Often referred to as a poor man\u2019s Champions League, the Europa League may not contain as many household names as its more illustrious European big\u00a0brother, but that does not mean the competition is lacking in quality.<\/p>\n
British hopes are high this year with Spurs (14\/1) currently ranked as the favourites to win the tournament outright, while Everton (20\/1) are 6th<\/sup> favourites. Celtic are slightly less favoured at 100\/1, but who knows? The Europa<\/a> League has thrown up surprises in the past. Who expected Fulham to reach the final in 2010, after all?<\/p>\n The early stages of this season\u2019s Europa League should provide great viewing for the neutral and there are quite a few players<\/a> that I think will shine. So, on that note, here\u2019s a rundown of the 10 players to watch out for:<\/p>\n 10) Ivan Peri\u0161i\u0107 \/\/ Wolfsburg 9) Georginio Wijnaldum<\/a> \/\/ PSV Eindhoven 8) Lorenzo Insigne \/\/ Napoli 7) \u00c9ver Banega \/\/ Sevilla<\/a> 6) Thorgan Hazard<\/a> \/\/ Borussia M\u00f6nchengladbach 5) Romelu Lukaku \/\/ Everton<\/a> 4) Mathieu Valbuena \/\/ Dynamo Moscow 3) Erik Lamela \/\/ Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> 2) Divock Origi \/\/ Lille 1) Mauro Icardi \/\/ Inter Milan<\/a> Often referred to as a poor man\u2019s Champions League, the Europa League may not contain as many household names as its more illustrious European big\u00a0brother, but that does not mean the competition is lacking in quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[32,33,47,117],"class_list":["post-5113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-colossus-bets","tag-colossusbets","tag-football-jackpot","tag-worlds-biggest-bet"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>Although primarily used as a winger or attacking midfielder, Peri\u0161i\u0107 has a fantastic goalscoring record and is a constant threat going forward. He was Wolfsburg\u2019s second top scorer last season (behind fellow Croat Ivica Olic) and, despite his country\u2019s relatively lacklustre showing in this summer\u2019s World Cup<\/a>, was named the second best player in the group stages. Wolfsburg have been heavily backed to win the Europa League this season<\/a> and, with players like Peri\u0161i\u0107 in the side, they have every chance of reaching the latter stages.<\/p>\n
\nWhen you\u2019re captaining your club at the tender age of 23 you\u2019ve got to be a little bit special. Wijnaldum, a product of Feyenoord\u2019s famed youth set-up, moved to PSV in 2011 and has since established himself as one of the club\u2019s best players; not bad for someone who grew up wanting to be a gymnast as opposed to a footballer<\/a>. Wijnaldum is on the cusp of becoming a Netherlands mainstay and a solid run in Europa will do his chances no harm at all. I expect this to be his last season<\/a> in a PSV shirt, however, as he is more than capable of performing at a much higher level.<\/p>\n
\nInsigne is perhaps an odd choice given that he has already been jeered off the pitch by Napoli fans on more than one occasion this season<\/a>. Napoli\u2019s start in Serie A has been shaky but, having achieved a win and a loss, could be worse. Fans have singled out Insigne as the fall guy after missing a couple of gilt-edged chances<\/a> during their 0-1 home loss against Chievo, but he\u2019s a young player that is still learning his craft. At 23 he has already proven that he is a top player \u2013 he was a part of Italy\u2019s World Cup<\/a> squad after all \u2013 and, if he can add consistency to his game, will really prove his worth in the next couple of years. A few solid performances in the Europa League<\/a> should get the Napoli fans back on his side.<\/p>\n
\nI visited Valencia<\/a> a few years ago and was lucky enough to see a game as the Mestalla. While the match itself was a pretty drab affair, my one abiding memory is Banega’s ability to control the game effortlessly. While Valencia are without doubt a big club<\/a> their financial troubles are well known, so I was expecting him to be the club\u2019s next big-money sale. Fast forward three years and, after a couple of relatively quiet seasons, he is now a Sevilla<\/a> player having been regarded as surplus to requirements at Valencia. Banega has said that he sees this move as a chance to \u2018save his career\u2019 and, if he can perform in the same manner that made him stand out when I visited Spain<\/a>, then Sevilla have got quite the player on their hands.<\/p>\n
