The road to Istanbul starts here with 36 sides vying to become Conference League champions and secure automatic qualification for next year's Europa League.

Established in 2021, only five clubs have lifted this European trophy, with three of them coming from England. It's therefore no surprise to find Premier League Brighton top of the latest Conference League winner odds.

In fact, of the five English sides to have entered the tournament, only Aston Villa and Tottenham have failed to win it. Spurs somehow exited at the group stage, while Villa reached the semi-finals.

The Conference League offers Europe's mid-ranking sides a genuine chance to win silverware, but the competition looks stiff this time around with the likes of former Europa League winners Atalanta, last season's Champions League entrants Monaco and beaten Europa League finalists Freiburg all in the mix.

A current look at the Conference League winner odds

Here's a quick rundown of the latest 2026-27 Conference League winner odds from bet365.

The market has remained consistent since the Conference League fixtures were announced. Brighton are clear outright favourites at 3/1, but that looks a big price given England's dominance in this competition. The Seagulls could make a mockery of those odds.

A trio of clubs in Atalanta, Monaco and Freiburg are considered the biggest threats to Brighton, with Braga and Ajax also in the frame at odds of 10/1 or shorter. It really does look as though the winner will be crowned from those six, with a sizeable gap between those six and the rest.

League phase position will also be important to these prices, with just six initial fixtures meaning there is far less room to recover from a bad start than in the Europa League or Champions League.

Conference League title favourites

Here's a closer look at the three favourites, and why Brighton, Atalanta and Monaco are being tipped to lift the trophy in June's final at Besiktas Park in Istanbul, Turkey.

Brighton

The general consensus is that an English side should win the Conference League every year given the sheer disparity in finances, resources and squad depth available. That's true of most Premier League clubs - but even more so at such a well-run club as Brighton.

The Seagulls booked their ticket here thanks to an eighth-placed finish, and safely navigated their play-off round against Tromso, winning 4-0 on aggregate.

Fabian Hurzeler has a massive squad at his disposal, and the quality evidently runs deep with Brighton having netted 13 goals in their opening four Premier League matches - all with the likes of Jack Hinshelwood, Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter absent.

Brighton's second-string could comfortably handle the majority of their Conference League opponents, with Monaco, Panathinaikos, Getafe, Universitatea Craiova, Jablonec and Kauno Zalgiris unlikely to cause too many issues.

How Hurzeler balances his squad between Europe and domestic duties remains to be seen, and it will need to be a fast learning curve for the 33-year-old, who has never managed in a European competition before. But another busy transfer window, with £160m spent on 11 new recruits to replace the departed Carlos Baleba, Jan Paul van Hecke and Danny Welbeck, should help.

⚽ Get Seagulls to fly high at 3/1 with BOYLE Sports ⚽

Atalanta

The biggest threat to Brighton, Atalanta shouldn't be discounted. The Italian heavyweights carry the highest UEFA club coefficient in the competition and drop into the Conference League following back-to-back Champions League campaigns - beating Chelsea, Marseille and Borussia Dortmund in their latest participation.

They clearly understand how to navigate their way through these competitions having won the Europa League in 2024, beating a previously unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final. There's also the fact that Italian sides generally do well in this competition, with Roma the first-ever winners and Fiorentina reaching the final twice in succession.

There's no shortage of top players, with the likes of Ederson, Giorgio Scalvini and Charles De Ketelaere, all playing under a seasoned veteran in Maurizio Sarri - who won the Europa League with Chelsea.

But they did lose Marco Palestra to the Blues over the summer, and there has been precious little money spent, with Gianluca Gaetano the only addition they've paid money for. So there are some questions over whether Sarri will prioritise this competition over a top-four charge in Serie A.

⚽ Atalanta to win another European trophy at 7/1 with Betway ⚽

Monaco

France certainly haven't made their presence felt in this competition, with no Ligue 1 side having made the final in five attempts. Monaco would like to change that, and they should threaten the latter rounds after being placed in Pot 1 following a seventh-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season.

