THE Europa League continues on Thursday night. Tom Love (@TomLove_18) runs the rule over the best betting options in games not involving British interest.
Trabzonspor v Krasnodar | Thursday 24th October 2019, 20:00 | BT Sport
The one team that does look a value price on this weeks coupon is Turkish side Trabzonspor at 6/4 against an injury-hit Krasnodar. The Russians make the trip over the Black Sea without the likes of Viktor Claeson, Remy Cabella, Yuri Gazinskiy and Andrey Sinitsyn. Doubts too remain over the fitness of Dmitri Skopintsev, Wanderson and Ivan Ignataev, They’ve been in finer fettle, that’s for sure.
What’s more, the Byki are far from a side in form. Krasnodar were hammered 5-0 on opening day against Basel and then lost 2-1 at home to Getafe leaving them with a lot of work to do if they want to progress. Inconsistency has been rife at the club and with just three clean sheets in their last 19. They’re struggling to keep the goals out and that in turn is hampering results.
Trabzonspor revel at their picturesque Senol Gunes Stadium base. Fifteen wins in their last 21 at home is a marvellous record and side rightly fear the intimidating aura that surrounds them. Daniel Sturridge is a known name at the club after making a free transfer in the summer and he’s starting to find form.
The hosts have bagged twice or more in each of their last four. Notable recent 4-1 wins over Gazientepspor and Besiktas standout and they’ll be eager to get their own Europa League campaign kickstarted after blowing a lead against Basel to draw last time out.
I do like them for the win here but the price means we can get a lot more on our side when using Bet365’s BetBuilder. If you combine the hosts on the Double Chance alongside Over 1 Goal then we come out with a 4/5 quote and that looks just the ticket. I do have a slight worry over the draw but if that was to happen and the game didn’t end 0-0 then we’d also have a winner.
PSV Eindhoven v LASK Linz | Thursday 24th October 2019, 20:00 | BT Sport
Key duo Luuk De Jong and Hirving Lozano departed PSV this summer to Sevilla and Napoli respectively, and many were anticipating a season of relative struggle for the Eindhoven-based side. But that’s not been the case and it’s largely down to one man.
Donyell Malen has already reached double figures in the Eredivisie in just 10 games – it’s a superb record for someone who’s just 20-years-old. Arsenal will be regretful in their decision to sell Malen to the Dutch side in 2017, many Gunners fans were impressed with what they’d seen from the youngster but he was deemed surplus to requirements.
Scouts from major European clubs will be flooding to get a glimpse of what the centre forward is all about after his exploits and suddenly PSV have another high value asset on their hands. He’s 13/10 (Betfair) to score anytime and I’m surprised he’s not odds-on across the board. He’s bagged three in his two opening UEL games and can continue that streak here.
It helps that his supporting cast includes the likes of Dutch international Stephen Bergwijn, Bruma and Ritsu Doan. Doan was superb for Groningen last season and this was a sensible move for the Japanese youngster and it will benefit him and PSV in the long run as I’m sure he will move onto bigger and better things in the future.
Another promising youngster in the PSV ranks is 17-year-old Mohammed Ihattaren who started on MD2 against Rosenborg in their 4-1 win, make note of his name because he will be a major player in the next 5-6 years.
The ‘Boeren’ have won 12/16 this season competitively and have scored three or more in 10 of those 16 games so they’re showing off going forward and they should score a few more on Thursday as they welcome Ausrtians LASK Linz.
Linz themselves have been unfortunate to only have three points. They deservedly beat Rosenborg at home on MD1 but unfortunately lost out to Sporting Lisbon last time out despite smashing in 22 shots. They should play their part in what should be a fun game.
Therefore, I’ll also take the 21/10 (Bet365) on PSV to win and Both Teams To Score. All the stats point to a goal-filled game but I’m banking on Malen and co to outscore their opponents at the Phillips Stadion.
Eintracht Frankfurt v Standard Liege | Thursday 24th October 2019, 20:00 | BT Sport
Frankfurt lost their terrific trio of Ante Rebic, Sebastien Haller and Luka Jovic in the summer and that dampened hope of another successful season this term. Last season's semi-finalists have coped admirably without them though – a W4,-D2-L2 return from their opening eight Bundesliga games is decent going and despite being eighth they’re just two points off table-topping Borussia Monchengladbach.
Eintracht did lose out against Arsenal on MD1 but there’s no shame in that. I was very impressed that they came away with a win from Guimaraes, which is always a tough place to go.
Goncalo Pacienca was a bit-part player last season but he’s taken the mantle up front this season, a credit to himself and boss Adi Hutter. Bas Dost can come in and cause problems, with him and the likes of Filip Kostic and Andre Silva in tow, they’ve not los any of their attacking bite.
An impressive 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend was fully merited and that’s increased the Eagles unbeaten run to five. They should have more than enough in the tank to dispose of poor travellers Standard Liege on Thursday evening.
Les Rogues were battered 4-0 in their last European away date at the Emirates and they will do well to oust either of the Gunners or the Germans in the qualification stakes. The Belgian outfit have won just won of their last five away games in all competitions and their shoddy road record is more prolonged with a W4-D3-L8 record in their last 15 competitive away games.
It’s therefore no surprise to see Frankfurt as short as 4/9, however I’m willing to take a chance on them winning a goal-filled game and we can garner an even-money quotes (Ladbrokes) by throwing Over 2.5 Goals into the mix. Four of the away sides last five games have seen overs cop and a mammoth 11 of the last 12 Frankfurt games have seen three or more goals.
Best Bets
Trabzonspor v Krasnodar – Trabzonspor double chance’ and Over 1 Goal (4/5 Bet365)
PSV Eindhoven v LASK Linz – Donyell Malen to score at anytime (13/10 Betfair)
PSV Eindhoven v LASK Linz – PSV to win and Both Teams To Score (21/10 Bet365)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Standard Liege – Eintracht Frankfurt to win and Over 2.5 Goals (1/1 Ladbrokes)
