The final 10 places in this season’s Europa League group stage will be decided on Thursday, with the second legs of all the Playoff round ties being played to a conclusion.
There is certainly plenty at stake for the 20 clubs that are looking to qualify for the restructured 32-team group stage, although the sides that do not make it will at least move into the newly-formed Europa Conference League rather than dropping out of continental competition altogether.
Goals Galore Expected in Alkmaar
Scottish giants Celtic will head into the second leg of their tie away at AZ Alkmaar on a rich vein of form, as they have won six straight matches across all competitions, including a 2-0 victory when these two teams met at Parkhead last week.
The Bhoys certainly appear to have now found their feet under new boss Ange Postecoglou, as it is not just their wins that have been impressive, but also the amount of goals they have scored, as they have netted 24 across their last six games.
AZ also boast plenty of attacking talent despite drawing a blank in Glasgow last week, while they will be boosted by the return of forward Jesper Karlsson, who missed the first leg through suspension.
Pascal Jansen’s side have scored and won in each of their last seven competitive matches on home soil, so with both sides in good goalscoring form, backing over 3.5 goals in the match at 7/5 could be the way to go.
Red Star to Hammer Home Advantage
Red Star Belgrade seemingly already have one foot in the group stage after the Serbian champions thrashed Cluj 4-0 during last week’s first leg.
Dejan Stankovic’s side reached the knockout stages of the Europa League last season before narrowly losing to AC Milan, and they look well placed to continue their progress this term.
Cluj will have to perform something of a miracle to turn the tie around, and the omens do not look good, as they have lost four of their last five matches in the Europa League, scoring just one goal in the process.
By contrast, Red Star have lost just two of their previous nine away games in the competition and it would be no surprise to see Stankovic’s side seal their progress to the group stage with another victory on Thursday, which can be backed at 27/20.
Fenerbahce to Rise to HJK Challenge
Fenerbahce edged past HJK Helsinki 1-0 during last week’s first leg in Turkey, but they will head to Finland with plenty of confidence, as they have won all three of their matches to date this term without even conceding a goal.
Vitor Pereira’s side are back in Europe for the first time in three seasons, but they still boast plenty of pedigree on the continental stage when compared to a HJK team that are bidding to reach the Europa League group stage for just the second time.
HJK dropped into the Europa League after losing to Malmo in Champions League qualifying, but their record in Europe’s secondary competition is patchy to say the least, as they have only won two of their last 12 games at this level.
Fener certainly look good value at 11/10 to win Thursday’s return leg, although if they do, then that will be their first Europa League victory on the road in over four years.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
