It’s Matchday 2 in the Europa League on Thursday, and Leicester City, Celtic and Rangers all face tricky group games, while West Ham have a very winnable home clash with Rapid Vienna.
Both Rangers and the Foxes kick-off at 5:45pm, with the Scottish champions in the Czech capital to take on Sparta Prague, while Leicester are in Poland to face Legia Warsaw.
Steven Gerrard’s side lost their group opener, going down 2-0 at home to Lyon, and the Gers boss is well aware they must do all they can to avoid another defeat, saying, “we’re fighting and competing for as many points as we can get” while admitting the Slavia test “is a big one, because we’ve lost our first one”.
Gerrard’s comments are, of course, designed to inspire his players, but it could be another difficult night for the Light Blues. Sparta finished second in the Czech top flight last season and are unbeaten in their previous four at home, winning three of those games to nil.
A home win later is a tempting 17/10, while a victory for the Prague giants and a home shutout again also looks good value at 4/1.
Vardy to Inspire Foxes
Brendan Rodgers’ side, meanwhile, have had an inconsistent start overall this season and will want to register a first victory in Group C when they take on what looks like a weak Legia team.
The 15-time Polish champions have lost four of their opening seven league games and are down in 14th in the table, although they did beat Spartak Moscow 1-0 away in their first group game.
The Foxes are without Kelechi Iheanacho because of an issue with his travel documents, but they do have in-form Jamie Vardy, who scored twice against Burnley at the weekend, to help them get a victory. Leicester to win is on offer at 1/2, while another Vardy goal anytime is 5/4.
Leverkusen a Step Up for Bhoys
Celtic could struggle to see off a talented Bayer Leverkusen side at 8pm. Ange Postecoglou’s reign so far has been blighted by inconsistency, and the Bhoys will have to significantly raise their game to get a victory against the team currently second in the Bundesliga and on a three-game winning streak in all competitions.
Postecoglou’s men have only failed to score in one of their last five games, though, and both teams to score with a Leverkusen win might be the way to go in this Group G tie at 49/20.
Hammers too Strong for Out-of-Form Rapid
Finally, the Hammers are looking forward to a first proper home game in Europe for the first time in 15 years, and they should have too much for a limited Rapid Vienna side in another of the 8pm kick-offs.
@skrapid
London Stadium
8:00 PM
BT Sport#UEL | #WHUSCR
— West Ham United (@WestHam) September 30, 2021
Rapid are woefully out of form, losing four of their last five games in all competitions, three of which when failing to score, while, in contrast, David Moyes’ men are on the up, having won their last two on the bounce. Moyes may opt to make some changes, but a convincing home win still seems likely.
There’s little value in a straight home win at 4/19 but for those prepared to take a risk, backing over 3.5 overall goals in the match is an option at 23/20.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
