The Europa League is seen as the poorer relation of the two European competitions but always provides excitement and there are two outstanding semi-final ties to look forward to.
United’s Luck Could Run Out
First up on Sunday, record five-time winners Sevilla will look to back up their win over Wolves by taking out 2017 champions Manchester United.
The Red Devils are the 9/5 second favourites to win the tournament and have found a happy knack of grinding out results. Their 1-0 quarter-final victory over Copenhagen was nervy, requiring a 21st penalty of the season to squeak through in extra time.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looked content afterwards and seemed to reject talk of fatigue in his squad but there is no doubt that some of his stars were treading water at times against the Danes.
Super Sevilla Know How to Win
In contrast, Sevilla kept going hard until Lucas Ocampos finally headed the only goal of their 1-0 win over Wolves and their status as Europa League specialists makes them handy at 3/1 to win the tournament.
While they rode their luck, Raul Jimenez missing a first-half penalty, they were the better side and will happily take the game to United.
Julen Lopetegui’s first season at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan seems to have restored his reputation and his team’s stylish play helped them finish fourth in La Liga.
A win here is a tempting price at 39/20 when you consider Los Rojiblancos are unbeaten in their last 19 games. They have also kept clean sheets in seven of their last eight and they are 3/1 to win to zero, while a 1-0 Sevilla victory is 7/1.
Can Conte Win Another Trophy?
Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte has a stunning record in recent years, winning trophies in each of his last five seasons as a club manager.
After finishing second to Juventus in Serie A, the Nerazzurri are the 8/5 favourites to win the Europa League and were the dominant team in their 2-1 quarter-final win over Bayer Leverkusen.
They are the frontrunners to win the Europa League but will not have it easy on Monday against 2009 winners Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Miners were fabulous in smashing Basel 4-1 in the quarter-finals and as ever appear to possess the right mix of solid Ukrainian stars and flashy Brazilian imports.
Expect Goals on Monday
That combination has seen Shakhtar score seven times in their last two games, Junior Moraes netting twice in that time and he is 37/20 to score at anytime.
Luis Castro’s side are likely to attack from the off and that could open up gaps for Romelu Lukaku and Inter’s other forwards to exploit, with the Ukrainian champion’s main weaknesses seen to be defensive ones.
Conte’s side are well drilled but they too like to push forward so expect chances at both ends.
However, on paper, the Italians look the better side and a Nerazzurri win and both to score is 2/1.
*All odds correct at time of writing
