The Europa League continues on Thursday as Arsenal and Chelsea look to finish top of their groups. Tom Carnduff has four best bets.
Recommended bets
1pt Vladyslav Kulach to have 2+ shots on target in Vorskla v Arsenal at 9/4
1pt Chelsea to have 27+ shots in Chelsea v PAOK at 13/2
1pt PAOK to have 19+ tackles in Chelsea v PAOK at 9/2
1pt Danny da Costa to score anytime in Eintracht Frankfurt v Marseille at 14/1
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Vorskla v Arsenal
Group E, Kiev, 1755 GMT, BT Sport 2
Arsenal have already booked their spot in the knockout stages with ten points gained in their first four games, but will be looking to grab top spot with a win away at Vorskla.
It is worth pointing out that, following the game being moved to Kiev, there are some questions surrounding whether or not this fixture will be played. At the time of writing, the game will still take place.
The Gunners should fancy themselves for the win against a Vorskla side who lost in their home encounters to both Qarabag and Sporting, although they did beat the former on the road.
Conditions may work in favour of the hosts though, with the temperature forecast to be around the -9 Celsius mark at kick-off.
They have won just one of their last six at home in all competitions though, that includes a defeat to bottom club Arsenal Kiev in that run.
Vorskla will be looking towards Vladyslav Kulach to help inspire them to victory, with the forward a key man for the Ukrainian outfit this season.
Kulach has two goals to his tally in this competition, alongside four in the league. His eight shots on goal also leads the way compared to the rest of his teammates in the Europa League.
Arsenal saw 15 shots against them away at Sporting, while Qarabag had 12 against the Gunners when they met at the Baku Olympic Stadium at the start of October.
You would back Vorskla to have some opportunities on goal, and Kulach is a player capable of getting himself into the right positions to strike.
Best bet: Vladyslav Kulach to have 2+ shots on target at 9/4
Opta facts
- Vorskla Poltava’s only previous meeting with English opponents came against Arsenal in the reverse fixture – they lost 2-4 in north London.
- Arsenal have never won an away match against Ukrainian opposition (D1 L4), with their last such match coming in November 2010 (1-2 vs Shakhtar Donetsk).
- Excluding qualifiers, Vorskla Poltava have never won a home game in major European competition, drawing one and losing five.
- Excluding qualifiers, Arsenal are looking to keep three consecutive away clean sheets in European competition for the first time since a run of five en route to reaching the 200506 Champions League final.
- No side has kept more clean sheets than Arsenal in the Europa League this season (3), while only Slavia Prague and Chelsea (1) have conceded fewer goals than the Gunners (2).
Chelsea v PAOK
Group L, Stamford Bridge, 2000 GMT, BT Sport 2
It should be a fairly straightforward victory for a Chelsea side who have won every Europa League game this season.
Maurizio Sarri's men have already qualified for the next round and should win the group. PAOK's sole win away at BATE Borisov leaves them bottom of the group with qualification difficult.
Alongside winning, Chelsea have dominated opportunities on goal in their previous two European home encounters. They've seen a combined 51 shots in wins over BATE and MOL Vidi.
We should expect that trend to continue here and that provides value in the stats betting. Every Chelsea outfield player managed a shot in the 3-1 success against Borisov, highlighting their attacking dominance.
They hit 28 total shots when taking on Vidi in their first home Europa League game - the forward trio of Alvaro Morata, Pedro and Willian contributing 12 of those with six coming from the two full-backs.
Sky Bet offer 27+ total shots for Chelsea at 13/2, which does look decent value considering they have done it once already.
My eye was also caught by the 9/2 on offer for PAOK to have 19+ tackles. That number was hit by previous home opponents, and with Chelsea expected to be on the front foot for large parts of the game, the Greek outfit will have plenty of defending to do.
Olivier Giroud should start for the Blues as he has done in their previous two European encounters. At a general price of odds-against 6/5, he looks good value to strike anytime on Thursday night.
Best bet: Chelsea to have 27+ shots at 13/2
Best bet: PAOK to have 19+ tackles at 9/2
Opta facts
- This is just the second European meeting between Chelsea and PAOK Salonika, after Chelsea won 1-0 away from home on MD1.
- PAOK Salonika are only the third Greek side to visit Stamford Bridge in European competition, with Aris losing 5-1 in September 1970 and Olympiakos losing 3-0 in March 2008.
- Chelsea could become just the second English club to win each of their first five Europa League group stage matches after Tottenham Hotspur in 2013-14.
- Chelsea have never lost a UEFA Cup/Europa League game at Stamford Bridge (W8 D2), winning each of their last five.
- Willian has either scored or assisted in each of his three Europa League starts for Chelsea this season (1 goal, 2 assists).
Eintracht Frankfurt v Marseille
Group H, Commerzbank-Arena, 2000 GMT
The DFB-Pokal winners continue to go from strength-to-strength and have already qualified from the group with victory in every game.
Another win here should see them wrap up top spot, and they'll be confident of doing just that against a Marseille side with just one point to their name.
The Bundesliga outfit have scored 11 goals already in this competition, putting them amongst the Europa League's top goalscorers, and they should add to that tally here.
Frankfurt also possess an impressive home record, winning their last five games in all competitions, scoring 20 goals.
On the flip side, Marseille's two defeats in their last three away games sets this up to be a home victory, which looks good value as part of an accumulator at a general price of odds-on 8/11.
That form also provides value in the goalscorer market, and I like the 16/1 available on Danny da Costa to strike anytime.
The right midfielder has two on his tally in this competition so far with a brace in a convincing victory over Lazio. He also sits fourth for shots taken by Frankfurt players in the Europa League.
Eintracht have proven that they have no issue finding the net this season, and that could allow someone like da Costa to capitalise on a Marseille defence with nine goals against them in this group.
Best bet: Danny da Costa to score anytime at 14/1
Opta facts
- This is just the second European meeting between Eintracht Frankfurt and Marseille, after Frankfurt won 2-1 away from home on MD1.
- Marseille have lost each of their last four trips to Germany in European competition, conceding eight goals and failing to score in each contest.
- Eintracht Frankfurt have won six of their last seven home games in Europe (inc. qualifiers), winning both of their group stage games this season.
- Marseille have lost six of their last nine away games in European competition (W1 D2), conceding at least once in each match.
- Sébastien Haller has had a hand in four goals in his last three Europa League games for Eintracht Frankfurt (2 goals, 2 assists)
Odds correct at 1725 GMT (28/11/18)
