The Europa League is back this week with Matchday 3 over Wednesday and Thursday. Of the 18 games, 2 are on Wednesday and 16 on Thursday, I’ve narrowed the field to 6 games to include into 2 parlays for this week’s Europa League predictions, picks and parlays.
Europa League Picks and Parlays #1
We’ll start on Wednesday with Galatasary vs Elfsborg and then move on to Thursday with Frankfurt vs RFS and Bilbao vs Slavia to include in this 3-game parlay.
Galatasaray vs Elfsborg Prediction
Galatasaray won 3-1 over PAOK before coughing up a 2-goal lead in Latvia and drawing RFS 2-2.
Elfsborg had a shootout on MD1 losing 3-2 to AZ, before coming home and shocking AS Roma 1-0.
Sitting 1st in Turkey, this will be viewed as an expected win vs the 7th place team in Sweden that has 1 win in 5 and 4 wins in 10.
Gala has filled the net in the Super Lig scoring 27 times in 9 games. In all comps they’ve not lost in 9, since losing in the UCL and have scored multiple goals in 8/9.
- Europa League Predictions: Galatasaray over 1.5
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Rigas FS Prediction
Germany’s Frankfurt drew Plzen 3-3 and then went to Turkey and won 3-1 over Besiktas.
Latvia’s RFS lost 4-1 away to FCSB and then drew Galatasary 2-2 at home.
In all comps Frankfurt is 6-2-2 this season, only losing away to Dortmund and then away to Leverkusen this weekend. They’ve scored multiple goals in 8 of those 10 games and should do so again here.
- Europa League Predictions: Frankfurt over 1.5
Athletic Bilbao vs Slavia Prague Prediction
Both teams have a win and draw in the UEL and have scored 3 and allowed 1. Bilbao was 1-1 with Roma and beat AZ 2-0. Slavia Prague beat Ludogorets 2-0 and drew Ajax 1-1.
In the Czech league Slavia have yet to lose at 10-1-0 and have scored 24 goals while conceding just 3 and sit 1st overall.
Bilbao just beat Espanyol 4-1 this weekend alongside a brace from Inaki Williams. That brings them to 5th in Spain at 5-2-3.
Slavia could be tougher to break down that it may look on paper as they have just 1 loss in 24 in all comps coming 10 games back vs Lille in the UCL. They have conceded in 3 straight now and Bilbao at the San Memes is always a decent bet.
In 29 competitive games they have 1 loss at home and have only failed to score twice.
- Europa League Predictions: Bilbao to score
- Parlay Picks: GAL over 1.5 / EF over 1.5 / BIL to score (-120)
Europa League Picks and Parlays #2
Here are 3 Thursday games.
Lyon vs Besiktas Prediction
Les Gones have won twice, 2-0 and 4-1 and are 2nd in the overall UEL table. Meanwhile, after 4-0 and 3-1 losses, Turkey’s Besitkas are dead-last in 36th.
That’s in stark contrast to their play in Turkey where they are 6-2-0, 2nd and have outscored opponents 17-5. All 8 of their games have seen 2+ goals.
Lyon has risen to 7th in Ligue 1 after 3 straight wins. Their games have averaged 3.3 GPG and 7/8 have seen 2+ goals.
- Europa League Predictions: Over 1.5
FC Porto vs Hoffenheim Prediction
Hoffenheim’s games have been filled with goals and few wins in the Bundesliga. They’re 2-1-4 and 14th. But their games have averaged 4.3 GPG and they’re 6-1 to Over 2.5 totals. Every game has seen 2+. only Augsburg has conceded more goals than Hoffenheim.
Their games have been a little less open in the UEL with a 1-1 draw with Midtjylland and 2-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Porto has yet to win after a 3-2 loss vs Bodo/Glimt and 3-3 draw with Man U. In Portugal, their only loss is to leaders Sporting, but otherwise are 7-0-1 with 18 GF and 4 GA.
The Bodo and Sporting losses are their only defeats in all comps in 20 games going back into last season and you could easily see goals in this game. Porto’s last 7 games have seen 3, 3, 6, 4, 5, 3 and 3 goals.
Porto to win, Over 2.5 goals, maybe BTTS or simply Over 1.5.
- Europa League Predictions: Over 1.5
Twente vs Lazio Prediction
Twente has two 1-1 draws to their name, vs Man U and Fenerbahce.
This game could be similar vs Lazio, the UEL’s top side who have 3-0 and 4-1 wins on their resume.
Lazio didn’t score this weekend, but it was 1-0 and away to Juventus who rarely concedes to anyone these days. Otherwise, in all comps this season Lazio has scored in 9/10. But then … they’ve conceded in 9/10 as well. There’s been 3 or more goals in every single game other than the Juve loss.
In the Eredivisie Twente are 6th, decent, but since their last UEL draw, went on to lose 2-1 and draw 2-2. Losing to Feyenoord isn’t a big deal, drawing to Waalwijk, the last place team in the Netherlands, isn’t great.
Look at all comps for Twente this season and they are 4-6-3 with only 1 win in 5. They’ve scored in a perfect 13/13 in those games but also conceded in 10/13. The BTTS is 10-3 and there’s been 2+ goals in 12/13.
You’d think Lazio prevail or there is a good case for the BTTS or that combo considering Twent have scored in 21 straight competitive games. One way or the other though, Lazio will get on the scoresheet.
- Europa League Predictions: Lazio to score
- Parlay Picks: LYO vs BES over 1.5 / POR vs HOF over 1.5 / LAZ to score (-118)
Ryan Métivier is a seasoned editor, writer and communications professional with years of experience in all fields. When it comes to covering sports, he’s written for numerous outlets and organizations including the OHL, CHL, SportsXpress, Sports Betting Dime, Cleveland.com, MassLive, FanSided and others.
While he’ll always cheer for his hometown Toronto teams, when it comes to betting, his only allegiance is his bankroll. Ryan specializes in global soccer, the NFL and the NHL, but if there is a bet to be made, he’ll make it. As the founder of Shred The Spread, Ryan focuses on combining storylines, trends, analytics and good bankroll management to creating simple bets that make sense.
When not making a case for why both teams will score in an MLS soccer match, he can be found focusing his efforts on fitness, attempting to learn Spanish, cooking or planning his travel adventure.
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