With automatic qualification into next season’s Champions League up for grabs, the remaining eight teams in the Europa League will be fighting it out Friday morning in leg one of their quarter final ties. Manchester United are the only EPL team left in the competition while some other familiar names in Lyon, Ajax and Schalke 04 all remain. We take a look at all four ties below.
Note: all games to be played at 5.05am Friday morning
Europa League Quarter Finals Betting Tips
Anderlecht vs Manchester United
Currently four points behind Manchester City in fourth place, the Red Devils chanced of making top four in the EPL are getting slimmer, which means their performance in the Europa is crucial to deciding whether they will play Champions League next year. With the uncertainty brings the risk of losing the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimović who won’t want to play another season in the Europa. Time to pull out all the stops for Jose Mourinho’s men. Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has once again been left out of the squad.
They’ll travel for their first leg against Belgian side Anderlecht who could be missing their top goal scorer Lukasz Teodorczyk who is suffering from a shouler injury. Anderlecht finished on top of the Belgian table this year and currently sit atop the championship play-off table in which the winner books an automatic ticket to the Champions League. No doubt there focus will probably be on their domestic completion at the moment. No meat left on the bone for them to advance at odds of $1.17 so we’ll take them to win the away leg.
TIP: Manchester United to win leg one - $1.91 at Sportsbet
Ajax vs Schalke 04
Dutch powerhouse Ajax will face off against Bundasliga outfit Schalke 04 Friday morning in the matchup of the quarter finals. They are two teams who see regular Champions League but are coming into the game with contrasting form. Schalke 04 is in unfamiliar territory in the Bundasliga, sitting 10th after 28 games played. With a 10-7-11 record, their only chance of playing Champions League next year is by winning the Europa, so their full focus will be on this matchup.
Ajax are doing what they do best and dominating the Dutch Eredivisie league. They have won eight straight in all competitions at home and will be looking to make it 9 here with a win against the Germans. They have lost just two games all year in the domestic competition, and although the Bundesliga is a fair step up from the Dutch league, we like them to earn the points at home against a struggling Schalke and then advance to the Semis.
TIP: Ajax to advance - $2.33 at Ladbrokes
Celta Vigo vs Genk
Both teams will be hoping to advance to their first semi-final in any European competition here as Genk travel to Spain to take on Celta Vigo Friday morning. Celta Vigo have had their woes in an extremely competitive La Liga this year and currently sit 10th on the table with a 12-5-13 record. Safe from relegation and miles off contending for any silverware, all of Celta Vigo’s efforts will be with the Europa League at the moment, making them an extremely dangerous outfit.
Belgian side Genk missed the Championship playoffs in the domestic competition, meaning their season is over except for the Europa League matches. They’ve had an extraordinary run to make it this far in the European competition but their good fortune could be at an end here. Celta Vigo has never lost against a Belgian side and we don’t expect that to change during this tie.
TIP: Celta Vigo to advance - $1.35 at bet365
Lyon vs Besiktas
Arguably the best side still left in the Europa League is Lyon. They currently sit fourth in Ligue 1 with a 17-3-12 record and while that might not seem extremely flattering, consider the top three French teams this year have lost 9 games between them. It’s a very top heavy league and for Lyon to be in the mix says a lot about their talent. They blew past Italian giants AS Roma in the Round of 16 to set up a clash with Turkish club Besiktas.
Besiktas sit atop the Turkish League table through 27 games and have allowed just 23 goals in the domestic competition so far. Their Round of 16 4-1 demolition job of Greek giants Olympiakos was the highlight of their season and they’ll be looking to go one better here by taking out the star studded French line up spearheaded by striker Alexandre Lacazette. Tough game to pick but I think Lyon will have a little too much firepower at home, Besiktas will be chasing tail in the 2nd leg.
TIP: Lyon to win leg one - $1.57 at Sportsbet
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