CAN Club Brugge maintain their Europa League unbeaten record? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) gives us his thoughts.
Dnipro v Club Brugge | Thursday 20:05 | ESPN
From a betting point of view I must say I've been enjoying the Europa League more than the Champions League this season. Picking the Correct Score here last week was a particular highlight.
This second leg is another tricky puzzle to solve with so much at stake for both sides and like all four of these ties, the betting is mighty tight. Last week's opening leg finished 0-0 but it was the away side who arguably deserved more and I think that might prove pivotal.
A few pundits seem happy to crab the home form of Dnipro in this competition but that seems harsh. Yes, they only won two of their six group matches and stumbled to home loses to Qarabag and Inter, but their form has been impressive in the knockout stages.
I think it's dangerous to read too much into group stage results in this competition. Some sides are good enough to take the foot off the pedal and cruise into the knockout rounds. Wolfsburg losing home and away to Everton is a case in point.
Looking at the Ukrainian side's home form in the knockout rounds one has to doff their hat. They took out one of my favourite European sides Olympiakos in the Last 32 and then saw off Ajax in the last round. Both home wins were achieved without conceding a goal.
Club Brugge have had an outstanding season. They're chasing a double in Belgium (already won the Cup) and are unbeaten in the Europa League. I just feel that at some point this is going to catch up with them; Brugge have played 55 games this season, Dnipro just 39.
It's Dnipro for me here. I'm going to back them to win to nil at odds of 23/10 with BetVictor. Like I mentioned, they haven't conceded at home in the Europa League knockout rounds and have remarkably kept clean sheets in 11 of their last 14 matches. Outstanding!
As I called the Correct Score correctly last week, I'll have another go here and cover my options with a poke at 9/1 (BetVictor) on a 2-1 win for Myron Markevych's side.
Best Bets
Dnipro v Club Brugge – Dnipro to win to nil (23/10 BetVictor)
Dnipro v Club Brugge – Dnipro to win 2-1 (9/1 BetVictor)
Bet 365 Bore Draw Refund
Place a Correct Score, HT-FT or Scorecast bet on this game with Bet365 and they'll refund you if the game ends 0-0.
