The UEFA Europa League round of 16 first legs get going this week, predominantly taking place on Thursday, although one of the eight ties is coming your way on Wednesday due to ‘city clash’ regulations.
Here are our betting tips for this week’s first knockout round first leg action.
Europa League Betting Tips - Wednesday 6 & Thursday 7 March
UEFA Europa League Acca of the Day
Liverpool to win
Sparta Prague vs Liverpool
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals
Roma vs Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United to win or draw
Freiburg vs West Ham United
Over 2.5 goals
Benfica vs Rangers
Both teams to score
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen to win and over 2.5 goals
Qarabağ vs Bayer Leverkusen
AC Milan to win
AC Milan vs Slavia Prague
Both teams to score
Olympique de Marseille vs Villarreal
At 98/1, a £10 bet would return £994.17!
UEFA Europa League acca of the week- 6 & 7 March
Sporting CP vs Atalanta betting tips
This round of Europa League fixtures gets going on Wednesday night, due to the fact both Lisbon giants cannot play on the same day.
Sporting Clube de Portugal got all the way to the quarter-finals of this competition 12 months ago, but are hoping to go even further this time.
In the first knockout round, Rúben Amorim’s team swatted aside BSC Young Boys, winning 3-1 in Bern before a 1-1 draw at home, with star striker Viktor Gyökeres converting a spot-kick in both legs.
Domestically meantime, the Leões are one point clear at the top of the Primeira Liga, with a game in hand as well, chasing only a fourth title in 42 years.
In short, things couldn’t be going much better for Sporting right now, so will they claim a first leg advantage?
Atalanta meantime return to European competition here having topped their group, coincidentally, above Sporting, winning 2-1 in Portugal in October, before the pair played out a 1-1 draw in Bergamo.
However, a repeat of that has been made less likely by the fact Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have lost their last two Serie A outings, smashed 4-0 by Inter a week ago, before a damaging 2-1 reverse at the hands of Bologna.
On the continent, la Dea have only ever reached the quarter-finals of a UEFA competition on four occasions, doing so in 1988, 1991, 2020 and two seasons ago, so victory in this tie would be historic.
Given the form of the two sides, a home win seems appear to be the most-likely outcome at Estádio José Alvalade.
Both teams to score
1st selection
Over 2.5 goals
2nd selection
Viktor Gyökeres to score anytime
3rd selection
At 3/1, a £10 bet would return £40
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Atalanta
Sparta Prague vs Liverpool betting tips
Liverpool are three-times winners of this competition, hoisting aloft the trophy in 1973, 1976 and 2001, with their quest to be at the final in Dublin on 22 May continuing.
Jürgen Klopp’s team completely cruised through the group phase, finishing top, accumulating 12 points from games against Toulouse, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and LASK.
A lot has happened since the Reds were most-recently in Europa League action in Brussels 84 days ago, not least the fact they’re chasing a quadruple, having already picked up the EFL Cup at Wembley last month.
Meantime, they’re through to the FA Cup quarter-finals, set to take on Manchester United in ten days, while also sat top of the Premier League, with Manchester City visiting Anfield on Sunday.
So, where this tournament sits in their lists of priorities is up for debate and, with their squad massively depleted by injuries, it’ll be interesting to see what team Klopp deploys.
As a result, Czech champions Sparta Prague might just fancy their chances of a famous upset.
Brian Priske’s side overcame Galatasaray in the first knockout round to set up this glamour tie, beaten 3-2 in İstanbul before roaring back to claim a 4-1 victory at home.
The Maroons have only reached the quarter-finals of any UEFA competition once in 31 years, this coming in the Europa League in 2016, and are massive underdogs to add to this tally.
Nevertheless, with Liverpool minds perhaps focussed on Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash, could an upset be on the cards at Stadion Letná?
Liverpool to win
1st selection
Over 2.5 goals
2nd selection
At 7/5, a £10 bet would return £24
Sparta Prague vs Liverpool
Roma vs Brighton & Hove Albion betting tips
Brighton & Hove Albion are debuting in UEFA competition this season, and it’s certainly fair to say that their supporters continue to be treated to some top-tier trips.
Despite yielding just a solitary point from their first two fixtures, four successive victories, featuring four clean sheets, saw the Seagulls top their group, ending-up above Marseille, Ajax and AEK Athens.
Meanwhile, Roberto De Zerbi’s team have been in mixed form in the Premier League, Saturday’s defeat at Fulham leaving them ninth, but their full focus is on this competition, aiming to go as far as possible.
