The football season is always exciting, not only because of the powerhouse teams but also due to underdogs like those that eventually send shockwaves through the ranks.
Lofty ambitions, highly passionate fans, and sometimes methods that simply catch the most hardened opponents cold-meaning underdog teams add that spark of flair into the European Leagues.
In this article you can have a look at some of the underdog teams to keenly watch this season in Europe.
Since 2019, Union Berlin has been at the core of German football. Last season, against all expectations, they grasped a place in the top four and ensured Champions League qualification.
This season, the Berliners build on the past success, developing the roster with fresh recruits, but never leaving that scrappy flavor.
Some aspects that Union Berlin is strong on include:
- Watertight Defense: The defense of Union Berlin is compact and has frustrated, on many occasions, even top attacking teams.
- Reliable Goalkeeping: The goalkeeper is one of the most effective goalkeepers in the league.
These ingredients have made Union Berlin one of those grueling teams to play against in the Bundesliga, and should they continue in the same fashion, they might once again surprise their critics.
Lens is the new monster in Ligue 1 now. With calculated signings, with the peculiarity of a mix of veteran presence and youthful enthusiasm, Lens did make a case for themselves as a strong competitor to the likes of traditional giants in Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille:
- Youth Development: Probably one thing that keeps Lens’ gameplay fresh is the development of young talent.
- Aggressive offense: Never backward in pushing the risk, they are always tormenting the opponent’s defenses.
This is one team that might be able to win it all this season, and in our modern world where right underdog football predictions are given rewards, you can potentially win big if you bet on them and download an app.
Real Sociedad has been one of the consistent strong forces in Spain’s La Liga, often swimming against the trend of more famous clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Aiming for another top finish, Sociedad has invested in both experienced internationals and promising youngsters. Below you can find their strongest assets as a team:
Brighton & Hove Albion has been one of those teams over the last couple of seasons that has been in many of the underdog football predictions 2024 in the English Premier League and is no different this season.
Full of energy and tactically alert, they have always remained neck and neck with a few other big names in the league while fighting for positions up the table.
Some evident strengths of Brighton include:
- Liquid strategies: Their coach changes the mid-match strategy, which is very hard for other teams to predict.
- Difficult to predict: Brighton’s attacks are always different because different players score goals, and this makes them multi-threats.
Atalanta has been one of the more consistent underdog sides to take the Serie A field as of late.
Both for their attacking flair and readiness for playing openly, Atalanta has often challenged Italy’s top clubs.
By beating Bayer Leverkusen last season which were on a 51 unbeatable match streak, Atalanta added the Europa League to its trophy cabinet and they look to keep this performance up.
This is a high-intensity team to watch, and they’re looking to keep up the pace this season with some exciting new talent, they have:
- Offensive Power: Usually, Atalanta had blown away matches with so many goals because of their free-flowing attacking style.
- Changeable Formation: The formation has changed quite frequently to puzzle their opponents.
- Home Advantage: As the supporters of Atalanta are pretty energetic, thus giving a good advantage in their home field.
Conclusion
It is true that in European leagues, a few strong finances most often win, but once in a while, these gutsy teams pop up-Union Berlin, Lens, and Brighton-just to make each season that little bit more exciting.
The will is there, smart tactics are there, and the engaged supporters make those gutsy teams prove in real life that anything is possible on a football pitch. So take heed of these dogs that may spring a surprise this season.