Our best bets for the latest round of Europa League games

Europa League betting preview: Free tips, predictions and best bets for Thursday's last 32 games including Arsenal, Chelsea and Celtic

By Paul Higham

Football

Thu February 21, 2019 · 6y ago

The second legs are decided on Thursday and Paul Higham has the best bets from the big games along with a four-team accumulator to get stuck in to.

Recommended bets

1pt Arsenal to win & over 3.5 goals at 13/10

For advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

Arsenal v BATE Borisov (Agg 0-1)

Kick-off at 1755 GMT, BT Sport 3

Arsenal manager Unai Emery is an expert in the Europa League

They suffered a shock defeat last week in the away leg but there's just too much quality in the Arsenal squad for them to fall at this first knockout hurdle - surely!

The Gunners won't have Alexandre Lacazette after his red card out of frustration last week, but they still have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and they also have a desire to put things right - plus they beat BATE 6-0 at home in last season's competition.

Unai Emery has been here before and, even though Arsenal have failed to overturn a 1-0 away leg defeat on the last five occasions, BATE offer a great chance for them to buck that trend.

Aubameyang will be the obvious threat and, with him and Arsenal being well versed at putting away lesser sides at the Emirates this season, there should be plenty of goals and most of them coming for the hosts.

Prediction: Arsenal 4-1 BATE Borisov (Sky Bet odds: 16/1)

Best bet: Arsenal to win & over 3.5 goals at 11/10

Valencia v Celtic (Agg 2-0)

Kick-off at 1755 GMT, BT Sport ESPN

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is facing another European exit

Scottish champions Celtic are set for another disappointing end to their European campaign with last week's result leaving them hanging by the thinnest of threads - and in truth there's very little to suggest they can pull off a footballing miracle in Spain.

Valencia haven't conceded in three games and another clean sheet will put them in the next round - they'll again be professional and tough to break down, knowing the two away goals from Glasgow are safely in their pockets.

The Bhoys will come out firing in a bid to at least save some face, but the Spaniards looked a cut above and they'll be able to see this out pretty comfortably, settling for a draw if it's there but they've enough class to take advantage and stick in a goal or two to seal the deal.

Prediction: Valencia 2-0 Celtic (Sky Bet odds: 13/2)

Best bet: Under 2.5 goals in the match at 10/11/Valencia to win to nil at 17/10

Chelsea v Malmo (Agg 2-1)

Kick-off at 2000 GMT, BT Sport 2

Maurizio Sarri during Chelsea's 6-0 defeat to Manchester City

That late goal in Sweden makes this second leg a touch more interesting than it could have been, but there's still plenty to occupy Maurizio Sarri's thoughts with the Carabao Cup final coming up on Sunday and his job very much on the line.

Suffering a shock loss here would push him even closer to the exit door so he will have to keep his side relatively strong, but Wembley may come into play, especially with Eden Hazard who could be given a rest ahead of facing Man City.

Malmo certainly pushed Chelsea at home and kept up their record of scoring in every game since September, and they looked dangerous at times, especially from set plays, so an away goal cannot be totally ruled out.

But the gap in class was evident and all things being equal Chelsea will progress safely enough.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-1 Malmo (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)

Best bet: Over 3.5 goals in the match at 11/8

Thursday Europa League treble

Eintracht Frankfurt, Zenit St Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen & Genk all to qualify - Boosted to 10/1 by Sky Bet - available only through this link

I'm sticking with Eintracht Frankfurt again after they earned a draw against ten-man Shakhtar Dontesk last week. They should perhaps have a lead but at home, where they've only lost two of the last 14, they'll be able to find their way into the next round.

Leverkusen came away from Russia with a draw but no away goals, but their recent form suggests they have the firepower to blow Krasnodar away on home soil. They've scored two or more when winning four of their last six, while they have a great record in this competition and against Russian sides.

Zenit may have lost over in Turkey, but Fenerbahce are fighting against relegation in the league and have a shocking away record with just two wins all season. Added to that the fact Zenit have never lost a home game in this tournament and it should be the Russians who are in the hat for the next round.

A 0-0 draw in the Czech Republic was a decent enough result for Genk, who are unbeaten at home in this competition this season with five wins out of six. Slavia Prague will be tough to break down but struggle to score goals and the Belgians can pinch this one to go through.

Back it exclusively here

Round of 32 fixtures & aggregate scores

17:55 Arsenal v BATE Borisov (Agg: 0-1)
17:55 Dinamo Zagreb v Viktoria Plzen (Agg: 1-2)
17:55 Eintracht Frankfurt v Shakhtar Donetsk (Agg: 2-2)
17:55 Red Bull Salzburg v Club Brugge (Agg: 1-2)
17:55 Napoli v Zurich (Agg: 3-1)
17:55 Valencia v Celtic (Agg: 2-0)
17:55 Villarreal v Sporting CP (Agg: 1-0)
17:55 Zenit St Petersburg v Fenerbahce (Agg: 0-1)
20:00 Bayer 04 Leverkusen v FK Krasnodar (Agg: 0-0)
20:00 Benfica v Galatasaray(Agg: 2-1)
20:00 Chelsea v Malmo FF (Agg: 2-1)
20:00 Dynamo Kyiv v Olympiakos (Agg: 2-2)
20:00 Internazionale v Rapid Wien (Agg: 1-0)
20:00 Genk v Slavia Prague (Agg: 0-0)
20:00 Real Betis v Rennes (Agg: 3-3)

Odds correct as of 1500 GMT 20/02/19