Europa Conference League: Meet the Final Four

The third tier of European football has reached the business end with the semi-finals, just as in the Champions League and Europa League, coming into view.

The 2025 Europa Conference League semis are scheduled for Thursday 1^st May when La Liga side Real Betis meet Serie A’s Fiorentina, and the outsiders from Sweden, Djurgarden, take on Premier League aristocrats Chelsea. For Betis, La Viola, and Chelsea, this is a chance to win silverware for their fans, while Djurgarden can make history.

Let’s take a look at the four clubs in search of European glory, and a star player to watch from each.

Real Betis

Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis are in fifth place in La Liga, and that will qualify for a Champions League slot next term, but there is plenty of work for Los Verdiblancos to do. They have gone well in Europe too, beating Jagiellonia 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and they have the pedigree to go all the way.

As three-time Copa del Rey winners, the last occasion in 2022, this is a club which likes a cup, but they are yet to win a trophy in Europe. Betis come into the game with back-to-back league wins over Girona and Real Valladolid, and they will be firing again on Thursday for the visit of La Viola.

With seven goals in the competition, Cedric Bakambu is one away from leading the race for the Golden Boot, and leader Afimico Pululu has gone out of the competition with Jagiellonia. But Bakambu missed the club’s 5-1 win over Real Valladolid with a knee injury, and so the goalscoring responsibility might lay elsewhere.

On-loan winger Antony is one man ready to star in this week’s Europa Conference League 2025 highlights. Since his arrival from Manchester United, the Brazilian star has been back to his best, and his raids down the flank and eye for goal make him an exciting player to watch.

Fiorentina

Currently eighth in the Serie A table, Fiorentina are well in the hunt for European places and only four points behind Bologna in fourth. After beating NK Celje to get through to the semi-finals, La Viola had a successful return to league action with a 2-1 win away to Cagliari and, unlike Betis, they are in action this weekend with a home game against Empoli.

Fiorentina are regulars in Europe, winning the Cup Winners Cup in 1961 and finishing runners-up in the Europa Conference League in 2023 and 2024. Will this be third time lucky for La Viola?

With 17 goals and three assists, Moise Kean is second in the race for the Capocannoniere behind Napoli striker Mateo Retegui, and the former Juventus man is in the form of his life. Kean missed Fiorentina’s clash with Cagliari and, while no official reason was given, he has suffered with an ankle niggle in recent weeks, and manager Raffaele Palladino may be managing his star striker’s workload.

Chelsea

The Blues of West London rather limped through to the semi-finals with a 4-2 aggregate win over Legia Warsaw and losing the second leg at home 2-1. The players were booed off by the fans at Stamford Bridge, and manager Enzo Maresca accused his men of disrespecting their opponents. But Chelsea are the favourites to win the trophy and are in the Premier League top five race. They are the team to beat but can be caught out on an off day.

Advanced midfielder Cole Palmer has been Chelsea’s standout player over the past two campaigns, but he has been a little quiet of late, and that has shone the spotlight elsewhere. Former PSG and RB Leipzig star Nkunku has suffered from injuries since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, but he’s fit and firing now and top scoring in the Conference League with five goals. He’s a class act, and Chelsea fans are now hoping to see the best from Nkunku.

Djurgarden

It’s been a great season in Europe for Scandinavia, with Bodo/Glimt becoming the first Norwegian side to reach the last four of the Europa League and now the Swedish club Djurgarden has gone deep into this competition after beating Rapid Vienna 4-2 on aggregate in their semi-final.

The Europa Conference League 2025 betting odds pitch the Swedes as rank outsiders to win the title at SBOTOP odds of around 23.00, and they face odds on favourites Chelsea on Thursday. But they’ll give it a real go as 12-time Swedish champions and Europa Conference regulars in their third consecutive campaign.

With two goals in the quarter-final, 21-year-old winger Tobias Gulliksen is a player to watch. He has pace and vision and a bright future ahead of him. The Norway U21 star transferred from Bodo/Glimt in the summer, and with five goals in 29 appearances, he’s made himself a fan-favourite across the border.

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