Our football experts provide best bets and a daily acca throughout Cheltenham Festival week, with Thursday's standout game Arsenal v Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League.
Daily best bets: Thursday's tips
2pts Both Teams To Score in Union Saint-Gilloise v FC Union Berlin at 4/5 (General)
2pts Both Teams to Score in Arsenal v Sporting Lisbon at 19/20 (General)
2pts Both Teams To Score in Real Sociedad v Roma at 6/5 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
2pts Gianluca Scamacca to score anytime at 11/10 (General)
1pt AZ Alkmaar to beat Lazio at 19/10 (bet365)
BACK OUR ENHANCED 10/1 BTTS ACCA WITH SKY BET
- BTTS: Arsenal v Sporting, Ferencvaros v Leverkusen, Union Berlin v Union Saint-Gilliose, AZ v Lazio
(First match kicks off 20:00 GMT)
Union Saint-Gilloise v FC Union Berlin
- Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
- TV channel: BT Sport 8
- Saint-Gilloise 11/5 | Draw 12/5 | Union Berlin 11/10
George Gamble (@CGeorgeGamble)
The first leg was a thrilling encounter as these two sides played out a 3-3 draw in Germany and now both Unions will be seeking to book their place in the quarter-final of the Europa League.
Union Berlin have conceded in six of their past eight competitive away matches and it looks likely they will be picking the ball out of their net at some point during this clash.
Six goals were produced when these two met last week and while we may not witness as many this time around, we can certainly expect an attacking display from both sides and as such, BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE at 4/5 is a standout selection.
Score prediction: Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 FC Union Berlin (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Odds correct at 1000 GMT (15/03/23)
Arsenal v Sporting Lisbon
- Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
- TV channel: BT Sport 2
- Arsenal 4/11 | Draw 15/4 | Sporting Lisbon 13/2
Read Jake Osgathorpe's (@JAKEOZZ) full preview here
The first leg of this tie was extremely entertaining, and a 2-2 draw was an extremely fair result based on the quality of chances created by each team (xG: SPO 2.09 - 1.94 ARS).
Both sides played attacking, front-foot football, and I suspect we will see similar at the Emirates, making BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE the main play of this preview.
This is a bet that has landed in 10 of Arsenal's 13 home league games this season, with the Gunners shipping 1.15 xGA per game over the course of the campaign.
Score prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Sporting Lisbon (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Odds correct at 1830 GMT (15/03/23)
Real Sociedad v Roma
- Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
- TV channel: BT Sport 1 & 6
- Real Sociedad Evs | Draw 9/4 | Roma 13/5
George Gamble (@CGeorgeGamble)
Real Sociedad have it all to do if they want to turn this tie around and qualify for the quarter-finals after they were defeated 2-0 in the first leg in Rome last week.
It was a deserved result (xG: 1.91 - 0.88) as in truth, despite dominating possession, the Spanish outfit failed to create many meaningful chances while Roma were efficient when they had the ball and were worth their 2-0 victory.
Expect Roma to concede here but the hosts have failed to win any of their past five matches and have conceded in four of those. Roma will know if they can score it could put the tie out of Real Sociedad’s grasp.
With that in mind, backing BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE at 6/5 makes the most appeal.
Score prediction: Real Sociedad 1-1 Roma (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Odds correct at 1020 GMT (15/03/23)
West Ham v Larnaca
- Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
- TV channel: BT Sport 3
- West Ham 2/9 | Draw 19/4 | Larnaca 12/1
Read James Cantrill's (@JimmythePunt) full preview here
GIANLUCA SCAMACCA is a player bucking West Ham’s wasteful trend.
Domestically, the Italian frontman is overperforming his xG by 0.14, marginal yes but by his side's standards, it cannot be scoffed at.
This is nothing new as far as the Italian is concerned though. He bagged 16 goals in Serie A last season from an xG of 11.28.
This clinicality will be welcome in an otherwise blunt Hammer’s side and it has paid dividends in this competition already. Scamacca has found the net four times in eight appearances.
Using his goals per 90 average from European football and the Premier League (0.58) as a rough guide, 10/11 would be a worthy punt here and that is without considering the calibre of the opposition.
So, the 11/10 for him to SCORE ANYTIME certainly appeals.
Score prediction: West Ham 2-0 Larnaca (Sky Bet odds: 9/2)
Odds correct at 1430 GMT (15/03/23)
AZ Alkmaar v Lazio
- Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
- TV channel: BT Sport 9
- AZ Alkmaar 7/4 | Draw 12/5 | Lazio 11/8
George Gamble (@CGeorgeGamble)
The Dutch outfit showed tremendous fight when they came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory in the first leg in Rome and, on home soil, they’ll fancy themselves to get the job done and secure their passage into the next round.
The visitors have admittedly gone unbeaten in their last five road trips, but the issue is they do not score enough goals. Realistically, Lazio need to score at least twice here to stand a chance of turning this tie around and that is something they have failed to do in four of their past five away outings.
AZ ALKMAAR should not be underestimated and they look good value at 19/10 TO WIN.
Score prediction: AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Lazio (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Odds correct at 1145 GMT (15/03/23)
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