Tag Archives: Europa

Europa League takes centre stage

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The absence of the Uefa Champions League means the Uefa Europa League will enjoy top billing this week and match day five will see a host of teams bidding to join the six already through to the round of 32.

Sporting Lisbon, RSC Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Legia Warszawa, FC Twente and Athletic Bilbao are already through to the next phase of the competition – but 24 games split over November 30 and December 1 means there is still much to be decided.

Tottenham entertain Group A leaders PAOK FC at White Hart Lane level on seven points with Rubin Kazan and off the back of an impressive run in the Premier League which has seen them go 10 games unbeaten.

The north Londoners secured a draw in Greece in the reverse fixture and will be desperate to get back on track after a 1-0 reverse against Russian outfit Rubin last time out.

Stoke City emerged from a run of just two wins from seven games in all competitions with victory against rock-bottom Blackburn in the Premier League on Saturday and have never lost at home in Europe.

The Potters on Thursday entertain FC Dynamo Kyiv, who have yet to win in 10 visits to England, and have scored just twice on English soil.

Fulham travel to the Netherlands, also on Thursday, for a match which sees former Twente player and Cottagers manager Martin Jol return to Enschede in Group K. Co Adriaanse’s men are the group stage’s 12-goal top scorers, but have never beaten an English team in 12 attempts.

Birmingham have lost just once in 13 games in all competitions and have only lost once in Europe so far this season – against Sporting Braga.

Blues are one of three teams on seven points in Group H and on Wednesday travel to Portugal hoping to inflict a third straight defeat in all competitions on Os Arcebispos.

Celtic face an acid test of their Group I credentials on Wednesday when they entertain leaders Atletico Madrid.

The Scottish side’s only defeat in the Europa League so far this season came against the La Liga outfit and they could go top of the section with a win.

The rejuvenated Hoops made it five straight wins following the 5-0 thrashing of St Mirren in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Celtic Park on Saturday, but Los Colchoneros have emerged from a dreadful October to lose just twice in six games in all competitions.

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Stoke standout in Europa betting

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Stoke City’s first-ever European campaign has been one success after another so far, as Tony Pulis’ side have marched unbeaten through six matches – recording five wins and one draw. Thursday’s Europa League home clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv should be no different, with the Potters’ home form and the Israelis’ recent struggles pointing to only one outcome – home win!

Stoke have won 13 and drawn six of their last 20 home matches, with their solitary defeat having been inflicted by Wigan Athletic on the last day of last season. But football followers will remember that Wigan caught Stoke eight days after their disappointing FA Cup final loss and yet they could still hardly get out of their own half before the interval, finally securing their Premier League safety when they threw caution to the wind after the break.

Maccabi, second in the Israeli top flight, lost 2-1 at the weekend and were thrashed 5-1 by Besiktas on their previous Europa League trip, the same team Stoke beat 2-1.

Although a home win appears virtually assured, punters should be wary about backing a goalfest, as Stoke have only scored more than two goals on one occasion at home this season, so 2-0 could be the expectation for Correct Score wagers.

Stoke City (4/9) in 90 Minutes and (11/2) 2-0 in Correct Score Market.

Dynamo Kiev (4/6) are worth including in multiples as they are in better form than Besiktas ahead of the Turkish outfit’s visit to the Ukraine. Kiev are unbeaten in their last 14 matches and should account for a flaky Besiktas team, who went down 2-0 at home to Kayserispor on Saturday. The Istanbul club have only won once away from home all season, against a Bursaspor team reduced to ten men in the 25th minute.

Anderlecht (5/4) should be buzzing at the moment. The Brussels club beat rivals Standard Liege 5-0 at the weekend and are currently on a superb run of form that has seen them win eleven and draw three of their matches since their opening day Belgian League defeat. But their away form is even more interesting and suggests they are more than capable of winning in Austria against Sturm Graz.

Anderlecht have won six of their last seven away matches, including trips to Lokomotiv Moscow and Bursaspor. Prior to that they even managed creditable draws at Paris St Germain and Benfica – much stronger opposition than Graz.

Sturm lost 2-1 at home to Lokomotiv Moscow in September and 2-0 at home to BATE Borisov before that. On both occasions they were already losing at half-time, so take a chance on Anderlecht/Anderlecht (3/1) in the Half-time/Full-time market.

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British clubs eye Europa progress

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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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British trio look good for Europa progress

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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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Fulham continue Europa Crusade

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The long road towards the Europa League proper continues this week and on Thursday there are seven teams from Britain and Ireland involved in the second qualifying round.
The majority can only dream of the reaching the tournament proper, but here is our guide to the home nations’ best chances in the second qualifying round.

