Who are the favourites to win the Europa League this season?

The Europa League for the 2023/2024 season will feature some big-name clubs after Liverpool failed to make the Champions League in England.

The Reds are one of Europe's biggest clubs and have some of the finest players on the planet, which is why it was a shocker that they did not finish inside the top four last season.

However, Jurgen Klopp's men will make the most of this chance they have to win another European trophy and they did well the last time they were in the competition.

Liverpool is not the only heavyweight who has failed to qualify for the Champions League, with Ajax also settling for Europe's second top club competition.

PSV and Feyenoord would represent the Netherlands in the Champions League as they did better in the last domestic season than their more illustrious rival.

AS Roma, Brighton, Sporting Clube, Villarreal and Bayer Leverkusen are the other top clubs in the competition that will make fans buy Europa League tickets for their matches.

In this article, we cover the clubs we expect to do well and one of these teams should win the competition.

West Ham

The Hammers come into the Europa League fresh from winning the Conference League in the last campaign and David Moyes' men would be confident that they can leave an impression in the Europa League.

West Ham reached the semi-final of this competition in the 2021/2022 season and was stopped from reaching the final by eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt.

Now that they have a taste of what it means to win a European Cup, they are one of the clubs who will go for the title.

They have sold Declan Rice to Arsenal, but David Moyes' side has spent the money made from his departure well after landing the likes of James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Kudus.

They have started this season brightly and it does not seem like they will miss Rice, so they should comfortably make serious progress in this competition.

Ajax

Ajax had a tough season the last time, which denied them a spot among the top two in the Dutch top flight, but we expect them to do well in this competition.

They have lost some key players like Kudus and Jurrien Timber, but the Netherlands team is one of the best sides in European football.

In 2019, they nearly reached the final of the Champions League and are constantly challenging for the best trophies domestically and in Europe.

Whenever they are in a European competition, they make an impression and because only a few of us believe they are good this term, that hands them an advantage with less pressure to do well.

Brighton

Only a few clubs play better football than Brighton in Europe at the moment and they have carried on from qualifying for the Europa League at the expense of the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham last season.

Roberto de Zerbi inherited a healthy Brighton team, but the Italian has no doubt made them even more fearless in the last few months that he has been at the helm at the club.

The Seagulls finished fifth in the Premier League last season with so many youngsters and secured the loan signing of the summer when Ansu Fati agreed to play for them this season.

That move confirms that clubs in Europe are paying attention to how Brighton plays and love what De Zerbi is doing.

Their lack of experience in European experience will make people tip them to struggle in the competition this season.

However, Brighton has some of the bravest youngsters in European football and plays one of the best games in the Premier League, which has helped them to earn some huge results.

The likes of Julio Ensico, Evan Ferguson, Solly March, Fati, Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro, and others make this Brighton team a joy to watch and they certainly are one of the clubs to watch in the Europa League this term.

Liverpool

Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League last season, which came as a major surprise as the Reds had nearly won the quadruple in the previous term.

After their slow start to the last campaign, we all knew it would be a struggle for them to make the top four, and that happened.

Jurgen Klopp's midfield was the major problem, and they failed to address it on time, which cost them.

In the summer, they lost at least five men in that role and were forced to change the players there. They now have one of the best midfield and attack in the Premier League, which makes them one of the favourites to win the Europa League.

The last time they played in the competition under Klopp was in 2016 and they reached the final then.

It was the German's first term on their bench, and he instantly proved he had pedigree, which could be the case again this term.

Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the Europa League and we expect them to challenge for the Premier League title as well.

If their players are in their best form for most of their matches, they will easily win the competition.

AS Roma 

The main reason AS Roma could win this Europa League is Jose Mourinho, who has been one of the best managers in Europe over the last few years.

It was just last season that Mourinho finally lost a European final when Roma reached the final of the Europa League and faced Sevilla.

The Italians were more than confident of winning the competition because of Mourinho's personal record in the finals.

However, Sevilla won, albeit in a controversial fashion, with an angry Jose confronting the centre referee at the end of the game.

The Romans have improved their squad with Renato Sanches, Leandro Paredes and Romelu Lukaku, among other players and would feel confident in going that extra step and winning the competition this term.

Because of how tough it is to make the Champions League through the top four in Serie A, Roma would do their best to win this competition and give themselves another chance to play in Europe's top club competition.

Villarreal

Villarreal is one of the recent winners of the competition that will still compete in it this season and could go all the way again.

The Yellow Submarines won the competition in the 2020/2021 season under the impressive Unai Emery and will want to build on that.

They have lost some of their key players in the last transfer window and have even had to change managers at the start of the term.

However, if their current players are in top shape and stay focused, they still have one of the most talented squads in the Europa League.

Considering how many quality clubs are in the competition this year, it is hard to see them comfortably reach the next round of the competition, but they have the pedigree to cause upsets.

Leverkusen

Xabi Alonso has had a superb start to his managerial career and Bayer reached the semi-final of the competition last season.

Prior to playing in that round, they had comfortably seen off several quality opponents to show they were a team to fear.

They have lost the likes of Moussa Diaby and Sardar Azmoun, among others, but they have also done brilliantly in the transfer market.

The Germans have signed the likes of Nathan Tella, Victor Boniface, Granit Xhaka, and Alex Grimaldo, among others.

Bayer seems to mean business in domestic and European competitions this term and is a team we expect to go far in the Europa League and could win the competition. 

The Europa League gets tougher every season and the quality of teams in this year's edition shows that we could have one of the best terms there have been in the competition.

We expect one of these clubs to win, but there is always room for a surprise in Europe and it would be interesting to see which one will happen this term.