Ajax, Inter Milan, RB Salzburg: Rating each club's chances of winning Europa League 2019-20
The Champions League Group Stage is now over and Amsterdam giants Ajax, Inter Milan, and Austria's RB Salzburg are out of Europe's premier cup competition and will now compete in the Europa League. The fate of the three teams was decided on Matchday 6 of the Group Stage. They will now join teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Borrusia Monchengladbach, Roma among others in the Round of 32 of the second-tier European competition.
Last season's semifinalists Ajax were at the top of the group at the conclusion of Matchday 5 with 10 points, followed by Chelsea and Valencia at 8 points each. The Dutch club lost their ultimate group stage game against Valencia at the Johan Cruijff Arena, paving the way for Chelsea to progress to the knockouts.
Inter Milan had a do-or-die scenario on Matchday 6, where they had to beat last season's semifinalists Barcelona to qualify for the knockouts. The San Siro club couldn't beat a second-string Barcelona starting lineup, despite having a host of chances and crashed out of the group stage of Champions League for a second consecutive year.
RB Salzburg, too, had a do-or-die contest on their hands against the current European champions Liverpool in Austria. Despite their exciting playing style and goal-scoring ability, the Austrian club fell to the might of the Reds and lost the match by 2 goals to none.
While playing in the Europa League is not the ideal scenario for clubs like Ajax and Inter Milan, it is still a chance to win a European trophy.
RB Salzburg would view it as a chance to still play and have a shot at winning the Europa League. Can Antonio Conte rally his troops to a Europa League win and take Inter Milan to the top tier of European once again? Will Ajax make amends for their Champions League exit? Here, we rate the chances of each of the three teams of winning the Europa League 2019-20.
3. RB Salzburg
Strengths
This season's Champions League run was an unpredictable one for RB Salzburg. Lead by young sensation Erling Braut Haaland, Salzburg scored 16 goals throughout the competition while conceding 13 along the way.
The Austrian club, coached by Jesse Marsch, play a high intensity 4-2-2-2 formation in tandem with an alternate 3-man-defence set up. Their expansive style of play is very attractive and the system has provided great goal returns. Along with Haaland, Takumi Minamino and Hwang Hee-Chan have been instrumental in the good performances of the team.
Weakness
A good defence is key to progress into the later stages of a European competition. RB Salzburg have struggled defensively this season and while they are likely to go through the Round of 32 and 16 without much effort, they could face good teams in the later stages of the competition. In a knock out scenario, failure to keep a clean sheet will be key for the aspirations of this young team.
Barring the 2017-18 season, where they reached the semifinals of the Europa League, RB Salzburg hasn't regularly qualified for even the quarter-final stages of a European league. This fact combined with the uncertainty in defence, suggests that winning this year's Europa League competition would be hard work for Jesse Marsch's boys.
The transfer market will also affect the club's Europa League run. Haaland has certainly attracted many top clubs around Europe and it wouldn't be unwise to assume a transfer saga commencing around the Norwegian in the January 2020 transfer window along with other up-and-coming players in the squad, with Minamino said to have been set for a move to Anfield.
All in all, it seems as if winning the Europa League is a far fetched idea for RB Salzburg at this point. For all their attacking prowess and high-intensity play, their chances of winning the Europa League look bleak due to the defence and potential outgoing players.
Chances of winning - 2/5
Also check out: Seria A table Champions League table Champions League Schedule