EUROPA LEAGUE THURSDAY: Our European football tipster The Ultra previews the Europa League on Thursday with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
The Ultra is a professional football trader with over ten years experience betting on European football. He has gladly agreed to do a weekly column on BETDAQ Tips where you can get all his latest bets.
The Ultra has a staking system between one and five points, with five points for only his most confident bets in Europe. He loves looking at the stats before each game and especially enjoys using xG (Expected Goals) to make a profit.
RAPID VIENNA V ARSENAL
5.55pm The Europa League returns on Thursday and we have some excellent fixtures! We start with Rapid Vienna hosting Arsenal, who always do well in this competition. Usually we see Arsenal win Europa League games impressively, sandwiched in between two Premier League losses or disappointing draws. It’s unwise to take their Premier League form at face value when judging them for this competition in my opinion, having seen the how they have played over the last few years. The reality is they are more than a few levels above Rapid Vienna, and should win this evening.
Rapid Vienna were able to beat Rangers at home at the end of 2018 and actually came through that Group, but they have been comfortably beaten by the likes of Inter Milan and also lost to Gent more recently. Arsenal should be able to deal with this side, even allowing for a few likely changes. They are short of the Top Four in the Premier League, but there are signs that they are slowly improving under Arteta. I’m happy to have a small investment on The Gunners at 1.63 as I made them closer to 1.5 to win here, but as always a little worry about Arsenal away from home so stakes are kept small.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Arsenal to beat Rapid Vienna at 1.63 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQRapArs
STANDARD LIEGE V RANGERS
5.55pm Rangers will come here on a high after beating their bitter rivals Celtic 2-0 in the Old Firm Derby at the weekend. They are now four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, although Celtic do have a game in hand. Rangers did very well in this competition last season considering the low standard of their domestic football, and they’ll be hopeful of getting out of this Group. There’s nobody too scary, and they might even fancy their chances of topping the Group.
They were 13 points behind Celtic when the Scottish season was called off last season, so it’s clear that they need to improve, but they face a Standard Liege side here who play at a lower level domestically than Rangers. They’ve had to come through the Playoffs, and they’ve done a good job of that and scored a reasonable amount of goals. I think this is an ideal time to back Rangers – they are playing some great football and full of confidence, the away win is 2.26.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Rangers to beat Standard Liege at 2.26 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQStaRan
TOTTENHAM V LASK LINZ
8pm It’s never dull with Jose Mourinho! We had amazing scenes on BETDAQ Betting Exchange at the weekend as Spurs lead West Ham 3-0 at HT, only to end up with a 3-3 draw as West Ham equalised in the last moments. Spurs hit 1.01 in-running, and took all the headlines! Most of world football was making fun of them, and it will be interesting to see how they respond. It was so very Spurs; the moment everyone started talking about them as title contenders with the main sides dropping points, they go and do that.
They should get back to winning ways here, even allowing for Jose Mourinho to make some changes. The markets agree, with Spurs trading as short as 1.36. Most football fans will remember LASK playing Manchester United in this competition last season. United weren’t having a great time in March but were able to beat LASK 5-0, and then beat them again 2-1 after lockdown in what was effectively a training game for them given the first leg score-line. Spurs should win easily here, and I’m happy to back them at 1.85 to cover the 1.5 goal handicap.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Tottenham -1.5 goals to beat LASK Linz at 1.85 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQTotLas
LEICESTER V ZORYA LUHANSK
8pm This looks like it should be another one sided affair, with Leicester more or less than same price at Spurs – they are a little shorter, but only by two ticks trading 1.34. I would think twice about lumping on Leicester at these prices though. They are highly likely to rest a number of players, and they have been playing poorly in the Premier League since beating Manchester City. They’ve actually been very disappointing considering how good they were to beat City 5-2; to then go on and lose 3-0 to West Ham and 1-0 to Aston Villa.
Leicester created very little on Sunday, ending the game with an xG of only 0.63. It was even worse against West Ham as they could only manage an xG of 0.59. I know the behind closed doors element has almost taken away home and away, but both those games came at home which is very surprising. Clearly we have a big drop in opposition here, but if Zorya can get well organised then they might be able to get something. Under 2.5 goals is worth a small bet for me at 2.1, as Leicester could take a while to break down the visitors.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 2.1 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQLeiZor
CELTIC V AC MILAN
8pm This is one of the highlight fixtures of the evening! It’s fixtures like this when you miss the fans in the stadium, as this could have been another famous European night for Celtic fans. They really do put on a show when one of the European big boys come to town. As it stands, it will be very quiet, and AC Milan will more than likely outclass this Celtic side without the pressure and intensity from the crowd. The Italians arrive in superb form, and even managed to beat Inter Milan 2-1 at the weekend in an excellent game.
Celtic had different fortunes at the weekend. They lost their big derby, losing 2-0 to Rangers in the Old Firm Derby. They are now four points behind their bitter rivals, but they do have a game in hand. AC Milan arrive here top of Serie A with four wins from four games, and they have been impressive too. They are generating some impressive xG numbers, and they can do a number on this Celtic side. At 1.79 without the home fans, they look the best value bet of the evening.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win AC Milan to beat Celtic at 1.79 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQCelMil
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