UEFA Europa League 2023/24 Season

[emrecemsan]

I also don't have much expectation from Milan to go for the Europa League title to tell the truth.

They have been pretty inconsistent throughout the season until this point. I mean not only in the Serie A but also in the Champions League. Because of this reason I don't expect them to even reach the final stage. I mean they just need to be really lucky with draw until then. If they don't face especially teams like Liverpool and Leverkusen their chance to make it to the final stage would be higher. Otherwise they would say an early goodbye probably. 

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[Jody.Drummer]

Yes, we must first wait for the Europa League to resume after completing the grueling group stages. I think speculation about surprises is valid as long as you don't say for sure things that haven't been played yet. Now many people also expect Leverkusen and Liverpool to face each other in the final, it's just an expectation based on their performances during the Europa League, especially in the group stages.
We will still have the play offs before the last 16 is played, and the play offs are also likely to be a surprise. There are still many big clubs that will play there, and not to forget there are some clubs from the Champions League that will also play there. From the Champions League itself there are several clubs that are superior like AC Milan that we cannot forget.

Awaiting any two teams to be up against each other in the Europa League final is dumb because nobody can predict whether they will be eliminated before the final and nobody can predict whether they will eliminate each other before the final. As if anyone had an idea what the draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals will look like. There is no point in speculating about the two clubs that may reach the final.

I don't know if I get the statistics right here so feel free to correct me, but the chance that Liverpool plays against Leverkusen in the quarterfinal is around 14% (assuming they both get there) and the chance that they meet in the semifinal is 33% (assuming they both get there). This means we have a chance of 86% * 67% = 58% that they both play the final if they make it there. Of that 58% chance you can deduct the probability that they get eliminated by some other team and then you will probably end up somewhere around 10 - 15% at best. 

I don't think it's stupid, because it's legitimate to predict that, as I said before. What's stupid is when we say with certainty they will face each other in the final.
Of course anything can happen here, because we can't underestimate other clubs, it could be that a club that is not part of our prediction will make the club we predicted eliminated early.
Last season many people predicted that Arsenal would be in the final, yes it was not wrong because their appearance at the beginning was so promising before finally they also lost and were eliminated early.
We also predict things based on the statistics that the club is currently showing and that's pretty basic, regardless of whether they are eliminated or not that we can only see when they play their matches.

[hahay]

I also don't have much expectation from Milan to go for the Europa League title to tell the truth.

They have been pretty inconsistent throughout the season until this point. I mean not only in the Serie A but also in the Champions League. Because of this reason I don't expect them to even reach the final stage. I mean they just need to be really lucky with draw until then. If they don't face especially teams like Liverpool and Leverkusen their chance to make it to the final stage would be higher. Otherwise they would say an early goodbye probably. 

Yes indeed, although Milan do not have a chance to reach the final match, but at least Milan can still promise to be able to qualify for the next round in the Europa League this time. Because yes, at least Milan get opponents like Rennes in this phase, and it looks like Rennes also does not have good quality. Therefore, Milan can still be sure to beat Rennes and then Milan will qualify for the next round.

But yes, even though Milan do not have a good chance to get to the final match, but that does not mean Milan are weak and does not mean Milan will be eliminated faster. Because ya, of course Milan also has reliable quality as a representative of Serie A and thus, until the quarter-final match and or maybe until the semifinal match at least Milan still has a chance.

[Tony116]

Yes, we must first wait for the Europa League to resume after completing the grueling group stages. I think speculation about surprises is valid as long as you don't say for sure things that haven't been played yet. Now many people also expect Leverkusen and Liverpool to face each other in the final, it's just an expectation based on their performances during the Europa League, especially in the group stages.
We will still have the play offs before the last 16 is played, and the play offs are also likely to be a surprise. There are still many big clubs that will play there, and not to forget there are some clubs from the Champions League that will also play there. From the Champions League itself there are several clubs that are superior like AC Milan that we cannot forget.

