EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW: The Ultra previews ASTON VILLA v YOUNG BOYS and NOTTINGHAM FOREST v MALMO both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ASTON VILLA V YOUNG BOYS
5.45pm The Europa League returns on Betdaq Betting Exchange! We have the two Premier League clubs back in action on Thursday night, and with both of them having home advantage and trading as red-hot favourites to win – I’m sure the Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest double will be a popular bet this week! We kick off the action with an early kick off as Aston Villa host Young Boys. Aston Villa come into this game in a good spot – another win at the weekend left them sitting in fourth spot in the Premier League. They haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire up front but they are getting the job done when everyone else is dropping points – Liverpool, Manchester City, Spurs and Manchester United all lost again at the weekend. Villa could find themselves bang there in the Top Four race, even with an average xG created of only 1.27 which isn’t an impressive attacking figure at all. This is a game that they will be fully expected to win though given the gulf in class between the sides – when the Premier League sides meet Young Boys in Europe most of the debate is around the plastic pitch when they’re away from home – that factor doesn’t come into things here.
As you would expect, Unai Emery’s men are the red-hot favourites. Aston Villa are trading 1.22 with Young Boys 15.5 and the draw is 7.8 at the time of writing. While Villa have been reasonably limited going forward in the Premier League, they have been creating more in the Europa League – obviously they face weaker opposition in this competition. Young Boys have managed two wins from their four games, but they have also been hammered 4-1 and 4-0 in their losses. I can’t see past an Aston Villa win here, but obviously we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value given there’s no prizes for tipping 1.22 shots! The market is expecting goals with Over 2.5 goals trading 1.43 – I actually feel that looks a little short given you’d expect Villa to dominate the game but obviously they have struggled to create good quality chances this season. The market is expecting Villa to do most of the work there with Both Teams To Score trading around 2.0 too. I feel we’ll see less goals than the market expects here, and I’m happy to take the 1.86 on Under 3.5 goals which is a confident bet to start the evening.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 3.5 goals at 1.86 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/AstYou
NOTTINGHAM FOREST V MALMO
8pm We finish Thursday night with Nottingham Forest hosting Malmo, and we have another red-hot favourite here. Once again there’s a huge gulf in class between the sides, and most football fans will be expecting the Premier League side to get the job done here. Forest must be buzzing at the moment too after hammering Liverpool 3-0 at the weekend at Anfield – a remarkable performance given all they’ve been through this season. It even had Jamie Carragher criticising Mo Salah on Monday Night Football which is very rare! It’s no surprise to see the home win trading very short here – Nottingham Forest are 1.23 with Malmo 16.0 and the draw is 7.2 at the time of writing. A very similar market to the early game – Forest are only one tick bigger than Villa! Obviously Forest have already been through a lot this season – they are on their third manager already but Sean Dyche seems to have built morale up nicely. They were in trouble when he took over and he has steadied the ship – one wonders how things will go when the owner starts expecting them to compete for Europe again – then things might get uncomfortable for Dyche.
Ironically this season, Forest are playing much better football compared to last season when they massively over-performed. The one thing you’d worry about though is that they are still conceding a high volume of chances. Their average xG conceded is 1.58 which is the fourth worst defensive figure in the Premier League – it’s hard to read too much into the Forest figures though because obviously the players downed tools under Ange Postecoglou. Once again, we’ll have to look around the sides markets here – it’s hard to see past a Forest win here and at 1.23 they are a price for an Acca! Malmo have been quite poor in the Europa League to date; one point from four games and struggling to create chances. I feel Forest can cover the handicap here, and I’m happy with a small bet on Forest to cover the 1.5 goal handicap at 1.66.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Nottingham Forest -1.5 goals to beat Malmo at 1.66 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/NotMal
