Europa League Final Preview

The soon to be dethroned Champions League Winners Chelsea go up against Benfica in an attempt to win some silverware this year. It might not of been the silverware Roman Abramovich wanted, but it would be a nice addition to the trophy cabinet at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are 11/8, the draw 21/10 and Benfica 21/10

Rafa Benetiz has literally nothing to lose now, he was appointed as the interim manager and will be walking from the job the moment the season is over. He’ll want to leave on a high if he wants to enhance his chances of landing one of the many vacant managerial roles for next season.

Benfica have everything to play for, despite a massive blow to their chances of winning the title when losing 2-1 to their nearest rivals on the weekend. This left them trailing by 1 point in 2nd. Amazingly, this was the clubs first defeat of the season. Benfica’s remaining game is against 2nd bottom side Moreirense, while Porto visit to Pacos de Ferreira. Porto have the tougher game, but a victory seals them the title.

In contrast, Chelsea have a game on Sunday in the Premiership which is now essentially pointless after Manchester City defeated Reading 2-0.

Crucially, Eden Hazard will be out of tomorrow’s final with a hamstring injury, along with John Terry potentially(ankle) and Jon Mikel Obi. Apart from those, a full strength Chelsea team are en-route to Amsterdam for the big match. The real question on everyones lips is…
Where’s the money going?

Currently, 49% of Coral punters have been backing Fernando Torres to score first at 13/2, 23% Oscar, 15% Juan Mata. Our first goal scorer book is horribly one-sided in Chelsea’s favour. 23% of punters are taking a 3-1 scoreline in Chelsea’s favour at a rather juicy 20-1. The second most popular correct score is 2-1 Benfica at 11-1.