Awaiting any two teams to be up against each other in the Europa League final is dumb because nobody can predict whether they will be eliminated before the final and nobody can predict whether they will eliminate each other before the final. As if anyone had an idea what the draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals will look like. There is no point in speculating about the two clubs that may reach the final.

I don't know if I get the statistics right here so feel free to correct me, but the chance that Liverpool plays against Leverkusen in the quarterfinal is around 14% (assuming they both get there) and the chance that they meet in the semifinal is 33% (assuming they both get there). This means we have a chance of 86% * 67% = 58% that they both play the final if they make it there. Of that 58% chance you can deduct the probability that they get eliminated by some other team and then you will probably end up somewhere around 10 - 15% at best. 

I don't think it's stupid, because it's legitimate to predict that, as I said before. What's stupid is when we say with certainty they will face each other in the final.
Of course anything can happen here, because we can't underestimate other clubs, it could be that a club that is not part of our prediction will make the club we predicted eliminated early.
Last season many people predicted that Arsenal would be in the final, yes it was not wrong because their appearance at the beginning was so promising before finally they also lost and were eliminated early.
We also predict things based on the statistics that the club is currently showing and that's pretty basic, regardless of whether they are eliminated or not that we can only see when they play their matches.

Leverkusen and Liverpool are very strong and in good form, so it is impossible to say whether these two teams will meet in the Europa League final. Several strong teams are playing in the Europa League now. I don't see any opportunity to underestimate these teams either. Liverpool.
Leverkusen and Milan will be heavy favorites for the final. We can keep the Roma team in position. At the same time, I would say Galatasaray, Sporting and the Lens team should not be underestimated. These teams also have the potential to qualify for the finals. They are able to perform quite well. It will not be possible to select the most favorite team to win the title before the quarter finals.

[tbterryboy]

This year in Europa League and Conference we dont see so much surprises. So we have two roads ahead, o the competitions still without surprises or all the surprises come now and we are gonna start to see a few big teams choking against weak or smallers teams.

It is still too early to expect some surprises in the Europa League or in the Conference League, because those things will probably happen in the round of 16 and also in the round of eight later in the Europa League and also in the Conference League. So everyone can just enjoy the match as usual here in the Europa League before seeing the surprise that makes a big team eliminated by a small team, but for now I still don't think that that will happen again this season because there are a lot of big teams who will try not to be eliminated so that they can make the competition in the European League this season even fiercer than last season.

UEFA events are famous for their surprises and shocking events which is nothing new currently we are having all set for the round of 16 in Champions League and qualifiers for the Europa League and Conference League as well with few surprises can happen here as well because few teams are having not good time and these can lost their spots even we are considering them favourite right now we have too many options but teams performance and quality are also important with currently many leagues are having decline in performance and quality which is surely going to have impact on their team's performance in these events as well.

Currently, we can't predict who is going to have better results with just Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen are having performance which is giving them tag of hot favourite for the cup, all others need to do hard work for this all.

[redsun114]

AC Milan really deserves to be taken into account because after all they are a top European team who have a strong enough mentality on the European stage and also this season AC Milan has good strength even though they are sometimes unable to maintain the consistency of their best performance.
However, if we look overall to be favored to win the Europa League this season of course AC Milan is still below Liverpool and Leverkusen but I always think that in the know out round anything is possible to happen so we can't be too excessive in favoring a team to win. won the Europa League title this season and the season is still quite long and it is possible for all teams to experience improvements or declines in quality.

AC Milan is a consistent performing team but their problem is that they cannot perform consistently in important matches. Where other teams perform exceptionally well in important matches, AC Milan are unable to perform consistently, due to which they are left out in most major tournaments with great potential. If Liverpool had qualified for the Champions League this season, AC Milan would have had the chance to play in the finals, but it's unfortunate for AC Milan that Liverpool are playing in the Europa League this season while Leverkusen are having their best time. Maybe that's why AC Milan won't do very well in the Europa League this season.

