Crystal Palace beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the 2025/26 Conference League final and James Milton has picked out his best bets for this season's competition.
The first league-phase fixtures take place on Thursday and trophy favourites Brighton are aiming to emulate English Conference League winners West Ham (2023), Chelsea (2025) and Palace (2026).
Conference League Outright Tips and Predictions
Outright Prediction: Brighton (11/4)
Alternative Tip: Monaco (7/1)
Dark Horse Tip: Trabzonspor (66/1)
Opening Fixtures
CS U Craiova v Getafe
CSKA Sofia v Monaco
Gent v AGF Aarhus
Hajduk Split v Ajax
KF Egnatia v Midtjylland
KuPS Kuopio v Trabzonspor
Lugano v Crvena Zvezda
Mjallby AIF v Inter Club d'Escaldes
Panathinaikos v Borac Banja Luka
Riga FC v Kairat Almaty
Atalanta v Pafos FC
Brighton v FK Kauno Zalgiris
FC Copenhagen v Braga
FC Twente v FC Thun
Hearts v FC Nordsjaelland
SC Freiburg v FK Jablonec
Sint-Truidense v FC Iberia 1999
SK Brann v Lincoln Red Imps FC
The Conference League starts on Thursday 15th October and Brighton are just 1/33 to beat FK Kauno Zalgiris in their opening game.
Monaco travel to CSKA Sofia on matchday one while Hearts begin their league-phase campaign at home to FC Nordsjaelland.
Conference League Favourites
Brighton are clear favourites to win the Conference League at 11/4 and 11/2 shots Atalanta are rated as the main threats to the Seagulls.
Monaco are 7/1 with Freiburg, who lost to Aston Villa in last season's Europa League final, also 7/1.
Braga (10/1) and Ajax (10/1) are next in the betting and Midtjylland, at 16/1, are the shortest-priced of the four Danish clubs in the Conference League.
Data-Led Conference League Predictions & Analytics
When diving deeper into potential outcomes, advanced metrics like xGF (expected goals for) and clean sheet percentage give a more predictive edge than headline form.
Here’s what the data tells us about the leading contenders:
Brighton beat Premier League champions Arsenal 3-0 last month despite losing 1.58 to 1.33 on xGF
Monaco have scored 10 goals from an xGF of 7.78 in Ligue 1 this season
Atalanta have been riding their luck defensively in Serie A, conceding only eight goals from an xGA of 11.83
Danish league leaders FC Copenhagen are averaging 2.4 goals per game this season
Conference League Outright Prediction
Outright Prediction: Brighton (11/4)
Premier League clubs have won the Conference League in three of the past four seasons so it is no surprise to see Brighton chalked up as strong favourites.
The Seagulls still make plenty of appeal at the odds as they have made a superb start to the domestic season.
Only Manchester City and Arsenal are above Brighton after six rounds of Premier League fixtures and they beat the Gunners 3-0 at the Amex Stadium last month.
Fabian Hurzeler's men also won 3-2 at Manchester United in the EFL Cup and they look a cut above their Conference League rivals.
Brighton's start to the season is particularly impressive given their lengthy injury list.
Their fitness problems are starting to ease and they should be backed to match the achievement of rivals Crystal Palace last season.
Alternative Tip
Alternative Tip: Monaco (7/1)
Second-favourites Atalanta have made a modest start to the Serie A season while Freiburg sold their star player Johan Manzambi to Aston Villa in the summer.
Braga have scored only eight goals in seven Primeira Liga matches this term and Ajax are in patchy form in the Eredivisie so Monaco could emerge as the main dangers to trophy favourites Brighton.
They fended off a deadline-day bid from Chelsea for midfielder Lamine Camara and have former England international Eric Dier in central defence.
Midfielder Denis Zakaria reached the World Cup quarter-finals with Switzerland and German youngster Paris Brunner has scored four goals in five Ligue 1 games this term.
Monaco's unbeaten start in the league includes wins away to European champions Paris Saint-Germain and at home to Marseille and they look dangerous contenders in the Conference League.
Dark Horses to Watch
Dark Horse Tip: Trabzonspor (66/1)
The biggest name in this season's Conference League is Mohamed Salah, who could help Turkish club Trabzonspor outrun their massive outright odds.
Liverpool legend Salah has settled in well, scoring seven goals in his first seven Super Lig appearances.
Trabzonspor made a sluggish start to the season, losing to Ferencvaros in Europa League qualifying, but they have won three of their last four league matches by 5-0, 4-0 and 3-0 scorelines.
Salah's hat-trick powered them to a 4-0 home victory over leaders Galatasaray and their experienced spine includes goalkeeper Andre Onana, centre-back Stefan Savic and midfielder Fabinho.
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Who Wins the Conference League?
English clubs have dominated the Conference League in recent seasons and Brighton have the quality and squad depth to extend that trend.
The Seagulls' strong start to the campaign means they will be targeting UEFA Champions League qualification in 2027/28 but they are unlikely to take their eye off the ball in the Conference League.
There are question marks over many of Brighton's main market rivals although Atalanta and Monaco have to be respected.
Freiburg reached the Europa League final last season, losing 3-0 to Aston Villa, and they have won four of their first five matches in the Bundesliga.
Danish title rivals FC Copenhagen and Midtjylland should also be on punters' shortlists and Trabzonspor will be hoping that star summer signing Mohamed Salah can light up the Conference League.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
