Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Brighton — Who has best chance of Europa League, Conference glory?

Four Premier League teams kick off their campaigns in the UEFA Europa League and Conference League this week, with Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Brighton right up there among the favorites to win these competitions. MORE — Europa League schedules for PL clubs Bournemouth will be competing in their first-ever European campaign and are in the Europa League along with surprise-package Sunderland and Crystal Palace, with the latter in the Europa League courtesy of their Conference League win last season. Brighton are in the Conference League league phase after coming through the play-off round and are heavy favorites to make it four Premier League teams to win the tournament in just six editions. All four teams are absolutely delighted to be in Europe and this is a huge deal for them. It's lovely to see some Premier League teams who have been so well run for many years now being rewarded with opportunities to test themselves on the European stage. Which Premier League team has the best chance of winning the Europa League? Who are the favorites? When you look at the fixtures for Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace, it's clear they have a tough path in the league phase due to their UEFA coefficient and all three being placed in Pot 3 for the draw. Bournemouth have AC Milan, Real Sociedad, Sparta Prague, Celta Vigo and Sturm Graz in their first five games. But if they can get through that with a few wins, they'll make the knockout rounds and new manager Marco Rose has vast experience in European competitions. Regis Le Bris' Sunderland have been handed a slightly easier draw but they head to AC Milan, host AZ Alkmaar and travel to Anderlecht. The Stadium of Light will be rocking for these home games as Sunderland have only ever had one season in Europe in their history, a second round exit in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup back in 1974. While Palace, who won the Conference League last season and are only in their second-ever season in a major European competition as a club, have a really tough draw with Lyon, Besiktas, Hoffenheim, Real Sociedad and RB Salzburg to negotiate. Palace have to manage all of that while going through a huge transition under new manager Pierre Sage. Out of the three Premier League teams in the Europa League league phase, you'd probably pick Sunderland to perform the best given the fixtures they have and their squad depth, but all three should make it through the knockout rounds at the very least. In terms of the favorites to win the Europa League outright, Italian giants Juventus and AC Milan are right up there, as are Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Benfica, Lyon and Marseille. But Bournemouth, Sunderland and Palace are right in the mix with those favorites and that is absolutely incredible for fans of all three clubs given the journeys they've been on. And remember: if you win the Europa League you don't just win the UEFA Cup trophy, you are also in the Champions League next season. Can the Seagulls soar to Conference League glory? In short: yes, they are the favorites. But there are some massive teams in this competition with Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton. A rebooted Ajax and dangerous Monaco and Atalanta sides are the main contenders, while Freiburg were runners up in the Europa League last year, Trabzonspor are full of stars and Sporting Braga and Getafe have punched above their weight in Europe in recent years. But Brighton have a very large squad and should be right up there and reach the latter stages of the competition as they can handle the Thursday-Sunday grind. They've played in Europe once before (they were knocked out of the Europa League the last 16 in 2023-24) and their second-ever season in European competition should go even better. They should breeze through the league phase given the fixtures as they head to Getafe and Panathinaikos and host Monaco in their toughest tests. Brighton will be disappointed if they don't reach the knockout rounds as one of the top eight teams in the league phase. This is also a really good route for the Seagulls to be playing in Europe again next season, as victory would emulate what their bitter rivals Palace did last season and secure a spot in the Europa League for 2027-28.