West Ham’s 43-year wait for a major honour could come to an end tonight in the city of a hundred spires, Prague.
Davie Moyes will be hoping the surroundings can in’spire’ his men to success against Serie A side Fiorentina, themselves chasing a first piece of major silverware since a Coppa Italia success back in 2001 when Roberto Mancini was at the helm.
Now it’s the aplty named Vincenzo Italiano who is in the opposing dugout to Moyes, with both managers chasing the first success of their careers in a major competition too.
The bookies look like they can’t call this one. Fiorentina are just edging it in the betting at 7/4 with the Hammers a slither behind them at 9/5 with Bet365.
I Viola’s run to the final saw them dispose of Basel (5th in Switzerland), Lech Poznan (3rd in Poland), Sivasspor (13th in Turkey) and Braga (3rd in Portugal) in the knock out stages after progressing from a group that included Başakşehir, Hearts and Latvians RFS.
They missed out on Coppa Italia success, losing 2-1 to Champions League finalists Inter last week, but ended the Serie A season in a healthy 8th place after a strong end to the season which saw them lose just twice in their final 17 league games (one of those to champions Napoli). Recent wins over AC Milan, Inter and Europa League runners-up Roma suggest they’re not to be underestimated this evening.
The Hammers can point to some great results in the tournament so far themselves. They’ve plotted their route to Prague by winning an impressive 13 of their 14 matches in the competition. They sailed through a group that include Anderlecht (11th in Belgium), Silkeborg (7th in Denmark) and FCSB (2nd in Romania) before beating AEK Larnaca 6-0 on aggregate, Gent (5th in Belgium) and an impressive AZ Alkmaar side who finished 4th in Eredivisie.
But a disappointing 14th place finish in the Premier League means that West Ham’s participation in European football next season is also on the line tonight, with a Europa League spot the reward for the winners.
You can see why the bookies are finding it so hard to separate the sides and perhaps the draw is the best option at 21/10.
Interestingly, UEFA finals have fallen in to a low-scoring trend of late. The last three Champions League finals have been won by a single goal to nil, as was last year’s first-ever Conference League Final, while the last three Europa League finals have finished 1-1 after 90 minutes (and pens). That’s just 10 goals scored in seven finals – an average of 1.4 per match.
Under 2.5 goals pays 4/6, and Under 1.5 is 2/1. No First Half goals appeals at 13/8 as does our old favourite of no goal before the 32nd minute at 5/6 with Bet365.
Europa Conference League Final Tips
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Football Bet of the Day: Back Both to Score in Finland on Wednesday
- Wed 20:00 Fiorentina vs West Ham United
Racing Tips
Both of Rizzel’s Wednesday selections run at Kempton’s night meeting including Frankie Dettori’s sole ride of the night in the 7:50pm.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Wednesday’s Top Tips: Hammers Could Need Patience in Prague appeared first on MrFixitsTips.