Home » Europa League Group Stage – Week 1 Tips – 21st September
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Europa League Group Stage – Week 1 Tips – 21st September
This Thursday sees the return of both the Europa League and Europa Conference League to our football calendar and as usual, we will be bringing you tips every time there are key games in the Europa League.
Last season, Sevilla claimed their seventh success in this tournament, making them by far the most successful team in its history. They earned a spot in the Champions League as a result.
West Ham, the Europa Conference League winners, will now compete in this tournament along with other British sides Rangers, Liverpool and Brighton.
Some of the other top teams competing in the tournament this year include Ajax, Marseille, Real Betis, Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal, AS Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta and SC Freiburg.
In previous years, the Europa League had provided me with some lovely acca wins over the course of the season, but last season it was the Champions League which was more profitable for me, which gives me plenty of reasons to want to improve my returns in this competition.
And after a good start to my accas this season with a win in the first week of the Premier League season, I am confident I’ll hit a winner somewhere along the line here!
Let’s now take a look at the four games I have selected to form my first Europa League acca of the season!
Europa League Bet Analysis: Thursday 21st September
Union Saint-Gilloise v Toulouse – Home Win
This is an interesting game as it involves the two other teams in Liverpool’s group with the Reds taking on LASK Linz on the same night. The Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise did well to reach the latter stages of this competition last season and also pushed very hard to win the Belgian league title, only losing out on the final day of the season. Toulouse qualified by virtue of their thumping French Cup win over Nantes and they are a team that my brother has a season ticket for, so I can get some great info on them. He reckons that they are a decent side at home, but struggle in the bigger games on the road. With this being their first European adventure in many years, I think that they may find this Belgian side a bit of a tough nut to crack on the opening night.
Ajax v Marseille – Draw
This is a game that would grace the Champions League as Ajax, who were surprisingly beaten to the league title by Feyenoord last season, take on a Marseille side who are unbeaten in the season so far and lie third in the Ligue One table ahead of the games this weekend. Ajax have started the season somewhat slowly, despite a 4-1 opening day win over Heracles. They have since drawn their last two Eredivisie games and also lost at home in the 2nd leg of their Europa League playoff (but still went through after a 4-1 away leg win) against Ludogorets. That suggests to me that the French side, who are not the best travellers in Europe, could get something from this game and while a win may be too big an ask, a draw looks a good option.
Brighton v AEK Athens – Home Win
It is going to be hugely interesting to see how Brighton perform in this competition. Roberto De Zerbi’s team should be set up to go well in the Europa League and they don’t have too daunting a start as they face the Greek side AEK Athens. The Greek side have four points from their two games this season but they were beaten home and away in the Champions League playoff by Antwerp and they face a tough game this weekend against Olympiacos ahead of the Brighton game, followed by Panathinaikos next weekend. Brighton therefore should hold all the aces with home advantage here and I am expecting the Seagulls to kick off their campaign with a solid win in this clash.
Rangers v Real Betis – Away Win
What can you expect from Rangers in this game? The Gers have won two but lost two of their four SPL games this season and they currently lie a disappointinng fourth in the table behind Celtic, Motherwell and St.Mirren. They face a tricky task here against a Real Betis side who are seventh in La Liga and who have drawn with Atletico Madrid and beaten Villarreal on the road already this season. Betis also beat AS Roma away from home in this phase of this competition last season, so they are by no means an easy win. Spanish sides have a decent record against Rangers in recent times and I can’t see anything that suggests to me the home team will win here. As such, I think Betis could well be primed to land a big win on the road in this one.
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.
League to our football calendar and as usual, we will be bringing you tips every time there are key games in the Europa League.
