Supercomputer predicts Europa League winner after Man Utd & Tottenham stumbles | OneFootball

This week's Champions League action was always going to be a tough act to follow, but the Europa League certainly gave it a good crack.

Once again, there was plenty of British representation on Thursday night as Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Rangers all aimed to make progress in their bid to reach the semi-finals.

For all three clubs, this competition represents their last hope. Tottenham and United are stuck in Premier League purgatory, while Rangers struggled to lay a glove on Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. It's been a miserable season for the trio, but Europe may yet prove to be a saving grace.

However, stiff competition remains in the quest for Europa League glory, and each of their respective quarter-final ties are in the balance after the first legs. Here's how Opta rates the chances of the remaining teams to win the competition after Thursday's results.

Opta supercomputer's 2024/25 Europa League favourites after quarter-final first legs

The projection supplied by Opta is based on 10,000 simulations run by their supercomputer. In these simulations, La Liga outfit Athletic Club lifted the Europa League trophy the most - 23.9% of the time. That's not good news for Rangers, who visit San Mames next week after somehow holding Ernesto Valverde's side to a goal-less draw at Ibrox.

Opta rates Athletic's chances of reaching the last four at 75.1%, but the Gers have performed impressively away from home in this competition so far this season. Still, their chances of going all the way are rated the lowest at 3.3%.

Tottenham were left frustrated by Eintracht Frankfurt in north London, but they did recover from an early deficit. Pedro Porro cancelled out Hugo Ekitike's exquisite opener, and Spurs performed well in the second half without reward. It's going to take a mammoth effort in Germany to advance, and Opta are backing Frankfurt to progress (54.4% chance of making it through).

Interestingly, Opta thinks Spurs have a better chance of winning the competition than the Bundesliga side, who went all the way in 2022. The computer clearly has no idea what the Lilywhites are like on the big stage.

On the opposite side of the draw, Man Utd's 2-2 draw in Lyon was far from disastrous, but they should be taking a lead with them to Old Trafford. Nevertheless, Opta gives United a 63.1% chance of reaching the semis, and they're rated as the second favourites to win the competition. They will, however, likely face Athletic in the last four.

The only team to prevail on Thursday was Bodo/Glimt, who inflicted more misery on Italian opposition in the Arctic Circle. Lazio fell to a 2-0 defeat in Norway and are now major underdogs in their tie. The league phase winners have a mere 27.1 chance of making it through, and just a 6.7% chance of lifting the trophy.