AC Milan was very good and competitive team with their current performance is not good as they were in past which is surely big concern for them even they are doing good in Serie A, but their performance in Champions League is not good so they relegated to Europa League and now having tough challenges ahead of them for having good end of their season even many are considering them third or fourth favourite for the title which is not good prediction about them because they can face exit without any resistance due to their lack of quality and consistency.

Recently we had improvement in few teams which are surely going to have good time and also chance for the title here in this event but for the perfect prediction we have to wait for the round of 8 which will give better chance for having who is going to win, currently things are not good for this all.

[8rch7]

Leverkusen and Liverpool are very strong and in good form, so it is impossible to say whether these two teams will meet in the Europa League final. Several strong teams are playing in the Europa League now. I don't see any opportunity to underestimate these teams either. Liverpool.
Leverkusen and Milan will be heavy favorites for the final. We can keep the Roma team in position. At the same time, I would say Galatasaray, Sporting and the Lens team should not be underestimated. These teams also have the potential to qualify for the finals. They are able to perform quite well. It will not be possible to select the most favorite team to win the title before the quarter finals.

Bayern Leverkusen vs Liverpool is most dreaming Europe League final but depend with drawing schedule match will both teams are in the race for facing in the final or other possibility with drawing for both team have to face on 16 round or quarter final. All fans expected with ideal final in Europe League between Leverkusen vs Liverpool but we have waiting match drawing about teams will play in the final or not beside have many top teams from Champion League will play in Europe League.

I think not really bad if Milan success lead to final round in Europe League because they have experienced and teams who has many Champion League tittle for Europe League teams participants.

[Mame89]

Yes indeed, although Milan do not have a chance to reach the final match, but at least Milan can still promise to be able to qualify for the next round in the Europa League this time. Because yes, at least Milan get opponents like Rennes in this phase, and it looks like Rennes also does not have good quality. Therefore, Milan can still be sure to beat Rennes and then Milan will qualify for the next round.

But yes, even though Milan do not have a good chance to get to the final match, but that does not mean Milan are weak and does not mean Milan will be eliminated faster. Because ya, of course Milan also has reliable quality as a representative of Serie A and thus, until the quarter-final match and or maybe until the semifinal match at least Milan still has a chance.

AC Milan's journey to win the European League was very steep because there are still many competing clubs whose playing systems are much more solid than Milan, such as Liverpool, Leverkusen etc. Milan still has a lot to improve, especially releasing Pioli and replacing him with a coach who is able to form a team with talented young players and limited funds. because for me Pioli is not a suitable coach for Ac Milan at the moment, just look at the way they play without character or even inconsistently.

Yes, maybe Malwan Rannes AC Milan can win because of the quality of their players and in my opinion they can advance easily to the next round but for them to become champions it looks like AC Milan is not a strong competitor. because for me to win the Europa League this season, if not Liverpool it means Bayer Leverkusen because both teams have so far shown consistency and their play has also been solid in all areas.

[temple]

We can still have some predictions considering how the general trend of Europa League had been and how the performance of each individual team are in local and international perspective.
Villarreal and Liverpool are surely the favorite ones. It's a rare occasion for Europa cup going anywhere except Premier league or La Liga teams.
But Leverkusen is a rare success this time. Not just due to their success in the group stage but also how they are performing this season in the bundesliga. They are certainly going to be promoted to the UEFA cup this year.

Villareal, this is the first time I hear someone mentioning Villareal as the main favorite next to Liverpool. Really, I appreciate that you have an opinion nobody else has had so far. I don't think Villareal is a favorite, but I would also not describe them as a weak team or an underdog. They are more like average similar to many of the other teams.

Leverkusen has gathered some experience in the last season in the Europa League and I think this time it could really be their turn to go one step further and reach the final hopefully.

[kawetsriyanto]

Leverkusen and Liverpool are very strong and in good form, so it is impossible to say whether these two teams will meet in the Europa League final. Several strong teams are playing in the Europa League now. I don't see any opportunity to underestimate these teams either. Liverpool.
Leverkusen and Milan will be heavy favorites for the final. We can keep the Roma team in position. At the same time, I would say Galatasaray, Sporting and the Lens team should not be underestimated. These teams also have the potential to qualify for the finals. They are able to perform quite well. It will not be possible to select the most favorite team to win the title before the quarter finals.

