BOURNEMOUTH will become the third consecutive English team to win the Europa League, according to the Opta supercomputer.

It gives the Cherries just a 0.3% better chance than a European giant to notch the title.

AFC Bournemouth v Brentford - Premier League 2026/27Bournemouth are the supercomputer’s favourites for the Europa League Credit: Getty

Bournemouth are the Opta supercomputer's favourites to win the Europa League this season 🏆 pic.twitter.com/pyZ1lZMGCd

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 15, 2026

It would be quite the statement from the team on the South coast in their first ever European campaign.

Opta’s supercomputer gives them a 14.3% chance of lifting the trophy, with Portuguese juggernauts , now managed by , a close second at 14%.

Now-Liverpool manager led the Cherries to a very impressive sixth place last season to secure a place in Europe’s second biggest competition.

They were just three points off Liverpool, who scraped a place in the last term.

Now managed by former manager Marco Rose, Bournemouth are looking to take a step to the next level with European success.

And they begin their road to Istanbul this Thursday night as they travel to the North of Spain to take on Real Sociedad.

It could be considered Bournemouth’s second toughest test of the league stage before they host AC Milan next month.

And the supercomputer has given the English side, who play in a stadium with 11,000 seats, more than double the chance of Milan.

Wednesday 16 September
Ararat-Armenia
17:45
Live Teams
Sparta
Omonia
17:45
Live Teams
Celta
Anderlecht
20:00
League Stage
Lyon
Lyon
H Be'er Sheva
20:00
League Stage
Dinamo Zagreb
Olympiakos
20:00
League Stage
Jagiellonia
Bayer 04
Bayer-leverkusen
20:00
League Stage
Celje
Sturm
20:00
League Stage
Rennes
Thursday 27 August
Ferencváros
4 – 0
AGG 5 – 0
Trabzonspor
Anderlecht
3 – 0
AGG 6 – 0
Kairat
CSKA
0 – 2
AGG 0 – 5
OFI
AGF
1 – 3
AGG 2 – 6
Benfica
Thun
2 – 2
AGG 2 – 9
Lech
Omonia
4 – 2
AGG 4 – 3
Sint-Truiden
Plzeň
5 – 1
AGG 5 – 4
Crvena zvezda
UEFA Europa League Pld Pts GD W D L
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
AZ
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
Anderlecht
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
Ararat-Armenia
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
Beşiktaş
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
0

It concluded that the sleeping Italian giants have just a 5.4% chance of lifting the trophy.

Other notable sides included in the supercomputer’s prediction were , who are considered third best, followed by the Tony Bloom-owned Union Saint Guilloise of Belgium and Bournemouth’s fellow debutants Sunderland.