We take a look at majority of the Europa League’s Round of 32 ties in this preview.
We’ve decided to change it up a bit this week. Because of the sheer number of Europa League games – 16 to be exact – we’ll be offering punters quick-fire tips on each and every match without going into too much detail.
Wednesday 22 February
Fenerbahce 15/20 | Draw 47/20 | Krasnodar 38/10
Fenerbahçe head into this match a goal down on aggregate after a fourth-minute Viktor Claesson strike gave the Russians the lead. The Turkish giants now have it all to do, however, Dick Advocaat has no injury concerns to worry about. Back the Turks to claim the win here (90 mins) – the likes of Moussa Sow, Jermain Lens, Robin van Persie and Simon Kjaer should be too strong for the spirited Russians at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.
Schalke 4/10 | Draw 34/10 | PAOK 6/1
With a 3-0 away win in the bag, the Germans will have an eye on their Bundesliga match against Hoffenheim this weekend. Expect them to field a weakened team against the Greek minnows. That said, I still can’t see any other result other than a Schalke win, Greek sides are notoriously bad travellers in European competitions.
St-Etienne 49/20 | Draw 9/4 | Manchester United 11/10
Full preview here.
Thursday 23 February
Osmanlıspor 17/10 | Draw 2/1 | Olympiakos 7/4
Osmanlıspor come into this game as favourites, and rightly so. Their Greek opposition, Olympiakos, were lucky to escape last week’s reverse tie with a share of the spoils after being reduced to 10 men. That said, they did dominate up until that point with their more fancied Turkish opposition not enjoying a single shot on goal. Back the Greek side on the Double Chance here at 4/10.
Ajax 9/20 | Draw 32/10 | Legia Warsaw 6/1
Ajax are easily the better of these two sides and showed their class last time out. The only thing they missed in their performance in Poland last week was a goal. They bossed the possession stats and had far more goal attempts as well as shots on target. Ajax have only failed to win one of their last eight matches – that was against Warsaw. Don’t bank on the Polish side holding out in Amsterdam – Ajax to win at 9/20.
Besiktas 7/10 | draw 26/10 | Hapoel Be’er Sheva 4/1
Be’er Sheva have claimed some notable scalps this season in the Europa League including a 2-0 win over Inter Milan at the San Siro. They were comfortably turned over, however, in the first leg of their round of 32 match by Turkish Giants, Bestiktas. The Turks are in the driving seat here and should be able to finish the job off with a win in the second leg. Get on at 7/10.
APOEL Nicosia 51/20 | Draw 23/10 | Athletic Bilbao 21/20
APOEL did just about enough to remain alive in this tie as Giannis Gianniotas scored in the 89th minute of the first leg to bring to aggregate score to 3-2. The Cypriots will need an almighty performance if they are to overturn the first leg deficit with Bilbao’s wealth of attacking talent almost guaranteed to score against the minnows. Bilbao to win here – best bet of the week at 21/20!
Zenit 11/20 | Draw 31/10 | Anderlecht 17/4
Anderlecht have one foot in the round of 16 after a somewhat surprising 2-0 win over Zenit. Two goals from Ghanaian powerhouse, Frank Acheampong, have but the Belgians on the brink of elimination. Zenit will be looking for a big performance in freezing conditions to get them over the line. The draw looks the likeliest of results here, Thursday will see plenty of snow fall in Saint Petersburg making playing conditions difficult to deal with.
Roma 7/10 | Draw 11/4 | Villarreal 36/10
Full preview here.
Fiorentina 14/10 | Draw 9/4 | Borussia Monchengladbach 37/20
Full preview here.
Lyon 7/20 | Draw 4/1 | AZ Alkmaar 13/2
Lyon stomped AZ in the first leg of their tie after goals from Lucas Tousart, Jordan Ferri, as well as a brace from Alexandre Lacazette saw the French giants run out 4-1 winners. This should be a pretty straight-forward win for the French side in front of their home fans. Take Lyon on the (-1) Handicap at 9/10.
Shakhtar 6/10 | Draw 29/10 | Celta Vigo 17/4
In one of the more evenly-contested ties of the round of 32, Shakhtar will welcome Celta Vigo to the Donbass Arena with a 1-0 aggregate lead. The Spaniards, already a goal down, will need to adjust to the near-freezing condition in the Ukraine quickly if they want to turn the tie around. They’ll no doubt look to the tenacious Iago Aspas to drag them into the last 16. Shakhtar are notoriously difficult to beat in the Ukraine and should be backed at 6/10 here.
Sparta Prague 1/1 | Draw 9/4 | FK Rostov 28/10
Sparta are effectively out of the competition following the 4-0 thrashing they received at the hands of FK Rostov last time out. The Czech club simply didn’t look up for the challenge and are unlikely to get up for the second leg in front of what should be a pretty small crowd. Get on Rostov at 28/10, the Russians have clearly targeted this competition and will look to get the job done in the Czech Republic. The away win is tipped at 28/10.
Genk 6/10 | Draw 28/10 | Astra Giurgiu 9/2
Astra have Takayuki Seto to thank for keeping them in this tie. The Japanese midfielder popped up with a crucial 90th minute header to send the 4000-odd home fans into raptures. Things get a lot more difficult for the Romanians now as they make the short trip to Belgium to face Genk at the Cristal Arena. The Belgians should prove far too strong for their lesser opposition. Back the home side on (-1) Handicap at 19/10.
København 15/20 | Draw 51/20 | Ludogorets 15/4
København are very much in the driving seat following their 2-1 over Ludogorets in the first leg. The Danes can have a proper go in the Europa League now as they sit 11 points clear of their nearest rivals in the Danish Superliga. Back the Lions of København to overcome the plucky – if not very talented – Bulgarians at 15/20.
Tottenham 3/10 | Draw 4/1 | Gent 17/2
Full preview here.
Bet on this match now at Hollywoodbets.net! Haven’t got an account? Open one here!