Crusaders v Fulham

The Cottagers secured their clash with Crusaders (9/1 to win the game) of Northern Ireland thanks to a 3-0 aggregate win over NSI Runavik of the Faroe Islands.

If you look at the side put out by Martin Jol in the legs against Runavik you get an idea of how seriously Fulham (2/11 to win) are taking this Europa League qualifying. They put out a full-strength side in the first leg, with only a few young faces on the bench, and are likely to do the same against Crusaders – at least in the first match between the two sides in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

Crusaders finished second in the Irish league last season and Northern Irish international defender Colin Coates will be a massive loss for them, as he could have contended with the likes of England striker Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson.

Chris Morris is also missing for the part-timers as they look to cause a shock in their first game against top-flight English opposition since 1976.

Fulham should not be overly worried about facing Crusaders in Belfast as, even if things go awry on Thursday, they have won six straight Europa League games at Craven Cottage so would fancy themselves to finish the Irish side off next week (The Draw 5/1).

Crusaders are going to be rusty as this is their first game in the Europa League qualifying but are likely to be up for it against Fulham.

However, nothing other than a win for Jol’s men seems on the cards here.
Slask Wroclaw v Dundee United

Dundee United (14/5 to win) travel to Poland to face Slask Wroclaw, who finished runners-up in the Polish First Division last season. The Tangerines face a tough task in the first leg against a strong Slask Wroclaw (4/5 to win, 12/5 draw) outfit.

Manager Peter Houston has a depleted squad to take with him to Poland as giant centre-half Garry Kenneth is the latest name ruled out through injury. Danny Swanson and Scott Robertson are also unavailable, with the boss admitting the Tangerines are “down to the bare bones”.

Celtic keeper and former Dundee United goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska has warned his former employers to keep their eye on Slask Wroclaw’s dangerman Sebastian Mila.

He is the Polish side’s star player but Zaluska reckons they are not a one-man team and pose a number of threats to the Tangerines. Dundee United are taking just under 500 supporters to Poland and they could need all that support if they are to dream of making it to the play-off stage like they did last season.

Shakhter Karagandy v St Patrick’s Athletic

FC Shakhtyor Karaganda of Kazakhstan came through past Koper of Slovenia in the first qualifying round to face Ireland’s St Patricks Athletic – who overcame IBV. Both teams’ domestic league campaigns are underway and they are riding high in their respective competitions.

St Patrick’s are second in the Airtricity Premier League and have impressed in attack so far this season, while Shakhter Karagandy are a tough side and currently sit third in their Premier Division, with Kazakhstan native Sergei Khizhnichenko firing 11 goals already.

The Irish side are heading into the unknown but should have the ability to score over in Kazakhstan, which would put them in a great position heading into the second leg in Ireland.

And The Rest:

Llanelli face a massive challenge against the Georgian side of Dinamo Tbilisi, especially considering they are without Craig Moses, Martyn Giles, Chris Holloway, Chris Venables and Rhys Griffiths through suspension. (Llanelli 9/2 to win, Tblisi 1/2, draw 11/4).

The New Saints could have a secret weapon up their sleeves against the Danish team FC Midtjylland in the shape of their artificial pitch. Cliftonville, who they overcame in the first round, struggled to cope but Midtjylland, who finished fourth in the Danish Superliga, will pose a much tougher threat (New Saints 18/5, Midtjylland 8/13, draw 5/2).

Glentoran are going to be without some key players for their clash with Vorskla Poltava. They overcame FC Renova of Macedonia in the first round to book the game with the Ukranians but the loss of Colin Nixon, Jonny Taylor, Sean Ward, Richard Clarke and Elliot Morris will hamper their chances of victory (Glentoran 18/5, Poltava 8/13, draw 5/2).

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Make or break in Europa League

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The Europa League quarter-final second-legs take place on Thursday and only one tie remains finely poised, with Braga and Dynamo Kiev level at 1-1, while PSV Eindhoven, FC Twente and Spartak Moscow face massive uphill tasks.

PSV were hammered 4-1 by Benfica in Portugal and need a minor miracle at the Philips Stadion on Thursday night if they are to progress to the last four.

Both Dutch sides seem doomed to fall at the last eight as FC Twente must overcome a 5-1 deficit after suffering a heavy loss in the first leg at Villarreal. Spartak Moscow were brushed aside 5-1 by Portuguese league-leaders FC Porto in the first-leg, but Spartak, PSV and FC Twente all have the ability to bounce back and secure second-leg wins, although it remains to be seen if they can score enough goals to reach the last four.

