Three British clubs are in European action tonight and each of them will fancy their chances of progressing to the semi-final stage of their respective competitions.
Rangers must pick themselves up from Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Celtic but they’ve often found their best form in Europe in recent seasons. Striker Alfredo Morelos has been ruled out for the rest of the season and his absence will have a huge impact on their chances in the Europa League.
The Gers will take heart from their 1-0 win at Braga two years ago courtesy of a Ryan Kent goal but tonight they’ll face a young Braga side that, despite being fourth in the league, are in decent form following a 3-2 win over Benfica. They did however finish second to Red Star in the group stages, the side the Gers knocked out in the last round.
A lot will depend on how much Rangers’ confidence has been knocked by that defeat to Celtic and just how much they’ll miss Morelos and the also-injured Hagi. The bookies rate Rangers 21/10 to win in Portugal and you wouldn’t put it past them but a safer bet could be to back BTTS at 4/5. Rangers found the net in five of six group games and and both teams have scored in three of their four knock-out matches. Braga scored in all six of their group stages matches and have scored in eight of their last 10.
West Ham are 7/1 shots to win the Europa League but they’ll need to get past Lyon first, in order to set up a semi-final clash with either Eintracht Frankfurt or Barcelona.
Visitors Lyon have had a poor season domestically and are miles off the pace in Ligue 1. But they breezed though the group stages without defeat, only dropping points to Rangers in a 1-1 draw in France. Their three away wins plus an impressive 1-0 win over at Porto in the last round should serve as a warning to the Hammers tonight.
Davie Moyes’ men are 21/20 to win and that seems fair. Their extra-time win over Sevilla in the previous round was one of the best nights seen at the new London Stadium and if they can evoke some of the spirit and atmosphere from that win then you’d expect them to be good enough to take a first leg advantage.
Xavi’s Barcelona look a completely different animal to the one that limped out of the Champions League earlier in the season. A 4-0 win at the Bernabeu announced their revival in style and they’ll still habrour ambition of catching Real Madrid in La Liga. A European trophy would go along way to easing the pain if that’s a bridge too far and they should be too good for Eintracht Frankfurt over two legs.
The Germans are languishing in ninth in the Bundesliga and have won a measly four home matches from 14 in the league. 8/11 on the Barca will be good for big hitters but for a Super Single conside Barcelona to be winning at half-time and full-time.
Goals should be guaranteed in the night’s other game in Germany where Leipzig host Atalanta. Over 2.5 Goals pays 8/13.
Leicester are joint 3/1 favourites to win the inaugural Conference League alongside Roma, which seems quite short when you consider they’re 4/5 to qualify from the quarter-finals at the expense of PSV.
The Dutch side are doing their best to keep pace with Ajax in Eredivisie and, like Leicester, only a final matchday defeat in the Europa group stages prevented them from progressing in that competition. They’re on a 13-game unbeaten run so travel in good form and have shown they know where the back of the net is, scoring 20 goals in their last six matches. BTTS looks a good option at 4/6.
Punters will be keen to see how Bodo/Glimt fare once more against Roma. They two sides met in the group stages and the Norwegians handed Jose Mourinho the biggest defeat in his managerial career, thumping the Italians 6-1. If that didn’t make Europe sit and take notice they’ve subsequently knocked out Celtic 5-1 on aggregate an AZ Alkmaar 4-3.
They’re 13/5 to get the better of Roma once more and you can’t imagine the visitors will relish another visit to the Arctic Circle. Glimt are another team who know the route to goal and they’re 7/4 to score two or more tonight and over 2.5 goals pays 8/11.
Super Single
- Barcelona/Barcelona Half-time/Full-time 7/4 SBK
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Thursday’s Goals Accumulator Tips: Today’s 6/1 Both Teams to Score & Total Team Goals Acca
- SlipsTips Tips: Braga vs Rangers
- Thu 17:45 RB Leipzig v Atalanta
- Thu 17:45 Feyenoord v Slavia Prague
- Thu 20:00 Eintract Frankfurt v Barcelona
- Thu 20:00 Leicester City v PSV Eindhoven
- Thu 20:00 Braga v Rangers
- Thu 20:00 West Ham United v Lyon
- Thu 20:00 Bodo/Glimt v Roma
- Thu 20:00 Marseille v PAOK
Today’s Racing Tips
Thursday brings the start of the Grand National meeting. Rizzel has picked out his best four fancies for the first day.
The Masters Golf Tips
As if the usual build-up to The Masters wasn’t exciting enough, the news that five-time champions Tiger Woods looks likely to compete has the golfing world in a frenzy. But worry not, The Caddy is here to add some much need perspective to proceedings and narrows down the field to present his three top tips to claim the famous green jacket on Sunday. Don’t miss his outright betting tips as well as a trio of tournament bets for the weekend.
Our famous Masters Fantasy Golf Competition is now open for entries too. There’s £100 in free bets up for grabs and it’s free to enter. Just pick three players and the person with the lowest aggregate score will scoop the top prize.
As always, let us know your tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Thursday’s Betting Tips: Resurgent Barca the 7/4 Best Bet in Europa League appeared first on MrFixitsTips.