The giants of European football have been falling this season. However, could Real Betis and Inter Milan defeat two more in the coming days?

Odds courtesy of Betway. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Underdogs thriving across Europe this season

For most leagues in Europe, trophies are spoken for before the season begins. Usually, Manchester City claims the Premier League, Real Madrid or Barcelona take La Liga, Bayern Munich wins the Bundesliga, and PSG secures Ligue 1. Those sides are also favourites to secure their domestic cup competitions.

However, this season has been different. Liverpool won the Premier League, Newcastle secured the Carabao Cup, and Crystal Palace took the FA Cup. Also, Spurs were victorious in the Europa League, Bologna claimed the Coppa Italia, Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup, Napoli won Serie A, and Union SG topped the Belgian top-flight. What do all of them have in common? None were favourites to win any of those competitions.

Breaking up the usual hierarchy - particularly in England - opens up an opportunity for bettors. With two European finals approaching, there is potential for that trend to continue. With Chelsea in the Conference League final, they’ll find out firsthand how favouritism doesn’t guarantee success.

None of the major competitions in England this season were won by the pre-season favourites. Therefore, they won’t be taking anything for granted. The Blues were also the pre-tournament favourites to win the Conference League. So far, the bookmakers seem to be right, but they’ve been wrong on many occasions this season.

Whatever happens in the Champions League, an ‘underdog’ will win the competition. Neither PSG nor Inter Milan were the pre-tournament favourites. However, that’s been the case in other competitions, where the underdog has triumphed. Therefore, this will give Inter some hope ahead of Saturday’s final.

Should bettors ride the underdog trend?

That’s the million-dollar question ahead of these finals. History would suggest so, as a lot of the big competitions have been won by non-favoured sides. However, one-off games should be approached with caution, as anything is possible.

It’s easy to see why the bookmakers have priced up Chelsea as heavy favourites. They have won 11 of their 12 games in the main draw of this season’s Conference League. Therefore, Betis will need to make a significant effort to overcome Chelsea. 

Meanwhile, the Europa League final was won by the underdog, which serves as evidence that it’s possible. Two of the three prior Conference League finals were also won by the pre-game underdog, so there is hope for them. Given the strong trend of underdogs winning trophies, their price is definitely attractive.

Those backing Betis would be wise to bet on them to ‘lift the trophy’ rather than win the match. Although the odds will be slightly shorter, it's a much safer bet. Given their inferiority, they could sit in and force the game beyond 90 minutes. 

That’s also applicable in the Champions League. Italian teams are notorious for playing defensively and making matches difficult for their opponents. Inter are likely to follow that pattern against a PSG side that dominate possession. While their odds of lifting the trophy are just over evens, betting on them to win the tournament is safer than a 90-minute victory bet.

Inter should certainly be approached with caution, given PSG’s remarkable season. They’ve won three trophies as favourites this season and secured the Trophée des Champions, Coupe de France, and Ligue 1 titles.

The Parisians have been an exception to the underdog rule, and that’s something bettors should be wary of. Of course, in a one-off game, anything is possible. However, PSG have a strong record of winning big games this season, so bettors should definitely think hard before approaching Inter on this basis.