THE ULTRA THURSDAY: The Ultra previews the Europa League Quarter Finals between FEYENOORD v ROMA and MANCHESTER UNITED v SEVILLA both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
FEYENOORD V ROMA
5.45pm The Europa League Quarter-Finals kick off on BETDAQ Betting Exchange on Thursday with some fascinating ties. No doubt all eyes will be on Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United later, but it’s brilliant that they split the games so we can enjoy a 5-45pm fixture too as Feyenoord host Jose Mourinho’s Roma. Jose Mourinho’s name has been thrown around the media recently linked to Chelsea after they sacked Graham Potter – it would surely be a foolish move to go back to Chelsea, again! Mourinho really has this Roma side behind him at the moment, and it looks like he could have Champions League football with them next season too. For the time being, focus is on the Europa League. Both sides won at the weekend, Roma putting two wins together after the International break. That was badly needed in the top four Serie A race because they went into the International break in poor form. Feyenoord have put five wins together arriving into this fixture, including a 3-2 win over Ajax. Their games have been very entertaining – their last four games have finished with score lines of 7-1, 3-2, 3-1 and 5-1! Obviously there is a little gulf in class between the Dutch Eredivisie and Serie A, but Feyenoord are running away with the Dutch title at the moment. They sit eight points clear now.
This will be a very tough fixture for Roma, it’s very likely they will be happy with a draw here and get back to Rome with everything to play for. Feyenoord obviously have fantastic stats in the Dutch Eredivisie – they average an xG of 2.0 going forward and only concede 0.9. Roma aren’t too far off that in Serie A though; they average 1.6 going forward and concede only 0.8. Mourinho clearly has them well set up at the back, and I’m sure he’ll go into this game with quite cagey tactics. Feyenoord are the favourites, currently trading 2.42 at the time of writing with Roma 3.45 and the draw is 3.25. If Feyenoord are to reach the Semi-Finals, they have to win this tie. It will be fascinating to see who wins the tactical battle because Mourinho will set up for a 0-0 and Feyenoord will have to make all the running. Their games recently have been jam packed with goals, but this is a different challenge now as Roma park the bus. Roma have done very well in the big games in Italy this season at stopping the opposition play football, and I feel they can do the same here. Under 2.5 goals is trading 1.66 and while that is a tempting bet, I’m going to take a chance on Under 1.5 goals at 2.89. I expect a very cagey first leg here.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 1.5 goals at 2.89 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FeyRom
MANCHESTER UNITED V SEVILLA
8pm Three fixtures kick off at 8pm, but Manchester United hosting Sevilla is undoubtedly the highlight fixture. Erik ten Hag has set out to win every competition United entered this season, and so far so good. They have the League Cup in the bag, in a strong position in the top four race in the Premier League, an FA Cup Semi-Final and then this Europa League Quarter-Final. Their fixture list is very busy though, and they don’t exactly have the squad to cover it. I can see players getting out on their feet eventually, but they come into this fixture in a good place. They got back to winning ways last week with a 1-0 win over Brentford, and then absolutely hammered Everton 2-0 here at the weekend – it could have been four or five though. They will be fully expected to get past this Sevilla side who have spent a lot of time in the relegation zone in La Liga this season. They have finally got their act together in recent weeks and jumped up the table, but they are still only five points off the relegation zone which is a sign of how bad they have been this season. I have to say this season came as a shock from a Sevilla point of view – usually the top four in Spain is on lock, and now with no European football next season we could easily see a lot of changes at the club. They still have a chance at getting European football though, they just have to win the Europa League! United come into this game trading as the heavy favourites though, they are 1.42 at the time of writing with Sevilla 9.2 and the draw is 5.1.
United put on an excellent display here at the weekend, they finished the game with an xG of 3.67 and Sevilla will give them a lot of chances here. Sevilla are conceding an average xG of 1.7 this season which is very high for a club like them; but the reality is they have been so poor at the back all season. They aren’t creating the same volume of chances as they are conceding, and it’s very hard to see past a home win here. Somewhat ironically, United are creating an average xG of 1.7 and conceding an average of 1.4 which is what Sevilla create – they have the exact opposite stats! Sevilla shipped another two goals at the weekend at home to Celta Vigo, and they have been conceding so many sloppy goals this season I feel United can cover the handicap here. They are trading 2.17 -1.5 goals which is a very appealing price considering there is a gulf in class between the sides this season. This isn’t a usual Sevilla side, they have been much lower quality, and United can get the job done easily here. They put Real Betis to the sword in the last round, and they have been much better than Sevilla in La Liga this season.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Manchester United -1.5 goals to beat Sevilla at 2.17 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MunSev
