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Despite a strong English presence in the last eight of the competition, Al Hain-Cole fancies Benfica to enhance their enviable European pedigree by lifting the trophy in Amsterdam

The Champions League has raised a few question marks over the deteriorating quality of the Premier League, but in the other European tournament the picture is rather more positive.

With three English sides in the Europa League quarter-finals, there seems to be an excellent chance of the trophy ending up back in England for the first time since 2001.

Tottenham’s reward for narrowly squeezing past Inter is a quarter-final draw against rank outsiders Basel, whose outright price of 25/1 (26.00) with Bet Victor underlines how slim their chances are of becoming the first ever Swiss side to collect some continental silverware.

To win the Europa League
Odds from Bet Victor
Tottenham	5/2
Chelsea	5/2
Benfica	4/1
Lazio	6/1
Newcastle	14/1
Basel	25/1

With an eminently beatable opponent to contend with, Andre Villas-Boas’ men are available at 5/2 (3.50) to bring home the trophy he previously won with Porto.

Rafa Benitez also knows what it takes to win this competition, and his side Chelsea are joint 5/2 (3.50) favourites to follow up last season’s Champions League victory by triumphing in its less glamorous cousin.

First they must face a potentially tricky tie against Russian club Rubin Kazan, who have seen off holders Atletico Madrid and Levante in the previous two rounds, and are on offer at 14/1 (15.00) to go all the way.

Newcastle have been rather less fortunate than their compatriots in the draw, and a daunting quarter-final clash against Benfica makes them 14/1 (15.00) outsiders to pick up their first European trophy since an Intertoto Cup win in 2006.

Their Portuguese opponents have won all four games since dropping down from the Champions League, knocking out Bayer Leverkusen and Bordeaux with impressive ease.

The Eagles have not lost a competitive game in 32 matches, and with a supremely talented squad at their disposal, they seem to provide excellent value for money at 4/1 (5.00) to win the cup.

Lazio are the only unbeaten team to have been in the tournament since the beginning, and are available at 6/1 (7.00) to continue that unblemished record all the way to the very end.

The Italians face Fenerbahce in the last eight, and the Turks are on offer at 14/1 (15.00) to replicate rivals Galatasaray’s achievement of conquering this competition 13 years on.

BET

OF THE

DAY

VALUE BET

Benfica to win the Europa League at 4/1 (5.00) with Bet Victor

Sign up with Bet Victor for a free £25 bet

Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.

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