IMO, Leverkusen and Liverpool are the most favorite teams to be in the final round. They have quality squad and they performed quite well in the group stage. Although there are some big teams from UCL joining UEL play-offs, I still believe Leverkusen and Liverpool are the strongest team in UEL this season. AC Milan, Roma, Benfica, and Galatasaray are also big teams but they didn't perform well this season. If they performed well, they will survive in UCL.

As long as Leverkusen and Liverpool won't meet in quarter final or semi final, I believe they will go to the final round. TBH, I assume Leverkusen vs Liverpool will be the ideal candidates for the final round for UEL this season.

[arimamib]

We can still have some predictions considering how the general trend of Europa League had been and how the performance of each individual team are in local and international perspective.
Villarreal and Liverpool are surely the favorite ones. It's a rare occasion for Europa cup going anywhere except Premier league or La Liga teams.
But Leverkusen is a rare success this time. Not just due to their success in the group stage but also how they are performing this season in the bundesliga. They are certainly going to be promoted to the UEFA cup this year.

Villareal, this is the first time I hear someone mentioning Villareal as the main favorite next to Liverpool. Really, I appreciate that you have an opinion nobody else has had so far. I don't think Villareal is a favorite, but I would also not describe them as a weak team or an underdog. They are more like average similar to many of the other teams.

Leverkusen has gathered some experience in the last season in the Europa League and I think this time it could really be their turn to go one step further and reach the final hopefully.

Villareal can be an underdog like how they reached UCL semi-final under Unai emery seasons ago. But they have new manager now and are not in a good shape of football. I dont know much about how they play, but the statistics are not in their favor. But, in Europa League history, Spanish clubs tend to do well, because they put always UEL as their priority.

Leverkusen is the real favorite alongside Liverpool due to their performance in their league and group stage. But their priority is also intriguing, because they are fighting for the league title under the pressure of bayern which is not easy to handle both competition in the same manner. Experience can often play a crucial role in a team's performance, and Xabi Alonso is new to this situation where he has to compete with already experienced teams and managers. I would put Roma as the most serious contender because of Mourinho.

[tusandii]

Yes, we must first wait for the Europa League to resume after completing the grueling group stages. I think speculation about surprises is valid as long as you don't say for sure things that haven't been played yet. Now many people also expect Leverkusen and Liverpool to face each other in the final, it's just an expectation based on their performances during the Europa League, especially in the group stages.
We will still have the play offs before the last 16 is played, and the play offs are also likely to be a surprise. There are still many big clubs that will play there, and not to forget there are some clubs from the Champions League that will also play there. From the Champions League itself there are several clubs that are superior like AC Milan that we cannot forget.

Awaiting any two teams to be up against each other in the Europa League final is dumb because nobody can predict whether they will be eliminated before the final and nobody can predict whether they will eliminate each other before the final. As if anyone had an idea what the draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals will look like. There is no point in speculating about the two clubs that may reach the final.

I don't know if I get the statistics right here so feel free to correct me, but the chance that Liverpool plays against Leverkusen in the quarterfinal is around 14% (assuming they both get there) and the chance that they meet in the semifinal is 33% (assuming they both get there). This means we have a chance of 86% * 67% = 58% that they both play the final if they make it there. Of that 58% chance you can deduct the probability that they get eliminated by some other team and then you will probably end up somewhere around 10 - 15% at best. 

I don't think it's stupid, because it's legitimate to predict that, as I said before. What's stupid is when we say with certainty they will face each other in the final.
Of course anything can happen here, because we can't underestimate other clubs, it could be that a club that is not part of our prediction will make the club we predicted eliminated early.
Last season many people predicted that Arsenal would be in the final, yes it was not wrong because their appearance at the beginning was so promising before finally they also lost and were eliminated early.
We also predict things based on the statistics that the club is currently showing and that's pretty basic, regardless of whether they are eliminated or not that we can only see when they play their matches.

