Six British clubs feature in Thursday night’s second leg Europa League play-off clashes and all, except for Hearts, have a great chance of making the group stages of the competition.
Dnipro (0) vs Fulham (3)
The Cottagers look set to make it through to the group stages after a convincing performance at Craven Cottage last week, where they overcame Ukrainian side Dnipro 3-0.
The west London club will struggle not to repeat a victory tomorrow night, although Martin Jol’s side may take their foot of the gas slightly. However, new boss Jol will be keen that his side get back to winning ways after a disappointing 2-0 away defeat to Wolves at the weekend.
A 2-1 Fulham victory can be backed at 10/1, with last week’s double-goal hero Clint Dempsey 15/8 to score at anytime in the fixture.
Tottenham (5) vs Hearts (0)
One could be forgiven for declaring this game a dead-rubber due to the huge five-goal advantage that Spurs take into this second leg.
However, with so much transfer speculation around White Hart Lane at the moment, many of the players set to be in action for the north London club will have a point to prove to manager Harry Redknapp.
Peter Crouch, who may be surplus to requirements if Emmanuel Adebayor’s loan deal is secured, is 4/1 to score first while fellow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko – who has been linked with a switch to Sunderland – is also 4/1 to grab the first goal of the evening.
A Hearts comeback is out of the question, especially away from home, but the Scottish outfit can be backed at an appealing 21/5 to score first.
Birmingham (0) vs Nacional (0)
In perhaps the most intriguing tie of the night, Blues face a tricky task at home against Portuguese side Nacional as the Championship outfit aim for the Europa League group stages.
Birmingham were unlucky not to grab an away goal last week, after Steven Caldwell and Chris Wood both rattled the woodwork on three separate occasions between them.
Wood, who is on-loan from West Brom, is yet to score this season but can be backed at a tempting 6/1 to score first tomorrow evening, while Caldwell is 40/1 to achieve the same feat.
Nacional, however, will be scenting a chance to progress into the group stages and know how vital an away goal could be at St Andrew’s.
The Portuguese outfit are 5/1 to grab a 1-1 draw and break Birmingham hearts courtesy of the away goal rule - a result that would put an end to the club’s first foray into Europe for 49 years.
Rangers (1) vs NK Maribor (2)
Rangers appear to face the toughest task of all the British clubs on Thursday – barring Hearts of course – as they seek to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Slovenian champions NK Maribor.
The Scottish champions will hope that their away goal proves vital, but the fact that they threw away a 1-0 lead in Slovenia could prey heavily on their minds in the return game.
Ally McCoist’s men are 5/1 to claim a 1-0 victory at Ibrox, which would be enough to see them through to the group stages.
Nikicka Jelavic and Steven Naismith, who have both bagged three goals already this season for the Glasgow side, are 7/2 and 9/2 respectively to score first.
FC Sion (0) vs Celtic (0)
Celtic will hope to get their season back on track when they travel to Switzerland to try and complete a victory over FC Sion.
Last week’s contest saw a stalemate in which Neil Lennon’s men looked unimpressive in front of goal. And, after a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to St Johnstone on Sunday, Lennon will be desperate to get a victory.
The Hoops are 7/4 to claim a victory and Kris Commons can be backed at 13/2 to score first.
Lennon will be pleased that his men did not concede an away goal during the first leg, but that could be scant consolation if they fail to progress to the group stages of the competition.
It could well be a nervy affair at Parkhead but the Bhoys are bound to go for goals early on in a bid to secure a group-stage place. However, Sion will be a threat on the break so Celtic to be leading at half-time and losing at full-time can be backed at an attractive 25/1.
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