Chris Boline
The Europa League final betting markets at the best online sportsbook sites show that bookmakers are predicting a German win. Eintracht Frankfurt are the favorite across the board, at around +130, with Scottish challengers Rangers available at +205, and the normal time draw priced at +230.
| Europa League Final |  |  |  |
| Frankfurt | +130 | +135 | +127 |
| Rangers | +205 | +210 | +200 |
| Draw | +230 | +245 | +240 |
Route To the Europa League Final
Eintracht Frankfurt dominated their Group, coming through without suffering a defeat to top the section and avoid the playoffs. They had to work hard to progress against Real Betis in the Round of 16, but their biggest victory came in the quarter-finals against tournament favorites Barcelona.
The Catalan giants earned a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, but back at Camp Nou for the second leg, were blown away by the visitors, who raced into a 3-0 lead and held on to reach the semi-finals. Another tough contest followed against Premier League West Ham, but crucially, Frankfurt won the away leg and a 1-0 home win was enough to take them through to the Final.
Although they went into the tournament as reigning Scottish champions, Rangers were not expected to get to the latter stages of the competition. They finished second in their Group, a long way behind Lyon and one point ahead of Sparta Prague, but they shocked European football in the playoff, by beating German giants Borussia Dortmund over two legs.
A 4-2 victory over Red Star Belgrade followed in the Round of 16, before they edged out Braga after extra time in the quarter-finals. Widely tipped to bow out in the semi-finals against RB Leipzig, they took a 1-0 deficit back to Ibrox where they secured a famous 3-1 victory to reach the final.
Rangers and Frankfurt Europa League History
This will be only the second European final in Eintracht Frankfurt’s history, but they can at least say that their previous appearance produced a win. That came in 1980, when they beat fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach on the away goals rule to win the UEFA Cup.
Rangers have played in four European competitions, though have only won one. That was the Cup Winners’ Cup, back in 1972. Their most recent European final was in the old UEFA Cup – the tournament that was effectively replaced by the Europa League – when they lost 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg.
The two teams have met once before, in the semi-finals of the old European Cup. That was way back in 1960 and resulted in an emphatic 12-4 aggregate win for Frankfurt, who were then beaten by Real Madrid in the Final. Overall, Rangers have a 15-19 win-loss record against German teams with 15 draws.
Which Team is the Best Bet in the Europa League Final?
Rangers, for all their heroics in this competition so far, will be the clear underdogs here and they may prefer to play without the added pressure of expectation. And they have some genuine top-class talent in their ranks, not least their captain and right-back James Tavernier, who has the impressive distinction of being the tournament’s top scorer, with seven goals.
The supply of assists and goals from Tavernier may be restricted in this game, however, due to his defensive duties. He will be up against the Frankfurt left-sided attacker Filip Kostic, whose performance against Barcelona was key to the German side’s progression and who has registered seven assists so far this season. His ability to create match-winning chances and to keep Tavernier quiet could be key.
Both teams will go into this game with significant injury problems, which is to be expected after a long hard season. Rangers will be without key striker Alfredo Morales and are hoping that Kemar Roofe recovers from a knee injury in time, while Frankfurt have five first-team players struggling for fitness.
Rangers have the better form going into this game, but their domestic football is considerably less demanding than the Bundesliga. Crucially, with this game being at a neutral venue, the Scottish side will not be able to rely on the intimidating atmosphere of Ibrox, while their opponents have shown that they can generate plenty of noise away from home, as they proved against Barcelona.
I think we can expect an entertaining clash, but Frankfurt are the stronger team and I think they can prevail in a high-scoring game.
Europa League Final Other Market Picks
Last year’s cagey Final between Villarreal and Manchester United was an unusually low-scoring game, as the last seven Europa League Finals have produced an impressive 3.25 goals per game.
It is also encouraging to see that neither of these sides has been particularly defensive in their outlook during the tournament, so on balance, this looks like an opportunity to side with the Over in the Over/Under 2.5 goals market.
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