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Europa League Acca – 10th March
The Europa League is back this week with two games, FC Porto v Lyon and Real Betis v Eintracht Frankfurt taking place on Wednesday night. That means, with Spartak Moscow expelled from the competition, that the remaining five ties will take place on Thursday evening.
So we have picked four of the five best options for the games on Thursday and come up with an accumulator bet that I think offers great value, especially when you consider the lower odds options I had available for the Champions League earlier on in the week.
The selection includes two games featuring British sides. West Ham travel to Sevilla, the most successful club in Europa League history in what is a tricky first leg tie against the Spaniards who have won the trophy a record six times.
The other British side in action is Rangers who after superbly defeating Borussia Dortmund in the last round now face Red Star Belgrade of Serbia, with the first leg of the tie taking place at Ibrox.
Other games taking place on Thursday see Barcelona facing Galatasaray at the Nou Camp,, Atalanta face German side Bayer Leverkusen and Braga take on AS Monaco in Portugal, with all those games kicking off at 8pm in the evening on Thursday.
Let’s take a closer look at the tips I have put together for this week’s Europa League action.
Spanish side Sevilla have won this competition more times than any other team and they are probably one of the few teams that West Ham fans would wanted to have avoid in the Round of 16. The Spanish side are going well in La Liga too and they have proven to be very difficult to beat when they get into the latter stages of this competition, something that West Ham will be well aware of. However, Sevilla have not won any of their last three games, drawing two and losing one and while West Ham have lost their last two, they played well in defeat at Anfield to suggest that they should still be in this come the second leg. I am taking Sevilla to land the win and take a narrow lead back to London for the second leg.
Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen – Draw
Atalanta are a tricky side to judge. They are capable of beating anybody on their day, but they are also prone to being well-beaten by some other teams. The Italians inconsistency was clearly shown in the last round where they narrowly won at home against Olympiakos but thrashed the Greek side 3-0 away from home in the second leg. Bayer Leverkusen though are a much more difficult prospect and the German side comes into this game having earned a 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich at the weekend in the Bundesliga. Atalanta’s sticky home form of late is a concern for them against a top quality side and I think Leverkusen will get something here but I feel rather than a win, the draw is the best option.
Braga v AS Monaco – Draw
Braga only just scraped through the last round, beating Sheriff Tiraspol on penalties after winning the second leg 2-0 after a 0-2 defeat in the first. Monaco were seeded into this stage of the competition after winning their group and the French side will be the favourites to progress into the next round of the competition from this fixture. However, as we saw against Sheriff, Braga are a tough side to get the better of, especially at home and the French side may find that out here. This isn’t one of the vintage Monaco sides in recent times and I think while they will go through, they may have to win the home leg to do so as I can only see them picking up a draw here.
Rangers v Red Star Belgrade – Home Win
Rangers reward for beating Borussia Dortmund in superb style is a game against Red Star Belgrade in the Round of 16. The Serbian side topped their Europa League group to get this far, but Rangers will not fear them, especially given the poor away record the Serbian side have. They did beat Liverpool a few years back in the Champions League group stages, but I think this team isn’t as strong as that one and Rangers should be confident here. I am backing the home side to take a lead with them into the second leg in Belgrade, most likely by a 2-0 or 3-1 scoreline.
Author: Dean Wyatt
Dean Wyatt is the founder and editor here at Acca Nation. He’s been betting sports for over 20 years and is a profitable sports trader on the exchanges.
v Eintracht Frankfurt taking place on Wednesday night. That means, with Spartak Moscow expelled from the competition, that the remaining five ties will take place on Thursday evening.