Roma though have serious recent European pedigree, winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 before getting to the final of this tournament 12 months ago, defeated on penalties by Sevilla.
This of course was achieved under José Mourinho, who was sacked back in January, with club legend Daniele De Rossi making an immediate impact to date, winning six of seven Serie A matches in interim charge.
Meantime, in this competition, following a pair of 1-1 draws, I Giallorossi ousted Feyenoord on penalties, the third successive season in which they’ve overcome the Rotterdam-based giants.
This Roma team are far from flawless, and have become far more open and expansive under De Rossi’s stewardship, so a high-scoring two-legged affair should be on the cards.
From a Brighton perspective, they’ll feel even a draw at Stadio Olimpico will leave them in a fantastic position, ahead of the return tie in Sussex next Thursday.
Romelu Lukaku to score anytime
1st selection
Both teams to score
2nd selection
Over 2.5 goals
3rd selection
At 13/5 a £10 bet would return £36
Roma vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Freiburg vs West Ham United betting tips
These two teams meet again, having clashed in the group stages, and, given that West Ham won both encounters, 2-1 away and 2-0 at home, they certainly come into this tie as overwhelming favourites.
The Hammers have played 33 European matches across the last three seasons, winning 25 of them, reaching the Europa League semis in 2022, before winning the Europa Conference League back in May.
This time round, David Moyes’ men comfortably topped their group, accumulating 15 points, their sole defeat coming in Piraeus against Olympiacos.
In the Premier League meantime, the Irons have enjoyed back-to-back victories, beating both Brentford and Everton, thereby ending a six-match winless streak, moving back up to seventh in the table.
In early-October, goals from Lucas Paquetá and then Nayef Aguerd saw West Ham leave Mooswaldstadion 2-1 winners, while a similar result here would see them in pole position to advance into the quarter-finals.
Freiburg meanwhile, having ended up as runners-up in that group, had to overcome Lens in a dramatic knockout tie last month just to get this far.
Following a goalless draw in Northern France, they found themselves 2-0 down at half time of the home leg, seemingly set to exit European competition.
Nevertheless, Roland Sallai struck twice later on, the second coming in the 93rd minute, thereby forcing extra time, nine minutes into which Michael Gregoritsch completed the historic turnaround.
Christian Streich’s side have therefore got through to the Europa League last 16 in back-to-back seasons, dumped out by Juventus 12 months ago, aiming to reach a first-ever continental quarter-final.
In the Bundesliga, Breisgau-Brasilianer are without a win in six, but did hold Bayern Munich to a 2-2 draw on Friday night, Lucas Höler lashing home a late equaliser, emphasising that they’ll be no pushovers.
Nevertheless, the Hammers will be confident of leaving Germany with a positive result.
West Ham United to win
1st selection
Jarrod Bowen to score anytime
2nd selection
Both teams to score NO
3rd selection
At 11/1, a £10 bet would return £120!
Freiburg vs West Ham United
Benfica vs Rangers betting tips
The Primeira Liga champions take on the Scottish Premiership leaders in a tie that is very tough to call.
It’s somewhat remarkable that Benfica are still involved in European competition, given that they had zero points on the board after four Champions League games, still only drawing with Inter on matchday five.
Nevertheless, Roger Schmidt’s side then beat RB Salzburg by the required two-clear goals in Austria, thereby pinching third place from them.
Then, in this competition, the Eagles were far from impressive against Toulouse, requiring a pair of Ángel Di María penalties to win the first leg 2-1, before a nerve-shredding goalless draw in France a week later.
To offer more encouragement to Rangers supporters, Benfica were smashed 5-0 by Porto on Sunday night, their joint-heaviest league defeat of all-time, alongside a hammering by the same scoreline against the same opponent in 2010.
Rangers meanwhile were also defeated at the weekend, losing 2-1 in a shock reverse against Motherwell, but remain two points clear at the top of the Premiership, after Celtic were also beaten this weekend.
In this competition meantime, Philippe Clement’s team haven’t been in action since December’s historic 3-2 victory over Real Betis in Seville, with Kemar Roofe’s late goal seeing them leap from third to first in the group.
The Light Blues got all the way to the final of this tournament just two seasons ago and, given their recent-record in the Europa League, are dreaming of a repeat run this time round.
Benfica have never lost a Europa League match at home, winning 20 of 27, although Rangers came very close to ending that streak in 2020, leading 3-1 late on, only for Darwin Núñez to salvage a draw in stoppage time.