Yes, that's right, because soon the transfer market will reopen and that's when there will be many changes between clubs becoming stronger when bringing in additional players or even a club can become weak because they sell their flagship players.
With the current conditions we can only speculate temporarily and after the transfer market closes we can speculate further because there is no longer any chance for the club to strengthen its performance from new players and maybe I will also speculate the same in the hope that both clubs can survive until the final and competed in the final round to prove that both of them have the same advantage in terms of strong performance in UEL.

[rahmad2nd]

IMO, Leverkusen and Liverpool are the most favorite teams to be in the final round. They have quality squad and they performed quite well in the group stage. Although there are some big teams from UCL joining UEL play-offs, I still believe Leverkusen and Liverpool are the strongest team in UEL this season. AC Milan, Roma, Benfica, and Galatasaray are also big teams but they didn't perform well this season. If they performed well, they will survive in UCL.

As long as Leverkusen and Liverpool won't meet in quarter final or semi final, I believe they will go to the final round. TBH, I assume Leverkusen vs Liverpool will be the ideal candidates for the final round for UEL this season.

These two teams have always been a theme in our discussions in the Europa League competition so far, although this is very natural because both of them are in their best performance and are at the top of the standings in their respective Domestic Leagues. but as I said, so far we have only assumed and speculated. after all, the playoffs haven't been held yet, and which team will be the challenger for these two teams in the future? statistically, both Liverppol and Leverkusen have performed impressively and they deserve and deserve to be favorites to become champion candidates or even enter the final round of the Europa League later. unfortunately, in football it is unique. sometimes, even a strong team can be overthrown by a team that is not at all superior. apart from that, both Liverpool and Leverkusen have their main priority, namely their domestic league. if both of them have a tight schedule, there will automatically be rotations made by the coaches. whether it's Klopp or Alonso, one of them will be prioritized more. after all, several other teams won't just give up, let alone a team that dropped out of the Champions League. for me, whichever team ends up in the final, it is hoped that they will put on a match that is interesting, entertaining, tense, exciting and also worth enjoying and watching. for the rest, let's just enjoy every match presented in this competition, especially the playoff round matches.

[TelolettOm]

I doubt Milan's performance. I'm not sure if Milan can win the European League title because in my opinion the clubs that are more favorite are Liverpool and Leverkusen. Indeed, in terms of squad, Milan and Liverpool are superior because they have top players compared to Leverkusen, but the players Leverkusen are able to work together well and compactly so that their solidarity is very high and indeed so far the performance of the Leverkusen players is still extraordinary under the guidance of Xabi Alonso so in my opinion it is possible that Leverkusen will be favorites in winning the title this season, whether it is the league trophy Europe or the Bundesliga.

Yes, we all think the same about AC Milan. They are unlikely to be in the final round and win the match because they couldn't play consistently this season. Leverkusen and Liverpool are much better than AC Milan, they deserve to be the candidates for the final round. But it will be difficult to determine which team to be the winner if Leverkusen vs Liverpool in the final round.

If you talk about Milan not being very stable, I think that's right, but if you say Liverpool is not very stable, I think you are wrong because Liverpool is still quite stable in the domestic league, even they are in 1st place with only 1 defeat so far, and It is true that Leverkusen is still quite consistent and unbeaten to date and that is a good achievement.

Agree. AC Milan is very clear not stable in performance. But Liverpool seems quite stable because they still can stay in the top of EPL standings. It is not easy to lead the EPL standings, EPL has many big teams. However, Leverkusen performs perfectly in domestic competition. They even can't be defeated by Bayern Munich or Dortmund. Leverkusen is really on fire under Xabi's management.

[SATWAT]

We can still have some predictions considering how the general trend of Europa League had been and how the performance of each individual team are in local and international perspective.
Villarreal and Liverpool are surely the favorite ones. It's a rare occasion for Europa cup going anywhere except Premier league or La Liga teams.
But Leverkusen is a rare success this time. Not just due to their success in the group stage but also how they are performing this season in the bundesliga. They are certainly going to be promoted to the UEFA cup this year.

