As the home side Arsene Wenger’s team have the advantage for this fixture and are priced at 4/9 for the win compared to 13/2 for a Potters away victory. A draw might be favourable to some punters after their last result and that’s available to back at odds of 7/2.

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Stoke

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Swansea

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Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were dumped out of the Champions League in the group stages but demonstrated they are still a force in Europe with a 2-0 win at the Amsterdam Arena in their first leg tie.

Ajax face a huge battle if they are to reach the last-16, with the Dutch side needing at least a 2-0 win themselves if they are to force the tie into extra time.

The Eredivisie outfit need to attack from the off if they are to stand any chance of reaching the next round and, as anyone who watches the Premier League regularly will know, United are always a threat on the break.

There have been reports that England international Wayne Rooney missed training on Wednesday and is a doubt for Ajax’s visit. However, the Old Trafford outfit should still be too strong for the Dutch side, even without their star man, with the likes of Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Dimitar Berbatov more than capable of filling the void.

The reigning Premier League champions are the 1/3 favourites to seal the victory, while Ajax are 8/1 and the draw can be backed at 4/1.  However, considering the fact that Ajax simply have to throw men forward it may be worth backing United at 8/11 to secure the win with a -1 handicap, even if they are without Rooney.

In contrast Stoke have a mountain to climb if they are to keep their European campaign alive.  The Potters suffered a 1-0 first-leg defeat at the Britannia Stadium and need to win at the Metsalla if they are to progress in the Europa League.

Valencia are a tough side on home soil and they have only lost two La Liga matches at the Mestalla to date.  Stoke have a reasonable away record domestically, but it is hard to envisage them getting anything at Valencia, even if the Spanish side decided to rest key men Roberto Soldado and Ever Banega as they did in the first leg.

Potters boss Tony Pulis has vowed to name a strong side and go for the win in Spain, but the task ahead of them is a great one and Stoke’s European adventure could well come to an end on Thursday night.

Valencia are 4/9 to secure the win and it is hard to see anything other than a victory for the high-flying La Liga outfit, while a Stoke victory is priced at 13/2 and the draw can be backed at 16/5.

Both Manchester United and Valencia are amongst the favourites to seal Europa League glory, with United priced at 4/1 and Los Che 9/1 to seal the title.  Stoke and Ajax, who have first-leg deficits to recover, can be backed at 80/1 and 200/1 respectively to secure the Europa League crown.

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The Cottagers face a tricky trip to Group K leaders FC Twente as they seek to extend their run in Europe although the Dutch outfit have already booked their spot in the next round and this could work to Fulham’s advantage.

FC Twente remain unbeaten in Europe but they may choose to rest some of their top men in order to focus on their trip to FC Utrecht at the weekend, with Twente already seven points behind Eredivisie leaders AZ Alkmaar.

It will take a big effort from Martin Jol’s side but considering what is at stake and the fact Twente are already through the Cottagers could well emerge victorious on Thursday.  The west London club have plenty of experience in the Europa League, having reached the final in 2010, and at 10/3 they look good value to grab the win in Holland, Twente are the 5/6 favourites to come out on top and the draw can be backed at 5/2.

If Fulham win in Holland they will secure a spot in the last 32 but a draw could also be good enough if the other sides in Group K, Odense BK and Wisla Krakow, draw on Thursday night.

When the groups were drawn it was noted that Stoke City had been handed a particularly hard task for their European campaign. However, the Potters are currently top of the Group E table and will qualify for the last 32 if they manage to take at least a point when they face Dynamo Kiev at the Britannia Stadium on Thursday night.

Besiktas and Maccabi Tel-Aviv make up the rest of Group E and if the Israeli outfit emerge victorious in Tel Aviv, Stoke will qualify regardless of their own result. However, Potters boss Tony Pulis will be taking nothing for granted and will be gunning for the victory.

The Potters secured a draw in Kiev when the two sides met in September and would have taken all the points had it not been for a last-gasp equaliser from the Ukrainian side. Stoke are a formidable outfit on home soil, despite their Premier League struggles of late, and at 13/10 are a great price to seal the win.

Pulis has rotated his squad for Europe and seems set to continue with that policy for Kiev’s visit – Asmir Begovic is set to start in goal, while Ryan Shotton, Kenwyne Jones and Robert Huth could all be involved. The draw, which would be enough for Stoke to progress, is priced at 9/4 and a win for Dynamo Kiev is priced at 21/10.

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Newcastle United

Alan Pardew had to deal with the loss of Andy Carroll in January and although he recruited wisely in the summer, there would not have been too many predicting an unbeaten start for the Geordies in the league this deep into the campaign.

Newcastle lost their first match of the season in midweek in the Carling Cup, going down 4-3 to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, although it did take a goal right at the death of extra time to seal the win for Steve Kean’s men.

What may worry punters is the fact that Newcastle left it late to force the extra time, needing two goals deep into stoppage time to level matters against a side that was bottom of the Premier League table at the time.

It was not a second string side fielded by Pardew either so it is hardly the best performance to take to a notoriously difficult place for away teams. This makes Stoke worthy 6/5 favourites to win the match.

Tony Pulis’s men are unbeaten at home in the league, triumphing over Liverpool and Fulham while holding both Chelsea and Manchester United to draws. Meanwhile, Luis Nani’s strike for the champions has been the only goal conceded in the league at the Britannia Stadium.

Liverpool did gain some revenge with a 2-1 win at Stoke in the Carling Cup but the Potters will be up for the challenge on their return to Premier League duty and look value to take all three points.

The North East club have the better head-to-head record with 39 wins to 23, but Stoke have never lost to Monday’s opponents in the Premier League and completed the double over them last season, winning this fixture 4-0.

It may be a bit fanciful to think there might be a repeat scoreline (priced at 66/1) as Pulis’s side has scored just seven goals this season in the Premier League, but the home side should still be too strong on their own patch.

There have been just 22 shots on target from Stoke players this campaign but 71% of their goals have come from set pieces so there could be a big price coming good in the goalscoring markets.

Peter Crouch heads the betting at 11/2 to be First/Last Goalscorer and 3/2 Anytime Goalscorer but their threat from set-piece situations is no secret and the likes of Robert Huth (20/1 First/Last, 11/2 Anytime) and Ryan Shawcross (25/1 and 7/1) offer some real value.

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Stoke City

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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