The 2024/25 elite European football season is drawing to a close, but there is still plenty to play for right across the continent. In Italy, Inter Milan and Napoli look set to take their title fight down to the wire, with the latter trailing the reigning champions by just three points with just a handful of games remaining. Then, there’s the small matter of UEFA’s three premier club competitions, namely the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, all of which have reached their quarterfinal stage.
But outside of the races for silverware, more nuanced battles are taking place across Europe at the moment. In England, the race to secure a spot in the top five and seal a spot in next season’s Champions League is an absolute thriller, with five teams between third and seventh in the table separated by just three points. There is a similar battle underway in Germany’s Bundesliga, with Eintracht Frankfurt in third and Werder Bremen way down in tenth separated by only nine points.
With these respective races reaching their apex, as well as the sheer number of teams still in with a shot of securing their spot in Europe next term, it will come as no surprise to hear that some outfits are currently overachieving and punching well above their weight. For punters, this presents a unique opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and continue cashing in on such teams – usually at inflated odds compared to the heavyweights at the top of the table – throughout the latter weeks of the season. Here are two teams you should be looking at.
Athletic Bilbao
Basque outfit Athletic Bilbao are currently flying high in La Liga this season. A recent come-from-behind 3-1 victory against Rayo Vallecano has strengthened their stranglehold on fourth place in the table, with the result putting them six points clear of the chasing pack.
Not only that, but websites offering online betting also make the Lions a frontrunner to secure the Europa League this season as well. The latest football odds from popular online betting sites have earmarked Bilbao as the 5/2 favorite to win Europe’s secondary competition this term. And, not that they needed it, but the overperforming side has plenty of motivation to reach the final as the big game will be hosted in their San Mames home. That presents them with the opportunity to not only win a European competition for the first time but also do it in front of their raucous home supporters.
Both on the continental stage and domestically, Ernesto Valverde’s side has plenty of opportunities to continue in their winning ways. In Europe, they face Rangers in the second leg of their quarterfinal, and they should certainly manage to get the job done and progress to the final four. There, they will meet either Lyon or Manchester United, and should it be the latter, Bilbao may well be considered the underdogs, but considering the opposing trajectories of the two teams this term, we would fancy them to progress past the Red Devils, and they may well do so at lengthier odds than one might expect.
In La Liga, Bilbao’s odds will also be bloated with bookmakers anticipating some form of a European hangover courtesy of their continental commitments. Expect them to pick up victories in home clashes against Las Palmas and Alaves, as well as on the road against Getafe.
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United are in the midst of perhaps their finest campaign in decades. They have already secured their first major piece of silverware in some 70 years by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final at Wembley back in February. That ensured that the Magpies will be in the Conference League at the very least next season, but they are far from satisfied with just that and are aiming to secure a spot in the top five for the second time in three seasons.
On current form, they may well do it. The Toon are the form team in the Premier League at present. They have reeled off four straight victories including, most recently, a 4-1 drubbing against Manchester United at St James’ Park on April 13th. That has seen them rise to fifth in the table, one point behind a Manchester City team that was considered the best the world had ever seen just two years ago, with high-flying Nottingham Forest a point further adrift.
In the coming weeks, Newcastle have plenty of games that they will be expecting to win. For home games against an improving Crystal Palace and soon-to-be-relegated Ipswich Town, they will be well-fancied to emerge victorious. They will, however, be at longer odds for their trip to the South Coast to face Brighton, as well as their visit to Stamford Bridge for a heavyweight clash against Chelsea. The Magpies could win both of those and many more before the season is over, and much like Bilbao, they will be well-priced to do so.
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