Of course the competition will be more competitive every season because like last season there was an interesting competition between Liverpool and Leverkusen but in the end they failed to become champions. This season, there are also several strong teams competing in the European league, but it is not impossible that there will be many obstacles for them to become champions.
I think it's too early to tell the whole would be favourites for the Europa league next season, the same it was too early for fans to say Liverpool and Leverkusen would meet in the final. The Europa league is a league that's very unpredictable. In the champions league, you always know the teams that could win it, but with the Europa, you can never really tell, that's what makes it more interesting.
Another thing that makes it more interesting is the fact that a relatively small club can win it. With the champions league, it is mostly a big club that wins it, but with the champions league, a small team can win it, like Villarreal did against Manchester United.
I favor Manchester United this season because they have stronger squad depth when compared to other teams. Also they are increasing their strength by bringing in new players in the transfer window. I think Erik should be able to bring the Red Devils to defeat their opponents in the European League this season and present a trophy for the Red Devils fans.
I don't have that much hope in Manchester United yet. You don't have to look at Manchester United alone when analysing, you also have to look at other teams. Other teams are also building stronger teams too. Also, you never know how the teams will perform when the season starts. So I guess we have to see their performances first before we can know how the teams will perform in the Europa league.
The Europa League is indeed difficult to predict, some teams appear with different performances from domestic competitions, Atalanta success last season is a very relevant example. In my opinion, it is still too early to guess which teams are favored for next season, but from the many choices later, I am sure Manchester United will be on the list of choices. Currently almost all teams are trying to add depth to their squad, of course that will affect their chances of winning the trophy. It is possible that we will see another dark horse team that will win the Europa League trophy next season, and that is where the interesting competition lies. Meanwhile, representatives from the Premier League will prioritize the Europa League as a path to get tickets to the Champions League, because the competition there is fairly competitive.