Braga have a formidable record on home soil both domestically and in Europe and have won nine, drawn one and lost three of their home league matches to date. In European competitions, both the Champions League and Europa League, the likes of Spanish outfit Sevilla, Scottish giants Celtic and Premier League duo Liverpool and Arsenal have all slipped to defeat at the Estadio AXA and Braga should be in confident mood ahead of Dynamo’s visit.

Braga are 7/5 to beat Dynamo Kiev and considering their home record this season they certainly have the ability to beat their Ukrainian opponents and secure a spot in the last four.

Tournament favourites Porto head to Moscow with a massive lead on aggregate and Spartak have a massive task on their hands.  The Russian side will need to attack from the start but Porto have plenty of quality and will be dangerous on the break.

Porto are 11/8 to win the tie and they should be able to pick up a win in Moscow, although they will probably want to keep it tight in the early stages. In the Half-Time/Full-Time market a draw/Porto result is 9/2, while Porto’s Radamel Falcao grabbed a hat-trick in the first-leg and is 6/5 to score any time or 28/1 to help himself to another three goal haul.

PSV have a huge task on their hands after their 4-1 loss in Lisbon, with a last-minute Benfica goal all but putting the tie beyond them.

However, The Dutch outfit have a decent record at home and will be keen to take their revenge over the Portuguese outfit at the Philips Stadion.  PSV need to win 3-0, or better, to secure a spot in the last four and a 3-0 score-line in favour of the home side is 22/1.  This may, in truth, be beyond PSV as Benfica are a dangerous side on the break but the Dutch title-chasers can still win the tie and restore some pride, with a PSV win in 90 minutes at 7/5.

Spanish side Villarreal appear to have their spot in the last four sealed after their 5-1 win at the El Madrigal.  Villarreal’s away form in La Liga is fairly erratic but with the likes of Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi amongst their ranks they can still pick up a win in Holland, especially as Twente need to commit men forward.  The Yellow Submarines are 2/1 to secure a win on their travels and they should be able to get the better of FC Twente for a second time after their first-leg success.

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City face uphill Europa battle

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Manchester City, Liverpool and Rangers are all in Europa League action on Thursday night – with all three in danger of heading out of the competition in the last 16 (Europa League outright – Liverpool 6/1).

City are in the most precarious position of the British trio.  Roberto Mancini’s expensively-assembled side were humbled as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat in the Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev and it will take a big effort from the Eastlands side if they are to reach the quarter-finals.

City simply can’t afford to concede against Dynamo on Thursday night as they could not grab a crucial away goal at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium last week.

However, Mancini has his side well drilled and they have kept clean sheets in their last three consecutive home games – City are evens to keep a clean sheet and 6/5 to win to nil, both of which look good value considering their recent home form.

City need to win at least 3-0 if they are to progress, it will be a big ask for Mancini’s men and they are priced at 18/1 to secure a 3-0 victory over the Ukrainian outfit.

The Manchester side will also be boosted by the return of midfield playmaker James Milner from a hamstring injury, but Adam Johnson is unlikely to feature as he is still struggling with an ankle injury.

Liverpool were beaten 1-0 in Portugal by Braga but the Anfield outfit should be too strong for the Portuguese side on home soil.

Braga have a decent record at home and managed to see off Arsenal at the Estádio AXA but they do not fair so well on their travels, domestically and in Europe.

In the Portuguese Liga Sagres they have managed just two wins, losing six and drawing three and in Europe they have been beaten at Arsenal (6-0), Shaktar Donetsk and Lech Poznan.

Liverpool may have been left frustrated in Portugal but they should prove far too strong for a Braga side who do not travel well.  In the Half-Time/Full-Time market a Liverpool/Liverpool result is priced at 11/10 and the Reds should be full of confidence after seeing off Manchester United 3-1 last time out.

Rangers managed to secure a 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven in Holland and are in the driving seat with home advantage for Thursday night’s showdown.

PSV drew with strugglers NEC in their last league fixture, while Rangers secured a narrow win over Kilmarnock in the SPL and both sides struggled on their return to domestic action but will be keen to book a spot in the last eight.

Rangers have a few injury problems to key players and PSV, the Dutch league leaders, have a formidable record on their travels in the Eredivisie and have lost just once.

A draw, with goals, would be good enough for PSV and Rangers will need to be on the top of their game to see off the Dutch giants.

