Who could win the 2025/2026 Europa Conference League?

Since its introduction by UEFA in the 2021/2022 season, the Europa Conference League has gotten better and better.

Last season, Chelsea won the tournament. While rival fans were mocking them for winning and celebrating an inferior trophy that only teams outside the top European leagues compete in, the Blues won the Club World Cup in the summer.

In truth, Enzo Maresca did not have to use his key players until the latter stage of the competition, and some waited until the final to play, yet the Blues kept winning.

This does not mean the Conference League is not a competitive league in itself, as we have said before.

If it were to be a poor tournament, Chelsea probably would not have won the Club World Cup just weeks later.

The Blues have now become one of the clubs we expect to win the Premier League this season, but they will compete in the Champions League, so a new Conference League winner will emerge at the end of this season.

It will be a tough campaign for every club involved, and fans who purchase Europa Conference League tickets now expect to see good performances in each game.

A majority of the clubs in the tournament do not play in Europe’s top five leagues, which is why when a team compete in one of those leagues, we expect them to do well.

Djurgårdens IF reached the semifinals of the competition last season, but Chelsea stopped them from reaching a historic final that could have given them a chance to win.

This season, there are some clubs that did not compete in the tournament last term and here are the teams we think could win it.

Crystal Palace

Palace is England’s sole representative at the Conference League this season, and it is hard to look past them when picking the winners.

Since Oliver Glasner took over as their manager, they have steadily improved and are now selling far more Premier League tickets.

The team keeps evolving, but they sold Eberechi Eze this summer, who they have replaced with Chrisantus Uche from Getafe.

However, the biggest reason we expect them to have a successful season this term is that they have kept Marc Guehi.

Liverpool was close to signing him on deadline day, but Palace pulled the plug on the agreement after failing to sign a replacement.

His leadership and the spot-on tactics of Glasner will make Palace champions, not forgetting that Glasner won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Strasbourg

Thanks to Chelsea’s influence, Strasbourg is clearly one of the strongest clubs in the Europa Conference League this season.

The Blues constantly send players to the Ligue 1 club on loan because of the relationship between them.

Liam Rosenior is doing a fantastic job as their manager, and he nearly took them to the Champions League at the end of last season.

This summer, the likes of Kendry Páez, Mike Penders, and Mamadou Sarr have joined on loan from Chelsea, and the Blues also sold Mathis Amougou and Ben Chilwell to them permanently, further strengthening the Ligue 1 side.

Fiorentina

Fiorentina made some impressive transfers this summer after naming Stefano Pioli as their manager at the start of the term.

La Viola has been one of the clubs that do well in the Conference League since its introduction, as they have reached the final twice in the last three seasons.

They were finalists in 2023 and 2024, but they lost each time, and they could be a third time lucky.

Despite having one of the finest squads in Italy, they added Roberto Piccoli and Edin Dzeko to their squad this summer.

The signing of Dzeko means they have added important winning and European experience to their squad, which improves their chance of winning this tournament.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, football has continued, and Shakhtar is one of the teams in the nation that is helping to put smiles on the faces of Ukrainians.

For some time, they have been selling their best players and have not been as stable as they were in previous years.

The war has also affected them, but with Arda Turan as their manager, things are getting better, and they did well in the European qualifiers.

They are one of the few clubs that have won a European trophy in the tournament this season, and this hands them a huge advantage in their bid to win this tournament.

There are other clubs that probably have better and stronger squads, but Shakhtar has a European pedigree, and this could count in key moments during the tournament.

AEK Athens FC

AEK Athens FC is one of the top clubs in Greece, and they continue to keep their top-flight in focus in European football.

Over the last few years, they and Olympiacos have dominated the Greek game, and they continue to show that they are one of the top clubs in the land.

Their next target would be European glory, and their recent transfer activity suggests they are preparing to win this trophy.

They signed Marko Grujić, Luka Jović, and Răzvan Marin this summer to add to a squad that already had Roberto Pereyra, Anthony Martial and João Mário.

The Frenchman is expected to leave this summer, but he could stay, and that means they have a terrific squad to work with and can win this competition.

Mainz 

Mainz is representing the Bundesliga in this competition this season, and they will fancy their chance of winning.

They finished 6th in their league last season and are one of the finest German clubs to follow in any campaign.

In Europe, they know they will have to perform much better than they do in their domestic league, but the standard of the Bundesliga means they are in better shape than most teams in the Conference League.

In the latter stages of the competition, they will face tougher opponents, and that is why it will become tricky for them to win games and the trophy.

Rayo Vallecano

Despite losing its managers and some of its best players over the years, Rayo Vallecano has remained one of the strongest and impressive clubs in La Liga.

This is the first time they will play in Europe since the 2000/2001 season, when they competed in the UEFA Cup.

For a team that has only 22 years of experience in Spain’s top flight, they are clearly punching above their weight, but they have an interesting squad and some exciting players, so they could win the Europa Conference League for La Liga.