Sports Blog 18/02/2016: Match Preview – UEFA Europa League Round of 32 1st Leg, Thursday 18th February 2016

Thursday night sees the last 32 of the Europa League do battle, including a trio of English clubs, two of which will be hoping to use the competition as catharsis for a relatively dismal domestic season.

First up, however, is a certain high-flying side from North London, with Tottenham travelling to Fiorentina at 6pm on BT Sport Europe. Spurs eased in the last 32 by topping Group J, which included Anderlecht (who finished second, and beat Tottenham in Belgium) and the moneyed Monaco, a 4-1 victory against the French side in their final game their best performance. Since then Tottenham have only gotten better; they have won their last 7 games, most recently against Manchester City, leaving them 2 points behind 1st place Leicester with a 5th round FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace to look forward to on Sunday. Even better Harry Kane (who goes into Thursday at a Super Mega PGM of 26-31) has more than re-found his form after fluffing his lines at the start of the season, the England forward now totalling 19 goals in all competitions.



Fiorentina, on the other hand, are a way off the pace domestically, in 3rd already 8 points away from league leaders Juventus and are already out of the Coppa Italia following a 1-0 loss to Serie A debutantes Carpi. On top of this Fiorentina only managed to finish 2nd in their Europa League Group I, home losses to Basel and Lech Poznan causing the Italian club to end up 3 points adrift of their Swiss rival. Yet despite all this our Spreadex traders are still plumping for a home win, offering a Fiorentina/Tottenham Goal Supremacy spread of 0.15-0.35 with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55. Our clients, however, fancy Spurs to continue their unbeaten run, plumping for an important 1st leg victory for Mauricio Pochettino.

Following their embarrassing exit from Europe’s top club competition and their stunted showing in the Premier League there is extra pressure for Manchester United to go all the way in the Europa League; they visit Midtjylland at 6pm on BT Sport 2. United’s loss to Sunderland last week arguably ended (or at the very least severely dented) their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, Louis van Gaal’s side (for how much longer, who knows) now 6 points away from 4th place Man City and a whopping 12 away from the top of the table. An ostensibly easy FA Cup trip to Shrewsbury next Monday means the Dutch manager doesn’t need to put much consideration into resting his top players, though Wayne Rooney unavoidably misses the European clash due to a knee injury. That leaves Anthony Martial with a chance to shine on Thursday evening, the young Frenchman sitting at a Super Mega PGM of 34-40.



As in the FA Cup United couldn’t have had a more fortuitous draw as they enter the Europa League. Not to insult Midtjylland but, sitting in 3rd in the Superliga, the Danish champions don’t pose the same threat as United’s potential last 32 opponents Borussia Dortmund, Villarreal or Sporting CP. Midtjylland finished as runners-up in Group D behind Napoli (the only side to win every game in their group) with a mere 7 points, the lowest out of any non-Champions League team still in the competition. Despite United’s reduced status there is still a fairly large gulf between them and their Danish opponents, leading Spreadex to offer a Manchester United/Midtjylland (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.95-1.15 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.

Like their red rivals Liverpool are in the midst of an incredibly disappointing season, one that could be salvaged with a strong run on the Europa League; they face Augsburg at 8.05pm on BT Sport Europe. Liverpool topped a rather simple group in a most inauspicious style, 2 wins and 4 draws just about giving them the edge over Switzerland’s Sion. In the league they have been beyond frustratingly inconsistent, winning only 2 games (most recently a rampant 6-0 victory over last place Aston Villa) whilst drawing 2 and losing 3. They even exited the FA Cup in the 4th round, losing their replay against West Ham in the final minute of extra time. At least Daniel Sturridge, at a Super Mega PGM of 29-35, shone in his first league start since October last weekend; his return is too late to save their domestic season, but an uninjured period from the England forward could help the Reds immeasurably in Europe.



Like United Liverpool have been dealt a rather easy opponent in the shape of Augsburg. Sitting in 14th in the Bundesliga Augsburg only managed 1 win in their first 12 league games this season, with a bright period between the end of November and end of January (with 4 wins and 3 draws) brought to an end by 2 consecutive losses in the past fortnight. Like a few English clubs this season, Europe provided somewhat of a respite for the Fuggerstadter, who finished in 2nd to Athletic Bilbao following 3 wins and 3 losses. Yet, despite the Red’s lack of form, our Spreadex traders seem to think the German club’s run is about to end, offering a Liverpool/Augbsurg (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.5-0.7 with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

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