Although Liverpool and Manchester City are both clubs more than capable of making a lasting impact in the Europa League this season, a fact clearly demonstrated in the current odds of winning UEFA Europa League list, the distinct lack of other English clubs making it through to the group stages suggests that the Premier League is not as strong as years gone by.
With the likes of Aston Villa failing to make it to the group stages, despite facing the level of opposition that they were quite rightly expected to defeat in the qualifying rounds, the question that now begs to be answered is whether Fulham’s performance last season in the Europa League will turn out to be an anomaly, rather than the dawning of a new era in which sides not from the top four of the Premier League progress through to the latter stages of Europe’s second tier club competition.
This question is becoming all the more pressing given the fact that Manchester City are unlikely to be in the competition again next season, something that their obvious Champions League ambitions and odds of winning premier league make clear.
With City the only British team prepared to (or even able to) put out their strongest side in this season’s competition, it’s clear why this is a worrying situation made all the more concerning in light of the fact that Liverpool, a club in dire need of some sort of momentum, still refuse to put out a top side in the Europa League.
If this trend continues, the Premier League may yet rue the fact that English sides choose to see themselves as being above the Europa League, especially if they begin to struggle in the Champions League if and when they finally get there.
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