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UEFA Europa League: The English Candidates

English football teams were hugely successful in European competitions last season. Liverpool and Tottenham reached the Champions League final, while Arsenal and Chelsea went head-to-head for the Europa League. Will history repeat itself this season or will the English sides struggle on the continent?

Bonusbets.com believes that a handful of English teams could be involved in the latter stages of the Europa League. Manchester United are the current favourites to win the competition, but can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team go all the way? On the other hand, will Arsenal reach back-to-back finals or will Wolves surprise everyone?

We’ll weigh up each team’s chances of success during this Europa League preview. A handful of group games have already been played, so we have a better understanding of how things are likely to unfold. Let’s get down to business and take a closer look at the English candidates.

Manchester United

The Red Devils won this competition in 2017 after beating Ajax 2-0 in the final. What’s more, they have made a strong start to this season’s campaign. They picked up all three points against FC Astana at Old Trafford in their opening group game. Having said that, Solskjaer’s men should have wrapped the game up much earlier than what they did. The hosts had to rely on a late winner from teenage sensation Mason Greenwood.

Man Utd aren’t as formidable as they once were. Teams used to be afraid of them, but since Alex Ferguson retired, the mood around Old Trafford has been sombre. Utd have fallen down the pecking order of England’s elite teams. Despite what the bookies think, we don’t believe they’ll win the competition. They could, however, reach the semi-finals.

Arsenal

Arsenal usually perform extremely well in this tournament. The Gunners made it to Baku for last season’s final but were comprehensively beaten by Chelsea on the night. They picked up maximum points against Eintracht Frankfurt in September, but there’s still plenty of work to do. Unai Emery’s men have a couple of tricky games to navigate in the coming months.

The Gunners are suited to knockout football. They often blood their younger players in the Europa League which could be a problem if they reach the latter stages. Having said that, most of the leading bookmakers make them the second favourites. We think they have a great chance of going one step further than last season.

Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers playing European football is a fairytale. However, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side deserves to be here, make no mistake about it. They put in a series of magnificent performances in the Premier League last season. They were one of the most exciting teams in England.

Their Europa League campaign didn’t get off to the best start. Wolves lost 1-0 to Braga at Molineux, but there’s still plenty of time for them to put things right. It won’t be an easy journey, but we believe they can make it out of their group. We’re backing Wolves to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.