The fifth edition of the UEFA Conference League gets underway on Thursday. So, we’ll take a closer look at the UEFA Conference League futures before the competition starts.
Chelsea defeated Real Betis 4-1 in the 2025 Conference League Final. So, English clubs (Chelsea, West Ham) have won two of the four Conference League titles, and there’s another English team who are favorites this time around.
We’ll get to that and the rest of the Conference League Futures odds in our article. Once we go through the odds board and discuss some of the teams to keep an eye on, we’ll share our best bet for the upcoming campaign.
UEFA Conference League Futures: Top Contenders
Crystal Palace won their first major trophy a few months ago, when they defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup Final. They were originally scheduled to participate in the Europa League but were demoted to the Conference League due to breaches of multi-club ownership rules.
Palace are undefeated to start the season and recently handed Liverpool their first loss of the 2025-26 campaign. Manager Oliver Glasner led Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League title just over three years ago and has consistently overachieved.
It’s no surprise Palace are +500 favorites to win the UEFA Conference League, even after losing Eberechi Eze
This will be Fiorentina’s fourth straight appearance in the UEFA Conference League. In 2023 and 2024, the Viola made the Final but lost in the Semifinals to Real Betis last time around.
They’re yet to win a Serie A match this season, but still have a ton of experience with players like David de Gea and Edin Dzeko. Moise Kean is the key man to watch for the Viola, but he’s yet to find the net this season. The UEFA Conference League futures odds currently list Fiorentina at +550.
BlueCo owns both Chelsea and Strasbourg (+750), which is why Ben Chilwell made the move to France. Apart from Chilwell, Strasbourg have the youngest team in Europe’s top five leagues, and their lack of experience could hurt them.
Dark Horses Part 1
This is just Rayo Vallecano’s second appearance in European football. They don’t have the same attacking firepower as some of the other teams on this list. However, winger Jorge de Frutos recently made his debut for the Spanish national team. Rayo are at +950 odds to take home the Conference League title.
Shakhtar Donetsk (+1000) are frequent participants in the Champions League. They’re also the first team on this list outside of the top five European leagues, and a very strong side. Shakhtar have played 16 games this season, in all competitions, and haven’t lost a single one.
Arda Turan’s Shakhtar, from Ukraine, are at a disadvantage playing their home UEFA matches on Polish soil, but they’re still capable of making a deep run.
The UEFA Conference League futures odds list Dutch side AZ Alkmaar at +1200 odds to win the title. AZ have made three previous appearances in the Conference League and reached the Semis in 2023. Their road record in UEFA competitions leaves a lot to be desired, though.
Mainz (+1200) will be dreaming of reaching the Conference League Final, which is at Germany’s Red Bull Arena. They have quite a clear path to the round of 16, but they’ve won just one of their first five Bundesliga matches to start the season. So, they could struggle against some of the top sides in this competition.
Longshots
No other team in the competition is at shorter than +2500 UEFA Conference League futures odds. While teams from Europe’s top five leagues have won this competition three of four times, Olympiacos did shock Aston Villa and Fiorentina en route to the 2024 title. So, don’t completely count the longshots out.
AEK Athens (+2500), Olympiacos’ rivals, are off to an unbeaten start to their season. They tend not to concede many goals and could surprise a team or two in the knockout stages.
Dynamo Kyiv (+2500), on the other hand, have conceded in 11 of their last 12 games. Young winger Nazar Voloshyn is the player to watch for the Ukrainian side.
Samsunspor (+2500) finished in third place in last season’s Turkish Super Lig behind Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. However, their league phase schedule, which includes Legia Warsaw, Dynamo Kyiv, Mainz, and AEK Athens, is by no means easy.
Sparta Prague (+2500) may have some talented players but they have won only one of their last 19 games against teams from top five European leagues.
Rapid Vienna (+3000) reached the Quarterfinals of last season’s Conference League, but have a new manager, Peter Stoger.
Legia Warsaw also made the Quarters last season, where they fell 4-2 to Chelsea on aggregate. Poland has a record four clubs in the Conference League, with Lech Poznan (+4000), Bialystok (+4000), and Rakow Czestochowa (+4000) also in the mix.
UEFA Conference League Futures: Full Odds Board
- Crystal Palace +500
- Fiorentina +550
- Strasbourg +750
- Rayo Vallecano +950
- Shakhtar Donetsk +1000
- AZ Alkmaar +1200
- Mainz +1200
- AEK Athens +2500
- Dynamo Kyiv +2500
- Samsunspor +2500
- Sparta Prague +2500
- Rapid Vienna +3000
- Legia Warsaw +3000
- Lech Poznan +4000
- Bialystok +4000
- Rakow +4000
- CS U Craiova +5000
- BK Hacken +6600
- FC Lausanne-Sport +8000
- Slovan Bratislava +10000
- AEK Larnaca +10000
- Omonia Nicosia +10000
- NK Celje +15000
- Sigma Olomouc +15000
- Aberdeen +20000
- Zrinjski +25000
- HNK Rijeka +25000
- Shamrock Rovers +50000
- Noah +50000
- Breidablik +50000
Conference League Best Bet, Analysis
Arda Turan’s short managerial career has been quite successful. The former Turkish international led Eyupspor to promotion in his first full season in charge and then guided them to a sixth-place finish in their first-ever Turkish Super Lig season.
In 16 games as Shakhtar Donetsk’s manager, he’s yet to lose a match. Shakhtar have had a strong pipeline of Brazilian talent for quite some time, and they’re also one of the most talented teams in the Conference League.
They have extensive European experience, having participated in the Champions League group stage for eight consecutive seasons. Now, with weaker competition, Shakhtar Donetsk should excel. Shakhtar shocked the footballing world by winning the UEFA Cup in 2009, and they have every chance of winning their first Conference League title here.
Sure, Fiorentina seem to make deep runs in this competition year-after-year, but their weak start to the season isn’t exactly encouraging. Crystal Palace could very well win, but there’s simply more value on Shakhtar.
Bet on Shakhtar Donetsk’s UEFA Conference League futures, at +1000.
Best Bet: Shakhtar Donetsk (+1000)
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