UEFA Europa League: Best betting tips to bank on for Thursday
On today’s edition of our sports betting previews, we bring you in-depth analysis of the UEFA Europa League games worthy of betting on come Thursday.
AEK ATHENS vs LEICESTER CITY
AEK Athens were easily defeated in their first Europa League group stage match last week in Portugal, so they have no other choice but to aim for victory against Leicester City here.
The Foxes have been in great shape lately, even managing to beat Arsenal in London on Sunday. They could make a huge step towards securing UEL playoffs with a potential win in Athens.
AEK Athens have had some brilliant games during the qualifying phase for this competition. It seems like one-leg format was great for them, managing to eliminate teams like Wolfsburg and St Gallen. But then, the situation in Greek Super League has been far from ideal though. The Blacks and Yellows from the capital are currently 4th after collecting 10 points from five games. A winless domestic streak was ended on Sunday with a 1-0 win against PAS Giannina. Karim Ansarifard was the only goal scorer.
As for their opponents, Leicester City have had periods with great form and some shocking losses so far. They are struggling with consistency, but still not being far away from the top in Premier League.
The Foxes are 4th with 12 points, which is only one behind table leaders Everton. We are surely going to have one hell of a season in the EPL with Leicester beginning to prove their mettle yet.
After missing a couple of games, Jamie Vardy returned against Arsenal and scored the winning goal. We think he will carry the squad in Athens to another victory, which is why we go with a Leicester straight win, priced at 1.70 odds by 1xbet.
ZORYA vs SPORTING BRAGA
Sporting Braga have been in fine form lately, having won a lot of important games in the last four weeks. Their fans are hoping to see such form carried onto Thursday night in Ukraine against the underdogs Zorya.
The Europa League campaign has started differently for these two squads – the Portuguese side already has three points on their account, while the side from Zaporozhye is in a rough spot after losing to Leicester City last week.
As already mentioned, Sporting Braga are currently in great shape. Carlos Carvalhal’s squad has won their last four games with an amazing goal difference 10-1 across competitions. Their best outings were against Tondela 4-0 and 3-0 against AEK Athens in the UEL premiere match last week.
The 23-years old striker Galeno has been the deciding factor in so many victories. He scored two goals in Primeira Liga so far, while also adding one to his name last Thursday against the Greeks.
When it comes to domestic campaign, Sporting Braga are sitting in 4th place with quite some gap from Benfica.
Even though they do not make it to Europa League group stages quite often, team Zorya have decent experience in playing European games. They were defeated at King Power Stadium last week easily, but every point won in this group is going to be of huge importance.
There is no doubt they will be motivated and confident after beating Rukh last weekend at home. We are expecting an open match in Ukraine with a lot of goals, so the BTTS to score option priced at 1.80 by 22bet.
LILLE vs CELTIC
This new football season is slowly turning into a disaster for Celtic FC. Their fans are just not used to early eliminations from UEFA Champions League qualifiers (which was the case against Ferencvaros), 2nd place in the Premiership and losing Old Firm derbies like Bhoys did ten days ago.
Thus, it is more than alarming, with a lot of pressure being put on Neil Lennon’s back. The squad even lost the first Europa League clash to AC Milan at home, so the trip to France here might be of crucial importance.
If they manage to keep up their form at current level, Lille OSC are seriously going to challenge Paris SG in Ligue 1 title race this season. Coach Christophe Galtier is doing phenomenal work with the squad, having collected 18 points from their opening eight duels and sharing the first spot on the table.
Lille have rock-solid defense which conceded only three goals so far, and being the only undefeated team in the league. Out of four appearances at this stadium, they were victorious in three.
The addition of 35-years old veteran Burak Yilmaz turned out to be a great move, as he returned the favour with four domestic goals. Yusuf Yazici was the main star in last week’s clash against Sparta Prague on the road in 4-1 FT victory though.
Celtic FC were easily defeated at home ground by the Rossoneri, so in order to keep UEL playoff hopes alive, they will have to aim for the win here. 3-3 draw against Aberdeen during the weekend surely wasn’t big confidence booster. We don’t think the Bhoys are ready to stop Lille at this point. Lille to win is priced at 1.61 odds by Betwinner.
All odds are correct as at the time of this publication. Please gamble responsibly
