It’s set to be a difficult night in the Europa League for Stoke and Birmingham who are 19/4 () to both lose their first leg clashes.
Stoke are well fancied at 1/2 with Skybet to come out on top and qualify from their Europa League tie against FC Thun, who are a 7/4 chance at Stan James to oust the Potters from the competition.
However, the Swiss outfit have demonstrated that they are no pushovers, accounting for a decent Palermo side in the last round and it’s subsequently far from a foregone conclusion that Tony Pulis’ men will get through.
They’ll certainly find the going tough in the away leg in which the hosts’ artificial pitch is bound to provide a significant advantage to the Swiss Super League leaders and while we’re reluctant to back Thun in the qualification market, they look great value at 85/40 with to take a lead over to the Britannia Stadium.
Also set to struggle are Birmingham, who head to Portuguese side Nacional. This competition won’t exactly be a priority for Chris Hughton’s men now that they are in the Championship, where the fixture schedule is eight matches greater than that in the Premiership and they don’t travel particularly well.
The hosts meanwhile, finished sixth domestically last season and play some decent football so they have to be considered a steal in Madeira at an odds-against quote of 21/20 with Stan James.
Fulham by contrast, should emerge victorious, albeit on their own patch, as they face Dnipro. The Cottagers are 7/10 via Sportingbet to secure a first leg lead and bet365 make them 1/2 to reach the next phase but it could be worth speculating on something a little more substantial in west London.
In half of Fulham’s six Europa League matches this term, they have been awarded a penalty, all of them tucked away by Danny Murphy and the former Liverpool midfielder is 4/1 (Skybet) to notch at any time here. Finally, for punters wanting even greater odds, a chunkier 5/1 is available with Totesport for the Cottagers to score from the spot.
Recommended Bets:
Double on Thun and Nacional – 19/4 ()
Danny Murphy to score at any time – 4/1 (Skybet)
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