Europa League Predictions: Barcelona favourites to lift the trophy, could West Ham or Rangers upset the odds?

With just eight teams left in UEFA’s second-tier club competition, we are on a mission to offer our 2021/22 Europa League predictions.

Barcelona are strongly fancied to lift the trophy. They will be confident of at least reaching the last four after being paired with Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.

The winners of that tie will face either West Ham United or Lyon in the semi-finals, both of whom will believe they can lift the trophy.

The other half of the quarter-final draw features potentially one of the most exciting Europa League fixtures this season as RB Leipzig go head-to-head with Atalanta.

Whoever progresses from the tie will be confident of reaching the final, with only Braga or Rangers standing in their way of a trip to Seville.

Rangers have been a revelation in the Europa League this term and could be a good bet to continue their journey by beating the Portuguese side.

However, whichever team makes it through to the last four will find it tough to defeat either Leipzig or Atalanta over two legs.

Our preference to reach the final is Atalanta, who dropped into this competition after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Manchester United and Villarreal.

They have subsequently beaten Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen to progress to the quarter-finals and should have the know-how to go all the way.

A potential clash with Barcelona on May 18 is an intriguing prospect, but we believe the La Liga giants will be an extremely tough nut to crack.

Europa League Predictions

• Europa League winners: Barcelona.
• Runners-up: Atalanta.

Check out our Football Predictions for 2022 page as we assess how things will unfold in other major leagues and competitions in Europe.