In the quarterfinals of the Europa League of course everything can happen, but still their influence and performance in the domestic league is our reference to predict which team will advance to the next round, although luck is needed by a team but the performance and quality of the team are the main factors for them to beat their opponents, I think we are all here favoring Leverkusen and Liverpool at the moment is it because they are currently at the top If Leverkusen were a mediocre team like last season that was near the relegation zone, would we all say if Leverkusen was a strong candidate to win the Europa League this season?
off course not..!
Realistically I don't think anyone would want to favour a bad team in the league to be favourites to win the Europa League at the moment, I think Leverkusen and Liverpool are the only two teams to reach the final, and even If those two teams meet in the semi-finals of course one of the two winners is a strong candidate to win the Europa League trophy this season.
It seems I have to agree with your opinion. Because we cannot deny that we determine a team's performance not far from our assessment of their performance in their respective domestic leagues. And for example, as you mentioned about Leverkusen and Liverpool who also have good performances in their respective domestic leagues.
But apart from that, in the European League, surprising results often occur. Like last season, Sevilla managed to advance to the Final even though they were in poor performance in Laliga since last season. And last season Arsenal were also in the Europa League but they lost and were unable to go further. In essence, even though we refer to the domestic league to determine which team is the favorite. But to see a real result, sometimes luck plays an important role here too.