With Premier League safety all but mathematically assured West Ham can afford to throw everything at European glory in tonight’s Europa Conference League semi-final second leg.
But AZ Alkmaar served enough notice last week that they won’t be pushovers in North Holland tonight. The Dutchmen silenced the Hammers when they took a first half lead in London before Davie Moyes’ side rallied in the second half to earn a 2-1 first leg lead.
It sets things up for a cracker at the AFAS stadium where AZ came from a two goal first leg deficit in the previous round to knock-out Anderlecht, so Hammers be warned!
Moyes is expecting an open game and will be pleased to have top scorer Michail Antonio available. They’ve fared well away from home in Europe, notching 11 goals in five trips on the continent so should be good for a goal tonight, although a 0-0 draw will do just nicely.
That looks unlikely though and the 9/10 on Over 2.5 Goals appeals. As does the tempting price of 8/5 on the home win, especially bearing in mind that a one-goal defeat would still keep West Ham in the tie and force extra-time.
Fiorentina went down 2-1 at home to a late goal by FC Basel last Thursday and it’s a surprise to see them as short as 7/10 to win in Switzerland tonight. Basel have really struggled domestically this season but could be a bit of value at 3/4 to qualify given home advantage and a one-goal start tonight.
Sevilla are another team who have saved their best performances of the season for Europe. Their love affair with the Europa is League is 7/10 to continue tonight if they knock out Juventus. A 97th minute equaliser by Federico Gatti denied them a 1-0 win in Turin last week but you can’t back against them in this competition.
Likewise Jose Mourinho. The Special One is a master at setting his teams up to defend a one-goal lead and that’s what his AS Roma side must do at Bayer Leverkusen this evening.
Mourinho led Roma to the Europa Conference trophy last season and will be desperate to add the Europa League. He’s won his previous five European finals with Porto, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Roma. Expect him to try to close this game out without conceding. Under 2.5 Goals pays 8/11, Under 1.5 Goals pays 11/5 and No Goal Before 32:00 mins is 5/6.
Super Single
- AZ Alkmaar to win 8/5 Bet365
- AZ v West Ham – Over 2.5 Goals 9/10 Bet365
- Leverkusen v Roma – No Goal before 32:00 5/6 Bet365
To Qualify Acca
- AZ Alkmaar
- FC Basel
- Sevilla
- Roma
- Four-fold pays 13.6/1 at Bet365
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Football Bet of the Day: Swiss Bliss for Goals in Switzerland on Thursday
- Thu 19:30 Newcastle United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
- Thu 20:00 Sevilla vs Juventus
- Thu 20:00 AZ Alkmaar vs West Ham United
- Thu 20:00 FC Basel vs Fiorentina
- Thu 20:00 Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma
- Fri 19:45 Partick Thistle vs Ayr United
- Sat 12:30 Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford
Golf Tips – PGA Championship
The 2nd major on this year’s golfing calendar is already upon us as we look forward to this week’s US PGA Championship at the Oak Hill Country Club in New York. The Caddy tipped a 16/1 winner on the PGA Tour on his private channel last week, he’s hoping to repeat the trick with his tips for this week’s action.
Our Fantasy Golf Competition is now open too. Pick your three players for the PGA Championship for a chance to win yourself a free bet.
Racing Tips
Azure Blue was a 9/1 winner for Rizzel on Day 1 of the Dante meeting at York. He returns with three more selections from York for Day 2.
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 Thursday’s Top Tips: AZ Can Deal Hammer Blow to Moyes’ Men appeared first on MrFixitsTips.