Europa League: Bettors prefer Arsenal to Man Utd for glory in 2022/23

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Will De Gea get a shot at Europa League redemption?

Ahead of the second round of Europa League matches Max Liu discusses Manchester United's bid to bounce back from defeat and the outright winner market for 2022/23...

Manchester United lost their opening Europa League match last week but they are still the second favourites to win the competition.

Arsenal, who are not playing this week because their match against PSV Eindhoven was postponed, are the tournament favourites at 6.05/1.

Bettors think the new look Gunners, for whom Gabriel Jesus has been a revelation since signing in the summer, can lift the trophy next May.

With Arsenal out of action this week, let's take a closer look at United's chances.

Reds backed to bounce back in Moldova

The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 by Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and head to Sheriff Tiraspol looking to bounce back on Thursday evening.

Bettors are confident Erik ten Hag's men will collect three points in Moldova, making them 1.241/4 to win the 17:45 kick-off.

Our match previewer Kevin Hatchard is not expecting the visitors to run riot though, so fans may have to be patient.

In the Premier League, however, United have won four consecutive matches, after losing their first two of the season, so if they can transfer some of that momentum to the Europa League they should win.

They will also play Cypriot club Omonia in the group stage.

Europa League could be stage for Ronaldo swansong

In the summer, Cristiano Ronaldo said he wanted to leave United for a club in the Champions League. But after Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Sporting Lisbon were all backed to sign him at various points, deadline day passed with the Portuguese megastar staying put at Old Trafford.

Last week's defeat to Sociedad was Ronaldo's first start for United since the 4-0 defeat to Brentford. It was also the first time Ronaldo had played in the Europa League since 2002 (when it was the UEFA Cup).

He is in a weaker position than he was in the summer, after Ten Hag chose Marcus Rashford to lead the line in the four consecutive Premier League wins, leaving Ronaldo on the bench.

There are rumours that Ronaldo may leave United for a lucrative deal at a Saudi Arabian club in January but, for now, the Europa League may be his best opportunity to shine.

That said, with United's match this weekend against Leeds postponed, Ten Hag may field his strongest side from the start against Sheriff. At the moment that doesn't involve Ronaldo, but he is still odds-on to score and 2/1 to be the game's first goalscorer.

That is because Rashford is a doubt due to injury. It is also because Ronaldo still steps on to a football field determined to prove himself and he is still a lethal finisher.

In 2017, another veteran striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, played a major role when United won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in his first season at Old Trafford. Red Devils fans hoped that trophy would be the first of many in a new era. Back then, further success failed to materialise, but Ten Hag could still target Europa League glory in 2022/23 as a building block for bigger things.

Roma the biggest threat to English clubs

The Europa League winner market is always complicated by the way the teams that finish third in their Champions League groups drop into it.

However, last season's winners, Eintracht Frankfurt, were in the Europa from the outset. As were Villarreal when they won in 2020/21, beating United on the penalties in the final after David de Gea's decisive miss.

At the moment, Roma 14.013/1 are considered the biggest threat to Arsenal and United.

The Italian side suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Bulgarian champions Ludogorets last Thursday but such is their manager Mourinho's record in this competition that bettors are taking them seriously.

The Portuguese has won it twice and steered Roma to Europa Conference League glory a few months ago.

In his preview, Kevin backs them to overcome HJK Helsinki on Thursday, with new signing Paulo Dybala playing a key role.

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