EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW: Our European football tipster The Ultra previews Thursday’s Europa League games between ARSENAL V OLYMPIAKOS, DINAMO ZAGREB V TOTTENHAM, AC MILAN V MANCHESTER UNITED and RANGERS V SLAVIA PRAGUE all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ARSENAL V OLYMPIAKOS
5.55pm It’s crunch time in the Last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday as we have the second legs! As it’s the week of the Cheltenham Festival, all bets are 0% Commission on BETDAQ Betting Exchange until Saturday. so hopefully we can make the best of it and find some winners. We start the evening with Arsenal hosting Olympiakos after winning the first leg 3-1. You can never be too sure with Arsenal these days but surely they have this tie in the bag – they will want as little drama as possible over the 90 minutes. It’s fair to say Arsenal are in their best form of the season too – they deserved to beat Spurs 2-1 at the weekend and they also deserved their win against Leicester while being unlucky not to beat Burnley in between.
Olympiakos are no stranger to English opposition and they tend to always come up short. Arsenal were a little lucky to score three times in the first leg, but it’s hard to see anything other than an Arsenal win here. The market is reasonably confident too with Arsenal trading 1.42 – the shortest price of any side in the Europa League tonight – I think the days of Arsenal being 1.2 against a half decent team are gone and 1.42 is short enough. Olympiakos have no choice but to attack here and while Arsenal have been playing well lately, they have also conceded goals. They have conceded in all of their last six in all competitions, and Both Teams To Score is worth backing here at 1.96.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 1.96 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQArlOly
DINAMO ZAGREB V TOTTENHAM
5.55pm We have another London club in action at 5.55pm as Spurs take on Dinamo Zagreb with a two goal advantage from the first leg. They would have been delighted with that second Harry Kane goal as it just eases the nerves and gives them a bit of cushion going into this tie. Although they could only manage an xG of 0.44 at the weekend against Arsenal in a pretty poor performance, they were full value for their 2-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb last week. They bossed the game and only allowed Dinamo an xG of 0.30. Prior to the loss against Arsenal at the weekend, Spurs had been in great form and were banging in the goals for fun – perhaps they just met Arsenal at the wrong time as Arsenal are playing well at the moment.
I said in the first leg that there was a huge gulf in class here and I stand by that. I’m happy to take the 2.04 available on Spurs to win here, especially with 0% commission on offer. However, I’m also happy to keep stakes small as Spurs don’t need to win and as we all know, Jose Mourinho loves to park the bus and close down games. He definitely won’t want an open game here with chances at both ends – even if Spurs come out on top. He will want a fully controlled performance. Dinamo will have to take chances and chase the game, and that should give Spurs plenty of chances to counter. I’d have Spurs odds on here, but it’s not a bet to go mad about given they don’t need to win.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Tottenham to beat Dinamo Zagreb at 2.04 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQDinTot
AC MILAN V MANCHESTER UNITED
8pm There’s no doubt all eyes will be on this fixture. United would have been absolutely gutted to concede in the 92nd minute in the first leg, and that has made their task a lot more difficult heading into this tie. They created enough that they deserved to win, and they really missed out on a great opportunity given how poor AC Milan were going into that game. Despite that setback, United have another great chance tonight. AC Milan continued their poor run with a loss at home to Napoli at the weekend, and after topped Serie A for so long they have dropped right off the pace. This is an ideal time for United to meet them, and United simply have to take advantage.
United put themselves in a fantastic position in the Champions League Group only to throw it away – if they throw away this tie given their 1-0 lead and AC Milan’s form it would be classic United since Sir Alex Ferguson left. I don’t think that will happen though as I fancy United at 2.26. AC Milan couldn’t be in worse form at the moment and United tend to always perform in the big games away from home – they put in a solid performance against West Ham at the weekend and a similar level to that will get the job done, while a similar performance to their 2-0 win away to Manchester City would blow this AC Milan team away.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Manchester United to beat AC Milan at 2.26 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQAcmMun
RANGERS V SLAVIA PRAGUE
8pm We even the night with another finely balanced tie. It was good to land our Both Teams To Score bet in the first leg between these sides, and a 1-1 sets this tie up perfectly. We all know how solid Slavia Prague are now having seen them against Leicester and in the first leg here, but Leicester did decide to rest players and you have to say that while Slavia Prague are no mugs – Rangers were definitely the better side in the first leg. From a betting point of view I feel there are two good options tonight; Rangers to win at 2.34 and Both Teams To Score at 1.86. Both Teams To Score is probably the safe option at 1.86, but I’m too tempted by the Rangers win at 2.34 to ignore it.
Rangers are having a fantastic season, already landing the Scottish title. Obviously the level there is pretty low, but they have been rock solid in this competition. They have saw a lot of action, hence why we went with BTTS in the first leg, and we could see another open game here. Rangers created more chances in the first leg however, and Slavia Prague don’t really create much looking at their xG figures from this competition. With the pressure on, I think Rangers get the win here – and I wouldn’t put anyone off BTTS either, however I think that’s priced fairly given Slavia Prague might struggle to create chances.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Rangers to beat Slavia Prague at 2.34 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQRanSla
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