AccaNation.com aims to provide all users with safe, fair and regulated recommendations for which online gambling sites to use as well as fun predictions for accumulator bets. In the interest of transparency we'd like you to know that we are compensated for any traffic we send to online bookmakers.
Europa League Acca – Thursday 11th April
Unlike the last two evenings when we have had to combine Champions League games with Championship matches for our accumulator, on Thursday we have all four Europa League quarterfinal first legs taking place, which gives us a perfect opportunity to put them altogether into one accumulator for the night.
The two English sides remaining are in action with very different tasks in front of them. Arsenal look to have the more difficult task in store facing Napoli at the Emirates in what should be a cracking tie, while Chelsea travel to the Czech Republic to take on the surprise team in this year’s tournament, Slavia Prague, who knocked out five-time winners of this trophy, Sevilla, in the last round in remarkable fashion, 6-5 after extra time in the second leg.
The other matches pit two very dangerous sides, Benfica (three times runner’s up in this tournament) against Eintracht Frankfurt, who have actually won the competition when it was the UEFA Cup back in 1980. The other pits Villarreal against Valencia in what is local clash between two La Liga sides going through very different seasons domestically. Valencia, like Frankfurt, Chelsea and Napoli are previous winners of the tournament.
It should be a high quality night of action on Thursday and here is how we see each of the four games going.
Napoli were the team that probably Arsenal wanted to avoid but the Gunners now will have to test their mettle against the team that is second best in Serie A. Napoli have beaten Liverpool already this season on home soil so they will not be easy opponents, but Arsenal come into this game in better form than their Italian counterparts, who were surprisingly well-beaten in the second leg against Red Bull Salzburg last time out, only progressing by a key away goal in the second leg. This could be a close one but I am backing Arsenal to take a narrow lead into Naples for the second leg.
Benfica v Eintracht Frankfurt – Draw
The big story in this game is the fact that on-loan Benfica striker Luca Jovic, could be the man to gun down his parent club. The striker joined Frankfurt on a two-year loan in 2017 and has made a massive impact this season scoring plenty of goals in the Bundesliga and also in European competition. Benfica are probably hoping they had a clause inserted into the deal so he could not face his parent club but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Frankfurt beat Inter in Milan to reach this far but I think at home Benfica are a tough prospect for any side so I think that a draw is likely to be the outcome here which could well set up a thrilling second leg in Frankfurt.
Slavia Prague v Chelsea – Draw
It’s not often that I think the bookmakers have priced up a game completely incorrectly but I do feel that UK-based bookmakers may have had their British is Best blinkers on for this game. They have Chelsea as the huge favourites and if you take a look at Chelsea’s form in the Europa League this season, you can understand why. However, a broader look at their form reveals a team in a state of disarray under Sarri at the moment. Slavia Prague may not be a big name but they have beaten some big teams to get this far in the tournament and I think they are more than capable of holding Chelsea to a draw here to ensure the tie is still competitive come the second leg in London.
Villarreal v Valencia – Draw
These two teams have already met twice in La Liga this season, the first game at the El Madrigal finishing in a 0-0 draw earlier in the season but at the Mestalla, home side Valencia came out well on top earning a 3-0 victory. Villarreal are one of the teams to have played the most often in the Europa League in recent times but they are yet to reach the final, Valencia are winners of this tournament in the past and defeated their opponents tonight in the semifinal the year they landed that win. Valencia are very tough to beat, losing just four La Liga games all season but they do draw a lot of their games and I think that a score draw is likely to be the outcome here which I think will set up an intriguing second leg in Valencia in a fortnight.
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.
Champions League games with Championship matches for our accumulator, on Thursday we have all four Europa League quarterfinal first legs taking place, which gives us a perfect opportunity to put them altogether into one accumulator for the night.
