The domestic season is still to begin in England but the preliminary rounds of the Europa League are well underway as Stoke, Fulham and Hearts all hope to book their place in the final play-off stage of the competition on Thursday.
All three British sides left in have a realistic chance of going through and here we preview their respective third-round, second-leg ties.
Hajduk Split v Stoke (agg 0-1)
The Potters’ first foray into Europe for 37 years ended in a narrow win in the first leg against the Croatian outfit thanks to Jon Walters’ early goal at what was a rocking Britannia Stadium last week.
Tony Pulis’ side wasted several good chances to extend their lead in the tie and, while they would have wanted more goals to take to Split, Stoke remain in pole position to make it through.
However, they are sure to be tested by their opponents on Thursday in front of what is expected to be a hostile home following. Pulis is likely to go with a defensive-minded formation but if any side can go and shut up shop and kill a game then it’s the Potters.
Go with 0-0 at 7/1 – just enough to extend their European adventure for at least two more games.
Fulham v RNK Split (agg 0-0)
Fulham have had it relatively easy in the Europa League so far but will have been disappointed to have come away from Croatia – against the lesser-known Split outfit – without a victory.
A goalless draw away in Europe is always viewed as a decent result, however, and, like Stoke, the Cottagers are in a good position to advance into the play-offs ahead of the second leg in London.
Martin Jol set his stall out in this competition in the early qualifying round against Northern Irish minnows Crusaders when he named a surprisingly strong side – despite the fact it was mid-July – and he is obviously keen to do well in the tournament after taking over from Mark Hughes this summer.
The likes of Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and recent signing John Arne Riise all started in the first leg and they will again be charged with disposing of RNK this time around. Expect a fairly comfortable home win here with 4-0 to the Cottagers at 15/2 representing good value.
Hearts v Paksi (agg 1-1)
Hearts gave themselves every chance of securing a play-off spot with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Hungary last week against the relatively unknown Paksi, who certainly punched above their weight last season when finishing second in the Hungarian league to earn a shot at the Europa League.
The first leg was generally controlled by the Jambos but, after falling behind against the run of play, they failed to find enough to come back and win. However, an away goal and a score-draw is always welcome in Europe so expect the SPL side to have too much for Paksi in Edinburgh.
Hearts have been in the news this week when Jim Jefferies became the latest managerial casualty of controversial ‘hands-on’ owner Vladimir Romanov. And, despite the off-field shenanigans proving to be a distraction in the past, these latest developments are unlikely to affect them too much for the second leg and a handsome Hearts win looks on the cards for new man in charge Paulo Sergio (Hearts 23/20 – HT/FT).
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