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Europa League Acca – Thursday 15th April
There’s no denying it, so I won’t pull any punches, I was really disappointed with how my tips performed last week in the Europa League. I went from hitting 75% in the Champions League (and only narrowly missing out on the other) to hitting just one of four in the Europa League on Thursday.
However, I aim to improve on that markedly this week and hopefully land a nice longer odds accumulator win with this selection of tips for the games on Thursday night.
The fact that we have the second legs of these games makes it much clearer what each team needs to do in order to land the win. In a trio of these games, it looks like the home teams have a big advantage and it won’t surprise you that I am backing all three to progress into the semifinals.
However, in the other game which involves Arsenal and Slavia Prague, things are much more evenly balanced after a 1-1 draw in the first leg and this game could be the one that makes or breaks the accumulator as I think there is a case for picking any of the three possible results in that game.
This is the part of the competition where things can get very dramatic very quickly and I think we will see some drama this week across these games, even if I think in most cases, it will be the teams you would expect that make it through into the next stage of the competition.
Here’s my tips for Thursday night’s Europa League action.
Manchester United have won both their away legs in the past two rounds and then followed that up with a draw at home, and I can see that continuing here. United will be without McTominay, Shaw and club captain Maguire for this game after all picked up bookings in the first leg. Granada also ended their run of defeats with a win at the weekend. United’s home form this season has also been a little weaker than their away form, especially early on in the season. Granada are a solid side and they deserved more from last weeks game than a 2-0 defeat. I can see them earning a draw at Old Trafford but that won’t be enough to put them through.
AS Roma (2) v (1) Ajax – Home Win
AS Roma have been one of the best sides in the Europa League this season and their excellent form continued when they produced a fine second half comeback against Ajax in Amsterdam. Trailing at half time, goals from Pellegrini and Ibanez put AS Roma in firm control of the tie and with the home leg to come, I think they are very much the favourites to progress. Ajax were superb on the road in Europe a few years back when they reached the semifinals, but this Ajax side is nowhere near as dangerous as that one and I think AS Roma will emerge as the clear winners in this one.
Slavia Prague (1) v (1) Arsenal – Draw
While I am pretty confident of my picks in each of the other three games taking place on Thursday night, this is the game that has given me the most to think about. Arsenal’s best performances of late in this competition have come on the road, as have Slavia Prague’s, but Prague are unbeaten at home in 30 games in all competitions and neither Leicester or Rangers were good enough to beat them in the Czech Republic. So I can make a good case for any of the three possible results here and when that happens, I tend to think a draw is the most likely outcome when it is two well-matched teams. Whether that draw results in a win for the home or away side on away goals, or extra time and/or penalties, I am not too sure, but I think it is the smart pick for this game.
Villarreal (1) v (0) Dinamo Zagreb – Home Win
Villarreal are in magnificent form at the moment and have racked up five wins in a row in all competitions, including a superb win in Zagreb in the first leg. The Spanish side look very likely to be one of the teams to beat in this tournament and nobody will want to draw them in the semifinals. I do expect them to go that far as I am backing them to land their 11th win in 12 games in this competition this season with a home win over a Zagreb side who I think had their moment when beating Spurs in the last round.
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.
how my tips performed last week in the Europa League. I went from hitting 75% in the Champions League (and only narrowly missing out on the other) to hitting just one of four in the Europa League on Thursday.