Villareal, this is the first time I hear someone mentioning Villareal as the main favorite next to Liverpool. Really, I appreciate that you have an opinion nobody else has had so far. I don't think Villareal is a favorite, but I would also not describe them as a weak team or an underdog. They are more like average similar to many of the other teams.

Leverkusen has gathered some experience in the last season in the Europa League and I think this time it could really be their turn to go one step further and reach the final hopefully.

Villareal can be an underdog like how they reached UCL semi-final under Unai emery seasons ago. But they have new manager now and are not in a good shape of football. I dont know much about how they play, but the statistics are not in their favor. But, in Europa League history, Spanish clubs tend to do well, because they put always UEL as their priority.

Leverkusen is the real favorite alongside Liverpool due to their performance in their league and group stage. But their priority is also intriguing, because they are fighting for the league title under the pressure of bayern which is not easy to handle both competition in the same manner. Experience can often play a crucial role in a team's performance, and Xabi Alonso is new to this situation where he has to compete with already experienced teams and managers. I would put Roma as the most serious contender because of Mourinho.

I am not agreed about Villarreal is going to be underdog because which team reach into Champions League was completely different current team is having the worst performance in this season, and they are badly down with their decline in quality and having 13th spot into La Liga table even their performance in group stage matches were good but still not enough for having anything special for the title race currently they need to be better in La Liga if they want to stay at better spot until end of this season.
Here we have Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool and few other teams can do much better than Villarreal for the title race which is surely not easy for these teams as well which are currently doing good in all leagues with their superior quality and consistency.

[shogun47]

I have read a few articles which are quite interesting as they are discussing whether Xabi Alonso will become the next Pep Guardiola. I am not a friend of these person to person comparisons because at the end of the day nobody can become somebody else. I get the idea why they want to compare the two coaches, but it doesn't make that much sense as I think Alonso is a different personality to begin with. They are not the same. I am not sure how tactical Alonso is and whether he goes into such a deep detail as Guardiola does.

But one thing is for sure, if Alonso can win the Bundesliga and then adds the Europa League title to his collection as a coach at such a young age, that would by any means be a crazy head start for the Spaniard. Since I like him, I wish him the best for this ambitious goal.

[Josefjix]

I have read a few articles which are quite interesting as they are discussing whether Xabi Alonso will become the next Pep Guardiola. I am not a friend of these person to person comparisons because at the end of the day nobody can become somebody else. I get the idea why they want to compare the two coaches, but it doesn't make that much sense as I think Alonso is a different personality to begin with. They are not the same. I am not sure how tactical Alonso is and whether he goes into such a deep detail as Guardiola does.

But one thing is for sure, if Alonso can win the Bundesliga and then adds the Europa League title to his collection as a coach at such a young age, that would by any means be a crazy head start for the Spaniard. Since I like him, I wish him the best for this ambitious goal.

Bayer Leverkusen first spot, they have the Bundesliga title on their mind and it will be hugh dissapointement if at the end of the 2023/2024 Bundesliga campaign, they failed to win the title, everything fall apart, and they will be left with nothing to think about other than frustration and deep regrets, just like the scenario that happen to Borrusia Dortmund the previous season, they gave up really bad and that's one fight that was invalid. Xabi Alonso doing an incredible job for Bayer Leverkusen this season, they remained unbeaten and this is not a slight issue but a ready full combat.

[Oluwa-btc]

I have read a few articles which are quite interesting as they are discussing whether Xabi Alonso will become the next Pep Guardiola. I am not a friend of these person to person comparisons because at the end of the day nobody can become somebody else. I get the idea why they want to compare the two coaches, but it doesn't make that much sense as I think Alonso is a different personality to begin with. They are not the same. I am not sure how tactical Alonso is and whether he goes into such a deep detail as Guardiola does.