This is a tricky one to call and there is little to chose between the two sides but PSV are capable of grabbing a goal, as are Rangers, and this could end in a tie – which is priced at 23/10, for the braver punter a 1-1 final score (which would see Rangers eliminated) is priced at 11/2.

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Europa League Preview

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Hopes are high that we could have a British winner of the Europa League this year as Liverpool, Manchester City and Rangers gear up for their respective last-16 clashes. At least two out of three will fancy their chances of getting through to the next round – given the opposition – and should they reach the quarter-finals they will start to believe their name could be on the cup.

Braga v Liverpool

The Reds are coming into form just at the right time and will be confident of achieving a positive result in Portugal after Sunday’s win over Manchester United. While Liverpool didn’t have to be at their very best to get the better of their arch-rivals, manager Kenny Dalglish will have taken a lot of pride in the way they went about their job.

While the Europa League might be seen as a distraction in the early stages it is starting to get serious now and with the Reds desperate for silverware expect a professional performance from the Merseysiders.

Braga are 15/8 to win the first leg and that might be seen as a good bet when you consider their home form this season.

The Portuguese team have lost just three times at home and took the scalp of Arsenal in the Champions League group stages.

However, Liverpool proved against Sparta Prague and Napoli they can be resilient and that could be the order of the night before going for it in the second leg at Anfield.

Match Bet – Liverpool and Braga to draw @ 11/5

PSV v Rangers

Not many expected Walter Smith’s men to get through the last round after being paired with Sporting Lisbon but they deserve their place in the last 16 after a good display in Portugal.

Just as it looked like it would be heartbreak for the Gers, Maurice Edu popped up to send them through on the away-goal rule. While Sporting was a tough mountain to climb the challenge of conquering PSV will be even harder.

The Eindhoven outfit are currently top of the Eredivisie and have only lost three league games all season.

They are also unbeaten in the Europa League and Rangers will have to be at their best to avoid losing this tie in the first leg. Rangers made a habit of frustrating teams on their way to the 2008 final and will have to employ those tactics again if they want to survive.

Match Bet – PSV to win @ 6/5 with a minus one handicap.

Dynamo Kiev v Manchester City

Manchester City can count themselves lucky they were given such an easy route through the last 32 of the Europa League, taking just 12 minutes in the second leg to end the tie after drawing 0-0 in the first leg in Greece against Aris.

While they enjoyed an easy trip in the last round a game in Kiev is going to be a very different proposition. Dynamo are traditionally very strong at home and with City boasting a team of players who don’t always show much passion for the game they might not fancy potentially -7 conditions.

City, who are the 19/5 Europa League favourites, will probably come through the tie but they might have to come from behind in the second leg. While Kiev are traditionally good at home they are also fairly ropey on the road, although they did win 4-1 in Turkey against Besiktas in the last round. An upset could be on the cards in this tie.

Match Bet – Dynamo Kiev to win @ 6/4

Elsewhere, arguably the tie of the round gets underway in Germany when Bayer Leverkusen host an out-of-sorts Villarreal.

The Spaniards were well beaten on Saturday by Atletico Madrid and could be on the end of another sound beating at the Bay Arena, with Leverkusen 21/20 to win what should be a close game.

It should also be a good night for Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, despite their travel sickness. They take on FC Twente in Holland and can be backed at 9/5 to win the first leg of that contest.

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City favourites in Europa League

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Three British teams will be bidding to qualify for the next stage of the Europa League when the competition resumes next month. Manchester City, Rangers and Liverpool all play their first-legs of the Round of 32 during the week of February 14, with the reverse legs taking place a week later.

Rangers take on Sporting of Portugal at Ibrox in the first leg, with the two teams going into the ties with very different records behind them in Europe this season (Rangers 5/4 to qualify).

Sporting topped Group C in the Europa League, with four wins from their six games including an impressive 2-1 away win at Lille, who finished as the group’s other qualifiers. The Portuguese side scored 14 goals in the round as they won all their three home ties including a 5-1 thumping of Gent and a 5-0 win over Levski Sofia.

Sporting had a major blip in the play-off round when they lost their first leg 2-0 at home to Brondby and looked to be heading out. But they responded in style, winning 3-0 in the return in Denmark to go through.

Sporting sit third in the league thanks to four wins in their last six games, and have three in-form strikers. Helda Postiga and Carlos Saleiro have each scored four goals from nine games this season, while Yannick Djalo has three from 10.

