The group stage of European competitions begins with the Champions League on September 16, followed by the Europa League one week later, while the Conference League kicks off in the first week of October. On the occasion of these competitions’ start, Kaizen Gaming – the Greek company that has established itself internationally in the GameTech sector – published data from its online betting and gaming platform operating in 19 countries, revealing which teams players prefer most to win each competition.
In the Conference League, AEK appears – alongside Fiorentina – in second place among the most “backed” choices to win the trophy, behind only Crystal Palace. Specifically, they account for 25% of related bets, indicating that the international audience considers it realistic for another Greek team to lift the Conference League trophy, following Olympiacos’ triumph in the 2023-24 season. High up in the audience’s preferences are both PAOK and Panathinaikos regarding winning the Europa League. The two teams are almost “tied” with Porto in 4th place on the related Europa League list, with the Thessaloniki side having gathered 6.79% of related bets and the Greens 6.74%.
As for Olympiacos, despite the strength of their Champions League opponents, they manage to be in the top 10, specifically in 9th place, with 1.39%. While this percentage may not seem very large, the Greek champions leave behind in user preferences “giants” such as Atletico Madrid (0.76%), Inter Milan (0.61%), and Borussia Dortmund (0.28%).
Top 5 public predictions for each competition in detail:
Champions League predictions:
- Faith that the trophy will be dressed in “blaugrana”: Although this summer was quite quiet transfer-wise for Barcelona, the Catalans are by far the second most popular choice for winning the Champions League, with a percentage exceeding 40%. It seems that with Lamine Yamal now having come of age (he turned 18 last July), fans expect even greater things from the young superstar. Real Madrid follows distantly in second place (14%), while Liverpool is third (13%). The top five is completed by current European champions Paris Saint-Germain (8%) and Bayern Munich (5%). Olympiacos is in ninth place with 1.39%.
Europa League predictions:
- Three teams lead the race: One Italian and two English teams stand out as fans’ top choices to win the Europa League. These are Roma (22%), Nottingham Forest (21%), and Aston Villa (18%). Just last season, two English teams clashed in the Europa League final, Tottenham and Manchester United. Could we see another English final this year, this time between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa? Beyond that, Porto (6.82%), PAOK (6.79%), Panathinaikos (6.74%), and Real Betis (6.63%) are very close together from 4th to 7th place in user preferences.
Conference League predictions:
- Crystal Palace becomes favorite by default: While Crystal Palace may be disappointed, as the team was “relegated” from the Europa League to the Conference League for off-field reasons, this transfer makes them favorites to win the Conference League, at least according to fan choices. Specifically, Crystal Palace has gathered almost 1/3 of the bets (32%). In second place, there’s essentially a tie between Fiorentina (25.13%) and AEK (25.10%). The top five is completed by Shakhtar Donetsk (4%), who were knocked out of the Europa League by Panathinaikos, and Rayo Vallecano (3.5%).
