Betting: Back Emery to maintain his strong Europa League record with Arsenal

Having lifted the trophy for three consecutive years while at Sevilla, Unai Emery should be confident of more Europa League success in his first Arsenal campaign.

Drawn alongside Qarabag, Sporting CP and Vorskla in a relatively kind group, the Gunners offer strong value at 9/1 (10.00) with 888Sport to bring their new manager another winners’ medal this season.

However, Chelsea will begin the competition as 6/1 (7.00) favourites ahead of their London rivals, having finished as champions in their last appearance back in 2013.

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Unlike Emery, Maurizio Sarri has no track record of picking up silverware but his talented squad should at least make short work of a group that includes BATE, Vidi and PAOK.

While they have won the Champions League on seven occasions, Milan are priced at 13/1 (14.00) to add this trophy to their packed trophy cabinet for the first time in their history.

Having won the competition back in 1988, Bayer Leverkusen are the Bundesliga’s strongest contenders at 17/1 (18.00) to bring the title back to Germany, ahead of new pretenders RB Leipzig at 25/1 (26.00).

Meanwhile, Emery’s former club Sevilla are available at 18/1 (19.00) to add to their record haul of five Europa League trophies by winning the competition for the fourth time in six years.

Serie A teams dominated this tournament by winning it six times in seven seasons between 1989 and 1995, and Lazio can be backed at 25/1 (26.00) to finally return the trophy to Italy for the first time in 20 years.

Italian dominance has been replaced by Spanish as La Liga has provided the winner in nine of the last 15 seasons, and Real Betis and Villarreal are both on offer at 30/1 (31.00) to continue that trend this time out.

However, half of the winners over the last decade have not started the competition in the group stages at all, so the smart money may actually lie in backing the 7/5 (2.40) odds available on any of the Champions League dropouts emerging victorious once again.

Arsenal to win the Europa League at 9/1 (10,00) for a 1pt stake with 888Sport 888Sport