The first round of matches in the Uefa Europa League continues on Thursday and we take a look at Besiktas vs Marseille and Juventus vs Nijmegen
Besiktas vs Marseille
Besiktas had to get through 3 rounds of qualifying to take their place in the League Phase. They did that comfortably enough with aggregate wins over Midtjylland (3-0), Hradec Kralove (2-0) and finally FK Kauno Zalgiris (3-1). In Turkey’s Super Lig Besiktas have won 4 and lost 1 of their first 5 matches scoring 12 goals and conceding 4 and they are in second place, 1 point behind Galatasaray.
Marseille switch their focus to Europe after a fairly poor start to their Ligue 1 season. They began with a thumping 4-0 home win over Strasbourg but have since suffered 3 consecutive defeats, at Monaco (2-0), at home to Paris FC (3-2) and most recently at Rennes (1-0).
The Verdict:
I think there are goals for both teams here and hopefully at least one more.
Bet: Both teams to core and total goals, yes and over 2.5 at 19/20 with BetOlimp
Juventus vs Nijmegen
Juventus are among the outright favourites to win the Europa League this season although their early form in Serie A isn’t overly convincing. They did start with back to back wins away to Frosinone (1-0) and at home to Parma (2-0) before they played out a 1-1 draw at home to Milan and last weekend they lost 3-2 away to Sassuolo.
Nijmegen are no higher than mid table in the Dutch top division with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats, scoring 11 goals and conceding 12 but those 2 wins did come away from home.
The Verdict
I think Juve will be too strong, finding a bet in my usual price range has thrown up only limited options and I’ll take my chances with Juve to win with a clean sheet.
Bets: To win “to nil” Juventus? Yes at 23/20 with BetOlimp
Note, prices are subject to change
