Sports Blog 19/02/2015: Match Preview – UEFA Europa League Last 32 Leg 2, Thursday 26th February 2015

Thursday evening sees another big night in Europe, as four British sides attempt to progress to the Europa League last 16.

First up sees a Scouse trip to Turkey, as Liverpool hope to cling onto their narrow lead when they face Besiktas at 6pm on ITV4. A single goal from Liverpool will mean Besiktas would need at least 3 goals to knock the Reds out, and given the fact that the Turkish side haven’t kept a clean sheet in their past 7 home games, the odds are looking in Liverpool’s favour. Things are made worse for Besiktas considering they will be missing their top scorer Demba Ba, leaving Olcay Sahan (10/1 to score first), Mustafa Pektemek (10/1), Gokhan Tore (14/1) and Jose Sosa (14/1) to try and make the difference.



In contrast, things couldn’t be better for Liverpool considering their weak start to the season. A win at Southampton on Sunday saw the Reds stretch to 1 loss in 18 games, with 12 of those matches wins. Besiktas’ leaky home form will give Liverpool hope even with Henderson, Coutinho, Johnson, Sakho, Gerrard and Leiva out injured. Yet this long list of absentees could hurt the Reds considering how slim their advantage actually is. Brendan Rodgers will be hoping Daniel Sturridge can find his post-injury form tonight in Turkey, with the striker at 9/2 to score first alongside Balotelli at 5/1 and Raheem Sterling at 15/2. Given their lead, our traders are fancying Liverpool on a very tight Liverpool/Besiktas (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.05-0.25, with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Celtic’s trip to Italy has a lot to live up to after their 3-3 thriller in the first leg, with the Scots needing a goal when they face Inter Milan tonight at 6pm on BT Sport 1. Inter’s win at the weekend pushed them up to 8th in Serie A, and the Italian side are well positioned to continue their run of good form when they host Celtic tonight. The draw at Celtic Park falls in Inter’s favour, with the Scottish team now having to work against a 3 away goal advantage. If they so wish, Inter could kill the game dead with a 0-0 draw suiting them fine; however if they do want to push for a win, the abilities of Mauro Icardi at 3/1 to score first, alongside Rodrigo Palacio, with a brace in the first leg at 11/2, and Xherdan Shaqiri at 6/1 should be enough to overcome Celtic.



Yet it would be unwise to completely count Celtic out. A 3-3 draw against a side with such a rich European history is nothing to sniff at, and helped the Scots remain unbeaten in 2015. However, the fact that they have conceded 10 goals in their past three European games suggests that the clean sheet they ideally need may not be forthcoming. To compensate their weaknesses at the back Celtic will need another goal-filled display, and will be reliant on John Guidetti, at 8/1 after scoring in the 90th minute in the first leg to keep Celtic in the tie, with Kris Commons at 9/1 and Leigh Griffiths at 10/1. Sadly for Celtic both our traders and our clients alike can’t see past an Inter victory at the San Siro, at an Inter/Celtic Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.95-1.15.

We then have another trip to Italy, with Tottenham visiting Florence to play Fiorentina at 6pm on BT Sport 2. Fiorentina are unbeaten in 10 games, and after snatching a goal at White Hart Lane go into tonight’s match with a slim advantage. What may give Tottenham hope is the absence of first choice Fiorentina goalkeeper Tatarunsanu, who is missing through injury. The first leg was a closely run affair and despite an early goal from Spurs the Italian side looked to be pulling the strings. With Mario Gomez (9/2), Khouma Babacar (5/1) and Chelsea-loan Mohamed Salah (15/2) all available, Fiorentina will be confident of seeing out this tie and progressing to the next round.



This game comes at an unfortunately tricky time for Tottenham. Whilst progress in Europe is important, it is unavoidable that Mauricio Pochettino will have one eye on Sunday’s League Cup final, the better chance of ending Spurs’ 7-year silverware drought, especially if they can repeat their recent 5-3 thrashing of Chelsea. This then leads to some uncomfortable selection choices for Pochettino; Harry Kane has come off the bench for the past 2 games, rescuing Tottenham from defeat against West Ham at the weekend, but it may be a risk to leave his entry to the game so late tonight. Regardless, Kane is at 11/2 to score first, whilst the first fixture’s goal scorer Soldado is at 15/2, with Christian Eriksen at 9/1. The pressures of the looming cup final has meant our Spreadex traders have given the edge to Fiorentina, at a Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.45-0.65 and a Total Goals spread of 2.7-2.9.

Finally, Everton go into their game against Young Boys with an impressive lead, a lead that will attempt to hold onto at 8.05pm on ITV. A 4-1 victory in Switzerland when the Young Boys’ home form is rock solid was a great result for the Toffees, and leaves them 3 goals clear with the added bonus of an away goals advantage. Everton’s lead should be insurmountable for Young boys, but there are some worrying signs; the confirmed selection of Tim Howard in goals has caused some doubts after his poor performance at the weekend led Leicester to get 2 goals and a draw at Goodison Park. To secure their win, a repeat of the first leg’s display by Lukaku, who got a hat trick in that match, would be desired, with the Belgian at 17/4 to score first.



However, that 4-1 loss is unreflective of Young Boys’ capabilities, as evidenced with their 4-2 victory over Swiss league leaders, and Champions League last 16ers, FC Basel at the weekend. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Young Boys got a win tonight; what might be unlikely is the 4 goals, and none conceded, needed to progress to the next round. If they are to stand any chance of this achievement, then Guillaume Hoarau 13/2 who got Young Boys’ lone goal in the first leg, plus 2 against Basel at the weekend, will need to continue is run, and is at 13/2 to score first. He is joined by Yuya Kubo at 12/1 and Renato Steffen at 14/1, both of whom rounded out the 4-2 victory on Sunday. Yet despite their form, with only 1 loss in 11 games and 10 of those wins, our clients are big fans of our Everton/Young Boys Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.75-0.95.