Rangers’ lone success in Europe this season has come from a 1-0 home win over Bursaspor, though the only time they have been outclassed was in the 3-0 defeat to Valencia. They conceded just one goal over two games against Manchester United, so will come into the Europa League with some confidence (Rangers 66/1 to win Europa League).

Since their shock 2-0 defeat at home to Hibernian in November, Rangers have won five of their seven games, the only loss coming in the January 2 Old Firm game.

Manchester City will face a trip to Aris on February 15, with the Greeks having surprised many by pipping 2010 winners Atletico Madrid into the second qualification spot in Group B behind Bayer Leverkusen (City 1/8 to qualify).

Aris beat Atletico 1-0 at home and won the away game 3-2, so they deserved their place in the Round of 32. Fourth in the Greek Super League, Aris qualified by finishing fourth in last season’s play-offs.

The Thessaloniki-based side boast seven current internationals, including Christos Aravidis, Athanassios Prittas and Michaelis Sifakis of Greece and Toja of Colombia.

The Greeks have struggled for goals in their domestic league in the current season, but Croatian striker Danijel Cesarec has scored four in seven Europa League games.

City were level with Manchester neighbours United at the top of the Premier League going into this weekend’s fixtures, though having played two games more (City 4/1 favourites to win Europa League).

They will have few fears of going to Greece, having already won six Premier League games away from Eastlands and finished top of Group A in the last round.

City beat Lech Poznan 3-1 at home and Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium, and finished the group ahead of the Polish team on goal difference.

Roberto Mancini’s side have been second in the table for the past four weeks and went into this weekend’s games having won six of their last eight Premier League games.

Like City, Liverpool must start on the road when they go to Sparta Prague on February 17 (Liverpool 1/6 to qualify).

Sparta were a distant second to CSKA Moscow in Group F, losing just once but only winning two games. They beat Palermo 3-2 at home at Lausanne-Sport 3-1 away, but were well beaten 3-0 by the Russians in Moscow.

Sparta won the Gambrinus liga last season, as well as the Supercup, but are four points behind leaders Viktoria Plzen after the first 17 games of the current season.

Liverpool qualified for the Europa League by finishing seventh in the Premier League last season, but have been hugely disappointing in the first half of the current campaign and axed Roy Hodgson as manager earlier this month (Liverpool 13/2 to win Europa League).

The Liverpool supporters got their wish when legend Kenny Dalglish took over at the helm, but they will need to turn their season around quickly.

Liverpool completed a good 3-1 aggregate win over Trabzonspor in the play-off stage, having seen off Rabotnicki 4-0 in the qualifying round.

In the group stage, they finished top by three points over Napoli having been undefeated in their six games. They only conceded three goals in the round and enjoyed a 4-1 home win over Steaua Bucharest and beat Napoli 3-1 at Anfield.

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Hodgson ponders Europa options

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New Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has hinted that a top-four finish in the Premier League could be more important than a run in the Europa League this season (Reds 7/4 – Top 4 Finish 2010/11).

The Reds will not be dining at the top table of European football for at least 12 months after coming seventh last term at the end of a campaign that eventually saw the departure of Rafa Benitez.

And while the Spaniard will be in the Champions League again now he has re-surfaced at Inter Milan, the club he has left behind is languishing in the second tier in Europe, something loyal Reds fans hope will prove to be only a temporary setback.

With that in mind, Hodgson, who impressed last season by taking Fulham all the way to the final of the Europa League, has appeared to suggest something must give as he bids to lead Liverpool – the five-times champions of Europe – back to the promised land (Reds 9/1 – Premier League 2010/11 Outright).

As far as the here and now is concerned, Liverpool will face FK Rabotnicki of Macedonia in the third qualifying round of the Europa League following their win over two legs against Mika, but Hodgson admits progression cannot simply be taken for granted.

“I worry a lot about not having enough players for next week,” the popular Croydon-born coach revealed in the Daily Mail in reference to the trip to Skopje for the first leg next Thursday.

“These will be two unbelievably difficult games at this stage of the season but it depends where we put the Europa League in the grand scheme of things.

“The sports scientists tell me it would be wrong if I use the World Cup players this early, if we want to use them throughout the season.

“But if we don’t throw them in, then we don’t have the players with experience to play these games, so it is a cleft stick.

“It is a balance that I cannot sort out on my own. It will be a decision for the club to take on.

“Where in the list of priorities does the Europa League come.”

Red winger Albert Riera is set to move to Greek giants Olympiacos by the weekend after receiving a hero’s welcome on Thursday on his arrival in Greece.

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