Arsenal and Chelsea are back in Europa League action tonight with both London clubs already safely through into the knockout stages. However, things are about to get a whole lot more tricky for the Premier League sides as the third-placed Champions League teams join the fray in the knockout stages and we have picked out the three teams who will challenge the English boys for the trophy.
Napoli
Carlo Ancelotti’s men are on paper the strongest team to drop into the Europa League after losing to Liverpool at Anfield when they could have topped the group. A strong team featuring players such as Marek Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens and managed by one of the top gaffers in Europe, they can beat any team on their day.
The only sour note on this Napoli side is the shoddy performances they put in last season in the Europa League last season as they chased the Serie A title.
They went out to RB Leipzig on away goals in the first knockout round last season having played an incredibly weakened side in the first leg defeat. Napoli currently lie second in Serie A but they are already eight points off Juventus, who look set for another success this season. A shaky bet at 9/1 given last season’s performance.
Inter Milan
Another Serie A side packed with quality is Inter Milan. Mauro Icardi is one of the best strikers in Europe and they were minutes away from qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League, but a late Lucas Moura goal sent Spurs through instead. One concern for Inter would be that poor performance against PSV where three points would have seen the safely through.
Currently sitting third in the league they are another side who are unlikely to win the league but are likely to finish in the Champions League places in Italy. It is difficult to know how seriously Inter will take this competition but 16/1 is a good price for a quality side.
Valencia
A side sitting just outside the relegation zone in Spain may not be your first choice for European glory this season but they have got what it takes to go deep into the competition. They are likely to finish somewhere in midtable in La Liga which means they can go all out in the Europa League and attempt to win the competition in order to qualify for Europe.
Beating Manchester United will have given them confidence and the 20/1 on them to win the competition could prove to be a huge price for an unpredictable team.
Chelsea are still the favourites followed by Arsenal but the two sides will have to work incredibly hard if they are to keep themselves in this competition. Those Thursday night games could take their toll.