\nThe \u2018other\u2019 Hazard was signed by Chelsea<\/a> in 2012 but has yet to make an appearance for his parent club. In spite of this, he\u2019s made quite the impression during his loan spells. He spent two fruitful years at Zulte Waregem and was actually named as the club captain in 2013, although he refused the armband because of criticism from the club\u2019s fans. His consistent performances over the last couple of years have earned him a loan move to German giants Borussia M\u00f6nchengladbach, and he is already proving himself this season<\/a>. He scored twice in the club\u2019s 7-0 Europa League qualifier win over FK Sarajevo and, although he will most likely never get a chance at Chelsea<\/a>, will surely be playing for a top European team next season.<\/p>\n
\nAnyone that has watched Premier League<\/a> football in recent years knows what this man is capable of. Captured this summer by Everton for a club record \u00a328m, Roberto Mart\u00ednez will be looking for Lukaku to lead the line both on domestic and European fronts this season<\/a>. He has strength, power, a reasonable turn of pace for a big bloke and, perhaps most importantly, he worries defenders. European teams will struggle to cope with his presence and that will only serve to benefit Everton<\/a>. Everton<\/a> don\u2019t have an easy group \u2013 Lille and Wolfsburg are both ranked in the top 10 favourites to win the entire competition \u2013 but I think that, if Lukaku performs, Everton should run out as winners of Group H.<\/p>\n
\nThe Frenchman has been linked with moves to a number of English clubs<\/a> over the last couple of seasons but, for one reason or another, nothing ever materialised. This summer<\/a> he made the somewhat surprising decision to switch from Marseille to the ambitious Dynamo Moscow, a team that will be hoping to build upon a successful domestic season in which they finished 4th. Valbuena, now pretty much a constant figure in the French national team, will add some extra flair to a team that already boasts ex-Chelsea man Yuri Zhirkov and fellow Frenchman William Vainqueur. Dynamo could well be a surprise package in this year\u2019s tournament, so are definitely a team to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n
\nTottenham\u2019s most expensive player has come under a fair amount of criticism for not being able to live up to his \u00a330m transfer<\/a> fee. In his Premier League<\/a> appearances last season he didn\u2019t so much play badly, rather he was just utterly anonymous. He did, however, show glimpses of his quality during Spurs\u2019 Europa League<\/a> run last season, and it was that form that gave Spurs fans hope. Lamela has started this season<\/a> well, but it\u2019s against European opposition that he will thrive. When given time<\/a> on the ball he can be devastating and, against lowly teams such as Partizan and Asteras Tripoli, he will be incredibly difficult to stop. Expect him to be Tottenham\u2019s top scorer in Europe<\/a> this season.<\/p>\n
\nI tipped Origi to be one of the stars of the World Cup<\/a> and boy did he deliver. His performances earned him a big money move to Liverpool<\/a> and, although he was instantly sent back to Lille on loan, his future is bright. At just 19 he is by no means the finished article but he has everything required to become a star; if he can start scoring on a more regular basis then he\u2019s going to be a tremendous signing<\/a> for Liverpool. Lille probably don\u2019t have a squad capable of going all the way, but I certainly think Origi will shine.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m expecting big, big things from this young man. He\u2019s only 21 but already the Argentine looks destined to have a fabulous career. He currently has a ratio of 1 goal<\/a> every 2 games for Inter, a statistic that is even more impressive when you consider that Inter only finished 5th last season. He\u2019s already started this term strongly having scored a hat-trick against Sassuolo, and looks as though he has all the attributes required to make it as a top striker<\/a> both for club and, eventually, country. Inter may not be the force they were four or five years ago but they can never be written off entirely. If they\u2019re to go the distance in this year\u2019s competition, expect Icardi to be at the centre of their success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"