Opta supercomputer predicts Liverpool's chances of winning Europa League

Liverpool faced little resistance in the last 16 of this season's Europa League.

Having breezed through the group stage, the Reds set up a knockout tie with Sparta Prague and secured comfortable passage to the final eight after an 11-2 aggregate victory over the Czech champions.

The Reds now have their toughest test in the Europa League this season as they prepare to face Italian side Atalanta in the quarter-final - a team that Liverpool beat 5-0 and lost 2-0 to in the 2020/21 Champions League group stage.

If Jurgen Klopp's men can dump out the Serie A side, a semi-final against either Benfica or Marseille awaits, with Liverpool handed the more favourable side of the draw.

Despite Liverpool being strong favourites in most people's eyes for this year's trophy, there are some extremely talented teams left in the competition.

Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen - who are unbeaten in 37 games this season - will face West Ham United, while Liverpool's 2005 and 2007 Champions League final opponents Milan face Roma in another exciting quarter-final match-up.

Naturally, Opta have crunched the numbers for this season's Europa League and fed them into the fabled supercomputer, with the Reds' chances of winning the title having now been predicted.

According to the stat experts, Liverpool are undeniably the favourites for the tournament, with a 34.5% chance of winning the competition for the first time under Klopp.

They have a 73.5% chance of reaching the semis and a 56.5% chance of making the final - the highest percentages of any team remaining in this season's Europa League.

Leverkusen are not too far behind with a 23.5% chance of winning the competition and a 44.9% chance of reaching the last two, where they could, of course, face Liverpool in the showpiece event in Dublin.

Milan are next favourites with a surprisingly low 13.9% chance of winning the trophy - the Italian side beat Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain in this year's Champions League - while Benfica (7.8%), Atalanta (6.6%) and Roma (5.7%) have slim chances of being crowned champions.

Despite winning the Europa Conference League last season, West Ham have been given just a 4.3% chance of winning, with Marseille technically the underdogs with a mere 3.7% chance of glory.

Given Liverpool's impressive performances this season and the fact that they would likely be among the favourites for the Champions League if they were in the competition, it's unsurprising to see Klopp's men given such good odds of lifting the trophy.

However, statistics are no guarantee of success, and Liverpool will be pushed all the way by some top tier European sides.