We’re reaching crunch time in the Europa League’s group stage, and Kevin Hatchard has four selections from Matchday Five…
Eagles to keep soaring
Eintracht Frankfurt v Antwerp
Thursday 25 November, 20:00
Live on BT Sport
It’s taken a while for Eintracht Frankfurt to get going under new coach Oliver Glasner, but finally they have developed momentum. The Eagles have won their last three games in all competitions, and they produced an impressive display in last weekend’s 2-0 win at Freiburg.
In the Europa League, Eintracht have been dominant, collecting ten points from their first four games, and they can nail down top spot and a place in the last 16 if they get a positive result here. Glasner’s men have won three in a row in the UEL, and they blew Olympiakos away in their last home match in the competition.
Antwerp have been hugely disappointing at this level this season, and their limp surrender in the 3-0 home defeat to Fenerbahce last time out has pushed them towards the European exit door. They conceded late winners in their first two UEL games, including a 90th-minute penalty in a 1-0 defeat at home to Frankfurt.
In all competitions, Antwerp have lost five of their last ten games, and I suspect they’ll lose again here. Five of Frankfurt’s six wins in all competitions have featured fewer than four goals, and we can combine a home win with an Under 3.5 Goals bet at 2.111/10 on the Sportsbook. If Frankfurt score early, they may well look to conserve energy ahead of a tough game against Union Berlin.
Defences to bear gifts in Greece
Olympiakos v Fenerbahce
Thursday 25 November, 20:00
Live on BT Sport
Fenerbahce got themselves right back into the qualification mix with their excellent 3-0 win in Belgium against Antwerp, and they won an Istanbul derby 2-1 at Galatasaray last time out, as Miguel Crespo struck a last-gasp winner. Usefully for our purposes, Fener have scored in 17 of their 19 competitive matches this term.
Olympiakos smashed the Turkish side 3-0 in the reverse fixture, but Fener have improved since then, and Olympiakos have lost home and away to Eintracht Frankfurt. While the Greek giants are domestically dominant, they are by no means certain to progress in this competition.
I’m tempted to take on the Olympiakos price of 1.84/5 in the Match Odds market, as I believe it’s a touch too short, but instead I’ll back both teams to score at 1.84/5. That has landed in six of Olympiakos’ last seven games, and nine of Fener’s last 11.
Betis will be Hungary for goals
Betis v Ferencvaros
Thursday 25 November, 17:45
Live on BT Sport
Having been smacked repeatedly in the Champions League last term, Ferencvaros have been handed similar experiences in this season’s Europa League. Losing home and away to Celtic has seen them eliminated from European competition entirely, with two group games still remaining. They have leaked at least two goals in each of their four UEL group-stage defeats, and against Young Boys in the Champions League playoff, they conceded three goals at home and another three in Switzerland.
Betis are in contention to reach the last 16, but need a win to have a hope of catching Bayer Leverkusen at the top. In six of their last eight wins in all competitions, they have scored at least three goals, and we can back them simply to score three goals or more at evens.
Marseille forced to go for the win
Galatasaray v Marseille
Thursday 25 November, 17:45
Live on BT Sport
Marseille have reined in the chaotic edge to Jorge Sampaoli’s football since a thrilling start to the season, and their first three UEL games of the group stage were a 1-1 draw and a couple of goalless stalemates. After a 2-2 draw with Lazio left l’OM with four draws from four games, they now need to start winning if they are to finish in the top two.
Galatasaray have collected eight points from their four matches, and had they held onto a lead in the 1-1 draw with Lokomotiv Moscow on Matchday Four, they’d be in a very strong position. Their poor domestic season worsened last time out as they lost a dramatic derby 2-1 at home to Fenerbahce, and they have now won only one of their last five games in all competitions.
Marseille have the quality to win this, and they have only lost twice all season. They may have been negatively affected by the abandonment of the weekend’s game at Lyon (Dmitri Payet was struck on the head with a water bottle), but I expect Sampaoli to field a strong line-up. Payet and Valentin Rongier are suspended, but Arkadiusz Milik and Konrad de la Fuente should feature.
We can back Marseille Draw No Bet here at 1.845/6, which means that if the game is drawn our stake is returned, but if Marseille win, we win.
Source: Betfair Europa League
