Football commentator Kieran Burke has picked his three best bets for the return of the Europa League on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s Europa League Treble
- Sunderland to win (v AZ Alkmaar)
- Bayer Leverkusen -1 (v Celje)
- BTTS Yes (AC Milan v Benfica)
- Odds: 2.73/1
– View our latest Football markets.
Sunderland v AZ Alkmaar, Wed, 20:00, TNT Sports 1
Sunderland make their European return after a 53-year absence, and given the recent record of English teams in this competition, the Black Cats may quietly fancy their chances of going all the way. The Premier League side begin their journey against a bang-in-form Alkmaar, who have made their joint-second-strongest start ever to an Eredivisie season (W5, D1).
The Dutch side reached the quarter-finals of last season’s UEFA Conference League, but they’ve lost Troy Parrott, and they’ve also had some trouble on their European travels in recent times, losing four away games in the third-tier continental competition last term.
Sunderland had been unbeaten in four games at home before Saturday’s Premier League defeat to champions Arsenal, but a missed penalty turned out to be a crucial momentum swinger on the night at the Stadium of Light.
While the Tynesiders lack European experience as a club, they can call on the likes of Granit Xhaka, who reached the Europa League Final during his time under Xavi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. Expect the atmosphere to be raucous and the hosts to be less than hospitable.
BEST BET: Sunderland (4/6)
Bayer Leverkusen v Celje, Wed, 20:00, TNT Sports 3
Leverkusen are back in the Europa League for the first time since reaching the final in 2024, and the German outfit could hardly have asked for a kinder start, as they face Slovenian minnows Celje.
Having played in the Champions League for the past two seasons, Leverkusen face one of this year’s competition debutants, who are in dreadful form domestically.
Czech striker Patrik Schick (1/2 anytime, 11/4 fgs) has begun his campaign by scoring in all four competitive outings for Leverkusen, and he could fill his boots against a side languishing in seventh in the Slovenian league.
BEST BET: Bayer Leverkusen -1 (4/9) NAP
AC Milan v Benfica, Wed, 20:00, Premier Sports 2 Ireland/TNT Sports 2
Arguably the standout tie of the opening round takes place at the San Siro as two managers who were operating in the Premier League last season go toe-to-toe. Ruben Amorim, now the AC Milan boss, led Manchester United to the final of this competition in 2024/25, while Marco Silva has replaced Jose Mourinho at Benfica, having done a fine job with Fulham over recent seasons.
The Special One couldn’t lead Benfica to league glory last season despite going unbeaten; many critics feel Mourinho’s safety-first approach actually cost the Eagles in the end. Silva appears to have already adopted a more attacking philosophy, with Benfica having scored 2+ goals in eight of their last 11 competitive matches.
All the stats point towards a proper European slugfest, with seven of Milan’s last ten games in Europe seeing both teams score, and the same goes for seven of Benfica’s last ten games in all competitions.
BEST BETS: BTTS Yes (11/20)
Wednesday’s Europa League Tips
- Sunderland to win (v AZ Alkmaar)
- Bayer Leverkusen -1 (v Celje)
- BTTS Yes (AC Milan v Benfica)
- Odds: 2.73/1
More Football News
- EFL CUP TIPS: Tuesday’s best bets & an 8/1 treble
- Europa League 2026/27: Everything You Need to Know | Start Date, Format, Fixtures, TV Rights, Irish Players & Outright Odds
- Champions League 2026/27: Everything You Need to Know | Start Date, Format, Fixtures, TV Rights, Irish Players & Outright Odds
- Nation’s 5.3 million lifelong Real Betis supporters finally vindicated after Troy Parrott transfer