They've also made a surprisingly good start to the campaign, sitting joint-top after four rounds of fixtures. Surprising because of Ligue 1's financial issues, which saw Monaco forced to sell key talents Maghnes Akliouche and Aladji Bamba, with striker Matthis Abline the only player they paid a significant fee to recruit.

Nevertheless, Monaco have a young, dynamic squad and should find this an easier assignment after successive Champions League campaigns. They also have Filipe Luis in charge, and while he has very little experience of managing in European football, he's no stranger to winning trophies after cleaning up during his spell with Flamengo.

There are a few hurdles to navigate, chiefly the strength in depth of the squad and two awkward trips to the UK to play Brighton and Hearts in the league phase.

⚽ Back Monaco to fly the French flag at 7/1 with BetMGM ⚽

Conference League dark horses

Outside of the top three in the betting market sit the dark horses. Sides with more than enough quality to challenge but with a few more unanswered questions.

SC Freiburg

Bundesliga outfit Freiburg are back for another crack at a European trophy having reached the Europa League final last season.

Julian Schuster's side exceeded expectations to reach the final, but were thoroughly outclassed when losing 3-0 to Aston Villa in Istanbul. They will have benefitted from that experience of tournament knockout football and should find things easier now dropping down a level to Europe's third-tier competition.

However, it's going to be difficult without superstar midfielder Johan Manzambi, who played in all 15 games en route to the final but has now joined Villa in a deal worth just over £50million. He is a huge player to have lost, although things have started well with Freiburg having begun the season with three wins and 10 goals scored.

⚽ More final action for Freiburg at 10/1 with Betway ⚽

Ajax

Four-time European Cup winners Ajax are clearly one of the biggest names ever to appear in this competition, but European football hasn't exactly been kind to them in recent years.

Usually mixing it with the top sides in Europe, it's been a decade since Ajax made a significant impact. In fact, since their semi-final defeat to Tottenham in the Champions League in 2019, the Dutch side have failed to get further than a quarter-final, with each of their last seven European adventures ending at or before the Round of 16.

The Conference League should in theory see them break that streak and reach a quarter-final at least, especially given how seriously they are likely to treat this competition as a way back into the big time.

It won't have helped to lose winger Mika Godts to PSG or midfielder Sean Steur to Newcastle over the summer, but the addition of Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo does offer some encouragement, while an unbeaten record in qualifying (W5, D1) is also positive - especially the goals scored column - 22 in six matches, if you're wondering.

⚽ Back Ajax to bring back the glory days at 10/1 with bet365 ⚽

Hearts

At 150/1, it's perhaps generous to consider Hearts as dark horses rather than rank outsiders.

Nevertheless, Hearts won't be here just to make up the numbers and will look to produce another fairytale run, akin to their challenge when finishing second in the Scottish Premiership. Champions League and Europa League qualifying didn't go well with defeats to Sturm Graz and Benfica, but this level will suit and Tynecastle won't be an easy place to visit on European nights. They've also started the season well with four wins from five.

There have been some big departures, most notably Lawrence Shankland, who scored 20 goals in 34 games last season, while their fixtures do look tricky with league phase clashes against FC Nordsjaelland, Mohamed Salah's Trabzonspor, Monaco and Pafos FC.

⚽ Take a punt on another Hearts fairytale run at 150/1 with Unibet ⚽

Who will look to break up the order?

FC Copenhagen and Midtjylland are two of four Danish representatives, but neither look particularly well equipped to challenge, with a history of very modest finishes in Europe.

Portuguese outfit Braga could outperform their price given their charge to the Europa League semi-final last season, while the fixtures have been kind enough with a visit to Copenhagen and hosting Gent about as difficult as it gets for them.