But one thing is for sure, if Alonso can win the Bundesliga and then adds the Europa League title to his collection as a coach at such a young age, that would by any means be a crazy head start for the Spaniard. Since I like him, I wish him the best for this ambitious goal.

There should be no room for such conversation, Josep Pep Guardiola is on a total different level and I don't see who comes close to that right now. Xabi Alonso be doing great, You can't hate him too even iffy he was one time arch rivals to the club you support because of his brilliance in the game.
Xabi Alonso is just upcoming and yet to win a trophy, I want to see him win first. All these talks with evidence is not good enough. I hope he win the Bundesliga. First half of the season was superb I hope he get the second half of the season going with the same momentum.

Nothing is Impossible, if they are not affected with Injuries, then they can go ahead to do whatever they've done from the day the season kicked off..

[Egii Nna]

I have read a few articles which are quite interesting as they are discussing whether Xabi Alonso will become the next Pep Guardiola. I am not a friend of these person to person comparisons because at the end of the day nobody can become somebody else. I get the idea why they want to compare the two coaches, but it doesn't make that much sense as I think Alonso is a different personality to begin with. They are not the same. I am not sure how tactical Alonso is and whether he goes into such a deep detail as Guardiola does.

But one thing is for sure, if Alonso can win the Bundesliga and then adds the Europa League title to his collection as a coach at such a young age, that would by any means be a crazy head start for the Spaniard. Since I like him, I wish him the best for this ambitious goal.

I understand your perspective on person-to-person comparisons and how it can be difficult for someone to become another person. Xabi Alonso and Pep Guardiola are indeed different personalities, and it's unclear how tactical Alonso is compared to Guardiola. As for winning the Bundesliga and the Europa League title at a young age, it would definitely be an impressive achievement for Alonso.

[slapper]

Yes, we must first wait for the Europa League to resume after completing the grueling group stages. I think speculation about surprises is valid as long as you don't say for sure things that haven't been played yet. Now many people also expect Leverkusen and Liverpool to face each other in the final, it's just an expectation based on their performances during the Europa League, especially in the group stages.
We will still have the play offs before the last 16 is played, and the play offs are also likely to be a surprise. There are still many big clubs that will play there, and not to forget there are some clubs from the Champions League that will also play there. From the Champions League itself there are several clubs that are superior like AC Milan that we cannot forget.

Awaiting any two teams to be up against each other in the Europa League final is dumb because nobody can predict whether they will be eliminated before the final and nobody can predict whether they will eliminate each other before the final. As if anyone had an idea what the draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals will look like. There is no point in speculating about the two clubs that may reach the final.

I don't know if I get the statistics right here so feel free to correct me, but the chance that Liverpool plays against Leverkusen in the quarterfinal is around 14% (assuming they both get there) and the chance that they meet in the semifinal is 33% (assuming they both get there). This means we have a chance of 86% * 67% = 58% that they both play the final if they make it there. Of that 58% chance you can deduct the probability that they get eliminated by some other team and then you will probably end up somewhere around 10 - 15% at best. 

I don't think it's stupid, because it's legitimate to predict that, as I said before. What's stupid is when we say with certainty they will face each other in the final.
Of course anything can happen here, because we can't underestimate other clubs, it could be that a club that is not part of our prediction will make the club we predicted eliminated early.
Last season many people predicted that Arsenal would be in the final, yes it was not wrong because their appearance at the beginning was so promising before finally they also lost and were eliminated early.
We also predict things based on the statistics that the club is currently showing and that's pretty basic, regardless of whether they are eliminated or not that we can only see when they play their matches.

How the transfer market can flip things around is amazing. An underdog may bolster their roster and emerge as a contender, while a team that appears strong right now may lose important players and become exposed. Our forecasts get more difficult as a result of this fluidity. I'm especially interested to watch how teams like Milan, Liverpool, and Leverkusen handle this phase. Although their present form is remarkable, early promise does not usually transfer into triumph at the conclusion of the season, as we witnessed with Arsenal last season. Isn't it this unpredictable nature that draws us all in? All we can do is wait and see how everything turns out