Europa League Betting Preview: Celtic to shock AC Milan & Arsenal to seal top spot?
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Odds and preview ahead of the pick of tonight’s Europa League fixtures
After a defeat to Ross County in the Scottish League Cup, Celtic head to the San Siro to take on AC Milan with manager Neil Lennon under intense pressure.
With one point from their opening four games, progression into the next round is now off the cards, but they could derail the Milan giants’ aspirations.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur could seal their place in the round of 32 with a win over LASK Linz in Austria, while Leicester City could win Group G with three points in Ukraine.
A win at Ibrox against Standard Liege would put Rangers’ name into the hat for the next round, while Arsenal may look to rest players with qualification secured ahead of this weekend’s North London Derby.
Ahead of tonight’s matches, we’ve previewed our pick of the bunch.
It’s been a campaign to forget for Neil Lennon’s side, with three defeats from their opening four matches, despite only narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification.
An impressive team performance guided AC Milan past the Hoops at Celtic Park on matchday one, easing to a 3-1 away win.
The match comes too early for the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with Mateo Musacchio and Rafael Leao missing out too. Celtic could be without James Forrest, who faces a late fitness test.
AC Milan are 2/7 favourites for three points at home, while there’s 10/1 on a surprise Celtic win in Italy. The draw can be found at 19/4.
Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz are the 7/2 joint favourites to score first, with Rebic a 21/20 anytime scorer. Mohamed Elyounoussi scored against Milan in the first match and is Celtic’s top scorer in the Europa League so far. He’s 5/1 to add to his tally anytime.
Jamie Vardy’s last-gasp equaliser against Braga last week was as dramatic as the stadium setting it was scored in, sealing the Foxes path into the next round.
Zorya still have an outside chance of qualification should they win their last two matches, so Brendan Rodgers could approach this game cautiously and not rotate all his squad at once.
Ricardo Pereira could make his first appearance in nine months, with Wilfried Ndidi and Caglar Soyuncu also making a welcome return from injury.
Leicester City are odds-on 4/6 favourites to win, with the Ukrainian side 4/1 to pick up a precious three points. The draw is available at 29/10.
Vardy could be rested with the Foxes already through, but he’s the 9/4 favourite to open the scoring, while Kelechi Iheanacho is 5/2 to score first, or 3/4 anytime.
Zorya’s Oleksandr Gladkiy is 15/2 to break the deadlock, or 13/5 to score anytime.
It’s all to play for in Group J, with just 180 minutes left for each team to seal their fate in this season’s competition. Mourinho’s side have a three-point advantage over tonight’s opposition, and a win will secure their spot in the next round.
The Austrians were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by the Lilywhites in matchday one, and they’ll be looking for a much-improved performance if they’re to prolong their involvement this season, though they’ll be without Gernot Trauner after his red card against Royal Antwerp.
Tottenham are 4/7 favourites to win, with LASK 19/4 to pick up a vital three points on home soil. Fancy the points to be shared? A draw is 3/1.
Carlos Vinicius and Harry Kane could miss out after not being involved in training, meaning Son Heung-min could lead the line. He’s 7/2 to score first, or 11/8 anytime.
Johannes Eggestein is the 7/1 favourite to score first for LASK, while Mamoudou Karamoko is a 3/1 anytime scorer.
Lightning managed to strike twice for Rangers after they allowed a two-goal lead to slip against Benfica for the second time.
There’s still work to do if Steven Gerrard’s side are to qualify for the knockout rounds, but a win against the Belgians would seal the deal. It’s unlikely Gerrard will make too many changes in fear of a loss of momentum.
Rangers are 4/9 favourites to win at Ibrox, with Standard Liege 7/1 to win away from home. We’ve got the draw at 7/2.
Kemar Roofe has hit something of a purple patch with four goals in his last three appearances. He’s joint 7/2 favourite to score first with Alfredo Morelos, while Roofe’s a 13/10 anytime scorer.
Jackson Muleka should get the nod up front for Liege tonight, and he’s 10/1 to open the scoring, while he’s 7/2 to score anytime alongside Michel Ange Balikwisha and Duje Cop.
This season’s Europa League has been a walk in the park so far for Mikel Arteta’s side, with four wins from four and a +10 goal difference offering a welcome relief from their yo-yoing league form.
With qualification to the next round all but secure, Arteta could be tempted to play a youthful side, resting some senior players ahead of Sunday’s North London Derby, with a point good enough to see them through.
Arsenal are 1/2 favourites to make it five wins from five, with Rapid Vienna 5/1 to upset the North London side at the Emirates. There’s 7/2 about points being shared here.
Should Arteta rest senior squad members, Eddie Nketiah could once again lead the line. He’s 7/2 to score first. The highly-rated Folarin Balogun scored his first goal in an Arsenal shirt against Molde, and he’s 6/5 to follow up with another anytime here.
Taxiarchis Fountas opened the scoring in the first match between these two sides, and he’s 13/2 to do so again here. He’s 11/5 to score anytime, while Vienna’s leading scorer Ercan Kara is 23/10 to find the net.
All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication.
