The Favourites

Italian duo might be distracted

Serie A giants Milan and Juventus top the betting in the Winner market at 7/18.00, but I'm not convinced backing either team at that price represents value.

Inter Milan made big changes in the summer, as club supremo Gerry Cardinale dispensed with the services of coach Max Allegri, sporting director Igli Tare and CEO Giorgio Furlani. Cardinale has taken a much more hands-on role, and coach Ruben Amorim has more power than he ever did at Manchester United.

The Rossoneri spent big money on PSG centre-forward Gonçalo Ramos, highly-rated Spanish defender Mario Gila came in from Lazio, Nottingham Forest speedster Omari Hutchinson has arrived on loan and talented attacker Diego Moreira has been recruited from Strasbourg.

The priority for Milan has to be Champions League qualification, after last season's title charge turned into a dismal failure to even make the top four. Amorim did reach the final of this competition with Manchester United, but then lost an awful final to Tottenham in Bilbao.

Juventus are perhaps a more secure option, but not at that price. Coach Luciano Spalletti has had more time to settle in, and he has publicly declared that the Bianconeri will push for Europa League success.

However, the Turin giants have a fairly dismal recent record in Europe. They haven't made the Champions League quarter-finals since 2019, and although they did reach the semi-finals of the Europa League last time they were in it, they suffered an agonising extra-time defeat to Sevilla.

As has often been the case for Juventus recently, there's a big question regarding who can effectively spearhead the attack. Lois Openda, Jonathan David and Dusan Vlahovic have all left, and the first two made little impact in their sole season in Turin.

Of the current crop, Randal Kolo Muani has a point to prove after being jettisoned by PSG, Nick Woltemade's confidence has been dented by a poor season at Newcastle, and Arkadiusz Milik's recent years have been littered with injuries.

The English Trio

Tough fixtures for Cherries' league phase

There are three Premier League clubs in the league phase, and all are united by the fact that if you'd asked their fans five years ago whether they thought they'd be in Europe in the near future, they'd have looked at you as if you were winding them up.

Bournemouth (10/111.00 in the Winner market) qualified despite losing a slew of key players, and then miracle-working coach Andoni Iraola defected to Liverpool. His replacement Marco Rose plays similar high-press, high-energy, direct football, and he has plenty of European experience from his days at Salzburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

Bournemouth still have some outstanding talent at their disposal. Alex Scott is one of the most sought-after central midfielders in the Premier League, Brazil international winger Rayan is hugely exciting, Adrien Truffert has quietly become one of the most effective left-backs in English football.

In attack, Eli Kroupi will provide a huge boost when he returns from a foot injury, and Evanilson is a dependable figure who'll work hard with and without the ball.

Bournemouth do have a tricky fixture list, with trips to Real Sociedad, Celta and Sparta Prague as well as a home game against Milan, but they can at least make the top 24, and those matches could sharpen them up for what's to come in the knockout rounds.

Departures and disruption to hinder Eagles chances

Crystal Palace have the recent experience of winning the Conference League, but I can't get excited about backing them here at 14/115.00. Inspirational coach Oliver Glasner has gone, as have key players like rampaging wing-back Daniel Munoz and commanding centre-back Maxence Lacroix.

To make matters worse, striker Jean-Philippe Mateta had a dispute with the club as he sought to dissolve his contract, and the influential Ismaila Sarr is disgruntled after Palace proved him out of moves to Galatasaray and Liverpool.

New Eagles coach Pierre Sage worked wonders at Lens last season, leading the Blood and Gold to the Coupe de France and a runners-up spot in Ligue 1. However, it just feels too early in his reign to be taking a serious shot at winning this trophy.

Black Cats the best value of English sides

Sunderland are a fascinating wild card at 18/119.00. Regis Le Bris stunned everyone by leading the Black Cats into Europe in their first campaign, and surprisingly they have been able to strengthen their squad.

Explosive winger Malick Fofana was a superb signing from Lyon, a player that was linked to Arsenal the morning of transfer deadline day before Sunderland won a tug-of-war with Crystal Palace. Key performers like keeper Robin Roefs, midfield general Granit Xhaka and burly striker Brian Brobbey all remain.

Sunderland's draw gives them a genuine chance of making the top eight, and no-one is going to want to visit the Stadium of Light on a big European 18/119.00 feels like a generous price to me and of the three English teams in this competition, they feel like the most attractive bet.

Best of the Rest

Can Silva deliver glory for Portuguese giants?

Fulham are quickly discovering that Marco Silva papered over plenty of cracks during his long tenure as manager, and I believe the talented Portuguese tactician now has a great platform to show his quality at Benfica.

Aside from a clumsy defeat to St Gallen in the UEL qualifiers and an opening draw against Viseu in the league, Benfica haven't had many slip-ups, and they have dropped just two points across their first five Primeira Liga games.

Given that Benfica reached the knockout phase of the Champions League and that they have accrued plenty of European experience in recent years, I think they are an attractive bet to win this at 18/119.00.

Anatoliy Trubin is an excellent goalkeeper, the versatile Fredrik Aursnes is the ultimate Swiss Army knife of a player, the acquisition of tackling machine Joao Palhinha in midfield is a genuine coup, and Vangelis Pavlidis is a dependable source of goals.

The talent doesn't stop there. Wildcard striker Jhon Duran can be a big success if he stays out of trouble and manages to focus, Norwegian winger Andreas Schjelderup was superb at the World Cup, and the diminutive Claudio Echeverri is a fascinating loan pickup from Manchester City.

Benfica has the squad depth and the coaching chops to go all the way here, and I'll add them in as a second selection in the Winner market.

Scottish champions out of their depth

Celtic's price of [80/1] feels about right.

They completely blew their chance of making the Champions League's league phase, throwing away a four-goal aggregate lead against LASK, and there's little to suggest Martin O'Neill's side are capable of consistently competing with the big hitters in this competition.

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