What an opportunity Hearts have to claim a place in the group stages of the Europa League over the next week.
The Jambos quickly established themselves as the third best team in Scotland after gaining promotion to the top flight and they look most likey to the be best of the rest once more. European adventures might put a dent in their domestic campaign but it’ll be a price worth paying.
They enter the fray in the Europa League play-off round, where even elimination will be rewarded with a group stage spot in the the Europa Conference. But they’ll fancy their chances of progressing over two legs against an FC Zurich side who are struggling early in to the Swiss season.
FCZ ran away with the title last season, finishing 14 points ahead of Basel and 16 ahead of Young Boys, to claim their first championship since 2009. That was under the stewardship of German coach André Breitenreiter who’s good work earned him a move to the Bundesliga in the Summer to take over at Hoffenheim.
He’s been replaced by another German, Franco Foda but things haven’t gone so well. He’s had to cope with the loss of top scorer Assan Ceesay but so far they’ve picked up just two points from their opening five league games. They were also eliminated from the Champions league at the hands of Qarabag, before disposing of Linfield in this competition, 5-0 on aggregate.
Hearts will travel to Stadion Letzigrund hopeful they can bring a result back to Edinburgh next week. They beat Basel on their last trip to Switzerland in 2004 and they’re 14/5 to repeat the trick. That might be asking a bit much but they’re 20/21 on the Asian Handicap with +0.5 of a start. They’ll need both legs to get the job done though and the 11/10 on them qualifying might be a bit shorter come 10pm tonight.
Much like Hearts hosts, Molde’s opponents are also struggling in the opening weeks of their season. Wolfsberger find themselves bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga after two draws and two defeats in their opening four games. The last thing they need is a trip north to the league leaders in Norway.
Molde are half way through their Eliteserien campaign and sit five points clear of champions Bodo/Glimt. They’ve been flying of late and were unbeaten for over three months until defeat in last week’s match against Kisvárda, but they held a comfortable 3-0 lead from the first leg so it mattered little. 3/5 for the home win looks solid but we can bank on Molde to score at least two as well for a 20/21 BetBuilder.
West Ham made a good fist of things in the Europa League last season, reaching the semi-final and they’ll be keen to sample those European nights once more. They’re just 1/9 to qualify against Viborg and look nailed on for a comfortable win tonight.
The Danes actually finished in the bottom half in Denmark but a quirky European qualification criteria, which sees the team that finishes top of the ‘Relegation Round’ (the bottom half) play-off the team that finishes fifth in the ‘Championship Round’, saw them qualify for Europe on penalties after a 1-1 draw with AaB in the play-off.
So it’s by no means a top tier opponent for the Hammers and they should ease their way to a first leg win. Back them to score three or more at 11/10 Bet365.
Super Single
Upcoming Previews & Tips
- Thursday’s Goals Accumulator Tips: Today’s 13/2 Both Teams to Score & Total Team Goals Acca
- Football Bet of the Day: Head Stateside for goals in the early hours of Thursday morning
- Thu 18:00 FC Zurich v Hearts
- Thu 18:00 Ferencvarosi TC v Shamrock Rovers
- Thu 19:45 West Ham United v Viborg
- Fri 19:45 Partick Thistle v Caley Thistle
Racing Tips
For Day 2 of the York Ebor Festival Rizzel has picked out three EW selections for those punters who like horses at good prices.
Golf Tips
After a sensational weekend when he tipped the outright winners on both tours at 22/1 and 28/1 The Caddy is back with his views on the BMW Championship in Delaware and the D+D Real Czech Masters.
- Golf Betting Tips: BMW Championship Preview and Best Bets
- Golf Betting Tips: D+D Real Czech Masters Preview and Best Bets
As always, let us know your betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
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