The fifth edition of Uefa’s third-tier club competition, the Conference League, begins on Thursday, with 36 teams hoping to succeed last season’s winners Chelsea.
Crystal Palace are the Premier League’s sole representative while Aberdeen fly the flag for Scotland. They will be joined in the league phase by League of Ireland pair Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne.
Each team play six group games before the top 24 enter the knockout phase, which mirrors the format used in the Champions League and Europa League. The two teams left standing after all that will meet at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on May 27 for the right to be crowned champions.
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Conference League betting tips & predictions
Best bet
Strasbourg
2pts 7-1 general
Conference League preview
An English team has won two of the four editions of the Conference League, so it is little surprise that Crystal Palace, the only Premier League club in this season’s competition, are favourites to join West Ham and Chelsea on the roll of honour.
Oliver Glasner’s Eagles boast the only unbeaten record in the Premier League after beating champions Liverpool at the weekend, and having won the FA Cup and Community Shield already this year, Palace have a thirst for success as they prepare to embark on their maiden European voyage.
Oliver Glasner won the Europa League with Eintracht FrankfurtCredit: Alex Grimm
Changes have weakened tournament
Palace’s cause has definitely been helped by Uefa’s shake-up of its three club competitions last season because the standard of the Conference League is significantly weaker now clubs from the Europa League are not parachuted into the third-tier competition at the knockout stage.
There are also a number of relative continental minnows among the 36 teams, giving those at the front of the market a much greater chance of success.
Last season’s Conference League went to form as ante-post favourites Chelsea and Real Betis, who were third in most bookmakers’ lists, duly met in the final.
Youngsters can power Strasbourg to glory
Chelsea’s owners, BlueCo, celebrated a 4-1 victory over Betis in the title decider and they may be doing so again next May, albeit courtesy of a different source.
Ligue 1 Strasbourg are in the same ownership group as Chelsea and look to have an excellent chance of continuing their sharp upwards trajectory.
Liam Rosenior has a squad littered with talented youngsters, such as Julio Enciso, Valentin Barco, Kendry Paez and Emanuel Emegha, and Strasbourg, who have an average squad age of just 21.4, are improving at a rate of knots.
The club from the Alsace finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season – but that tells only half the story. After a slow start, Strasbourg lost only once in 19 games before back-to-back defeats at the end of the campaign saw them finish just four points behind third-placed Monaco.
Strasbourg have begun the season with four wins from their first six league matches and recorded a 3-2 aggregate win over Brondby in qualifying for the Conference League.
Rosenior is a manager going places and his impressive young squad, which could be added to in January, look like one of the few class acts in a competition lacking depth.
Joaquin Panichelli has made a bright start to his Strasbourg careerCredit: Getty Images
Question marks about tournament’s depth
Conference League specialists Fiorentina, runners-up in 2023 and 2024, are second in the betting but the Italians have endured a dismal start to the campaign under new manager Stefano Pioli.
Rayo Vallecano have also been slow out of the blocks but the La Liga outfit could be dangerous under young boss Inigo Perez if getting into gear as the season progresses.
However, it’s difficult to see too many other teams having a say at the business end considering how the clubs from the elite domestic leagues have dominated the Conference League since its inception.
2025-26 Conference League betting odds
Sign up with Ladbrokes to bet on the 2025-26 Conference League. Here are the latest odds to lift the trophy.
Europa League winnerOddsCrystal Palace9-2Fiorentina5-1Strasbourg7-1Shakhtar Donetsk9-1Rayo Vallecano9-1Mainz10-1AZ Alkmaar11-1AEK Athens20-1Dynamo Kyiv20-1Bar25-1
Odds correct at time of publishing
Want more top football betting advice? Make sure you take a look at Racing Post Sport’s tips for more of the latest picks from our experts.
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