It's always a very dangerous thing to rule out Spanish sides in Europe, and there's a good chance that Getafe will outperform their price of 28/1 with William Hill. Jose Bordalas certainly doesn't promote flair, but they are defensively rock-solid, with only Real Madrid and Barcelona conceding fewer goals last season. Their stingy style could prove extremely effective against lesser attacks in this competition.

My favourite betting picks ahead of the Conference League season

Here are my two best bets for the 2026-27 Conference League.

Winner

Brighton. All day long. As mentioned above, the Seagulls have one of the deepest and strongest squads in the Premier League - let alone the Conference League. They look head and shoulders above the majority of sides in this competition, with a flurry of new recruits who've already hit the ground running.

English sides have shown that squad depth and resources count in the Conference League, and Fabian Hurzeler's side look well-placed to fly the flag once again.

⚽ Get Brighton to win the Conference League at 3/1 with BOYLE Sports ⚽

To reach the final

Not the most exciting pick, but Serie A heavyweights Atalanta should make the final under new boss Maurizio Sarri. They won the Europa League as recently as 2023-24 and made the last 16 of the Champions League last season, beating Borussia Dortmund in the playoff round before Bayern Munich knocked them out.

They won't face anything like those standards in this competition and have some serious players in their ranks. Italy has also done well in recent times with representatives in three of the five finals.

⚽ Get Atalanta to reach the final at 13/5 with bet365 ⚽

What do previous Conference League winners have in common?

There are no guarantees when picking a Conference League winner, but the five previous champions do offer a few clues. Clearly, you want a side that takes the competition seriously from Matchday 1, although bigger clubs can afford to rotate in the more winnable games given their squad depth.

A settled manager is another green flag, although Jose Mourinho, David Moyes and Oliver Glasner show that a good manager can be just as valuable. Squad depth is important, but perhaps less so here given the shorter route to the final - Crystal Palace played 12 games to lift the trophy last season.

The financial gap is also difficult to ignore, with the richer divisions dominating the latter stages. At least one finalist has come from England, Italy or Spain in every edition, making Brighton particularly tempting at 3/1 to become the fourth English winner.

What other boosts and offers could appear during the Conference League season?

Stay sharp on Thursday nights, because there's a lot of Conference League fixtures to sift through, with a batch of earlier and later kick-offs. Expect plenty of player-to-score and team-to-win boosts across the matchdays.

The disparity between some of the sides can also make this a goals-heavy competition, so keep an eye out for enhanced over/under markets and Bet Builder boosts.

FAQs about the Conference League

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about the Conference League.

1. How does the Conference League league phase work?

The 36 teams each play six fixtures, facing one opponent from each of the six pots. The top eight go straight into the last 16, while teams finishing 9th to 24th enter the play-offs. Those finishing 25th or below are eliminated from Europe altogether.

2. Which English clubs have won the Conference League?

England have dominated the competition, with West Ham winning in 2023, Chelsea in 2025 and Crystal Palace in 2026. That makes Brighton's 3/1 price particularly interesting this season, with the Seagulls looking to make it four English wins in six editions.

3. What do the winners actually get?

The winners earn a place in the following season's Europa League league phase, provided they haven't already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League through their domestic campaign. That alone makes it worth taking the Conference League seriously.

4. Is the Conference League worth betting on compared to the Champions League?

Yes. The field is less predictable, prices are generally longer and there is more scope for a surprise winner. The downside is that squad rotation can make form harder to read, particularly during the league phase. That uncertainty often creates better value than the Champions League.

🏆 Read more about the current 2026/27 season

Dean Etheridge

Dean Etheridge is an experienced freelance sports betting writer who specialises in football, cricket, and darts, with a keen focus on the Premier League and Champions League, as well as in-depth coverage of Premier League Darts and major tournaments. He can turn his hand to all aspects of the beautiful game and beyond, delivering expert analysis across a range of sports. He predominantly covers the Premier League and Champions League but can turn his hand to all aspects of the beautiful game. You can follow Dean on LinkedIn (@deanetheridge)

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