of a group stage comprising 12 banks of 4, as opposed to the old system which had 8 groups of 5. This allows each side in the group to play both home and away fixtures against each of the other 3 clubs in their group. The 8 clubs who finished 3rd from the Champions League group stages will join the competition when the 1st knockout round begins, the draw for which is held on 18th December 2009.
Only one British club in the last 25 years has won the Europa League in any guise (Liverpool in 2001) but there are several UK entrants for the 2009/10 competition. Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham are representing the Premier League, with Hearts coming from the SPL.
When betting on the Europa League, clubs from Russia and Spain are worth particularly strong consideration: these two nations have won 5 of the last 6 between them. Last year, the trophy was won by Shakhtar Donetsk, who defeated Werder Bremen 2-1 after extra-time in Istanbul, Turkey.