Europa League: Matchday Two Tips & Predictions

There is a whole host of top-level European action on Thursday night with a plethora of ties taking place in the Europa League and the Europa Conference League.

Brighton, Liverpool, West Ham and Rangers are all in Europa League action, while Aston Villa and Aberdeen will be competing in the Conference League.

Brighton suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at home to AEK Athens on matchday one and, while there is still a long way to go, the Seagulls can ill-afford another reversal when they travel to Marseille.

Liverpool, West Ham and Rangers were all victorious in their opening group-stage fixture and those British sides will be aiming to build on their strong starts.

Aston Villa haven’t had much joy in cup competition of late with Unai Emery’s men turned over at Legia Warsaw in their group-stage opener. Villa remain favourties to win the Conference League despite that defeat and are expected to make light work of Zrinjski Mostar.

Tip 1 Aris Limassol to beat Rangers @ 29/10

Aris Limassol are a standout bet on Thursday's Europa League card. Rangers did beat Betis 1-0 in their opening group-stage contest at Ibrox, but that was a rare bright spot in what has been a poor start to the season.

The Gers were hammered 3-1 at home to Aberdeen last weekend, have lost their opening Old Firm clash of the campaign and have also suffered defeat at Kilmarnock.

The Light Blues have dropped seven points off the pace being set by Scottish Premiership title rivals Celtic and are now managerless following Michael Beale’s departure after only ten months in charge.

The prices indicate that a trip to Cyprus is a drop in grade for Rangers, but the SPL is hardly an elite-level competition and it’s difficult to fancy a side that looks incapable of converting the limited chances they are creating.

Aris played pretty well in defeat at Sparta Prague and they will have the hot and humid Limassol conditions on their side on Thursday.

Tip 2 Backa Topola v Olympiakos over 2.5 goals @ 6/10

Serbian side Backa Topola were outclassed when losing 3-1 at West Ham on matchday one of the Europa League, but Zarko Lazetic’s men did play on the front foot and that approach could lead to plenty of goals when they host Olympiakos.

Backa Topola registered eight shots at the London Stadium, which is a decent effort against a strong Hammers outfit, while they have scored 12 goals in their six home matches this term.

Olympiakos have a class edge and should win the contest, but getting long on goals appears to represent the best value.

The net has bulged 34 times in the last nine games involving the Greek visitors and that makes over 2.5 goals look a shrewd wager on Thursday night.

Tip 3 Aberdeen v Helsinki @ 10/13

Aberdeen should be buoyed by three straight victories, the latest of those being a commanding 3-1 triumph over Rangers at Ibrox, and the Dons look good value to overcome Helsinki.

Barry Robson’s men were pretty unfortunate not to qualify for the Europa League, after spurning some fantastic opportunities in their qualifying defeat to Hacken, but they have earned a spot in the Conference League as compensation.

The Dons will have a fierce Pittodrie crowd on side under the lights on Thursday night and that could prove too much for a Helsinki side that were turned over by PAOK Salonika on matchday one.

Europa League Matchday Two Predictions