With the second leg to come at Ibrox, the Light Blues will be hoping to leave Estádio da Luz in a strong position.
Both teams to score
1st selection
Over 2.5 goals
2nd selection
Both teams to receive a card
3rd selection
Connor Goldson to be carded
4th selection
At 11/2, a £10 bet would return £65!
Benfica vs Rangers
AC Milan vs Slavia Prague betting tips
A.C. Milan are seven-times champions of Europe, but are aiming to win this competition for the very first time, with this their 13th participation in the competition.
Having dropped down from the Champions League, I Rossoneri swatted aside Stade Rennais in the first knockout round, cruising to a 3-0 victory at home, making their subsequent 3-2 defeat in France a footnote.
Stefano Pioli’s side are in a weird position in Serie A, currently third, 16 points adrift run-away leaders Inter while simultaneously nine points clear of Roma in fifth.
Thus, with not too much to play for domestically, Milan can give this tournament this full attention, aiming to reach a 14th major European final.
So, a daunting prospect for Slavia Prague, although they have already enjoyed success against Italian opposition this season, topping their group above Roma, beating I Giallorossi 2-0 at home in November.
Overall, the Slavists have won all five European home games so far this season, scoring 17 goals and conceding zero.
Jindřich Trpišovský's side have generally been impressive in the Europa League in recent times, getting all the way to the quarters in both 2019 and 2021, also going this far into the Conference League two seasons ago.
Nevertheless, the Czech side certainly come into this clash as underdogs, simply hoping to leave San Siro in a decent position, with the home leg to come.
Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen betting tips
These two teams have already met in this season’s group stages, with Bayer Leverkusen winning both encounters, 5-1 at home and then 1-0 away, so will this two-legged affair have the same outcome?
Not just because of this but Xabi Alonso’s side come into this one as overwhelming favourites, given that they’re ten points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, still yet to lose in any competition this season.
Die Schwarzroten made it five successive league wins at Köln on Sunday while, in the group phase, they also recorded a perfect six wins out of six, scoring 19 goals and conceding only three.
Just last season, the 1988 UEFA Cup winners got to the semi-finals of this tournament, ousted by Roma, hoping to go even further this time, as die Werkself chase an improbable treble.
As for Qarabağ, they’ve already become the first Azeri side to ever win a knockout tie in UEFA competition, doing so in very dramatic fashion last month.
Against the odds, Gurban Gurbanov’s team beat Braga 4-2 in Northern Portugal before, a week later, actually losing 2-0 in Baku, meaning extra time was required.
Matheus Silva fired the Horseman back in front, only for Braga to equalise, but, in the 212th minute of the tie, Nariman Akhundzade managed to bundle home a winner for Qarabağ, sparking scenes of jubilation.
Nevertheless, as alluded too, Bayer did leave Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium 1-0 winners just 119 days ago, Victor Boniface on target in the 94th minute, with another away win the most-likely outcome.
Olympique Marseille vs Villarreal betting tips
Lastly, and this tie is unfortunate to be last in our running-order, given that it should be a tasty encounter.
Back in August, Marcelino was Marseille manager, taking charge of just seven matches, including their Champions League qualifying defeat to Panathinaikos, before resigning following death-threats from ultras.
Fast-forward seven months, the Spaniard will make a speedy return to Stade Vélodrome, so can he knock out his former employers, now in charge of Villarreal?
Olympique de Marseille are actually onto their third head coach of the campaign, sacking Gennaro Gattuso last month with Jean-Louis Gasset making an instantaneous impact.
In his first game in charge, les Phocéens swatted aside Shakhtar Donetsk in this competition, before enjoying back-to-back emphatic Ligue 1 wins, hammering Montpellier 4-1 and then Clermont Foot 5-1.
This makes Gasset the first Marseille manager to win his first three games in charge since Otto Glória in 1962.
In Europe, OM reached the Europa League Final in 2018 and the Conference League semis two seasons ago, but have only featured in four quarter-finals across the last two decades, but are on the cusp of adding to that.
Villarreal meanwhile won this trophy three years ago, and will return to UEFA competition for the first time since December, having topped their group above French opposition, namely Stade Rennais.
El Submarino Amarillo are unbeaten in seven La Liga games, hammering Granada 5-1 on Sunday, but their horrendous start to the season means they continue to languish in 12th, so this could be their best route back into Europe.
This is another tie that’s tough to call, so Marseille will feel a home win is vital.
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