We are getting ever closer to the group stages of both the Champions League and Europa League. In fact, there is just one more round of qualification remaining, the first ties of which begin this week.
Easy Winner – 13/10 (BetVictor)
- FC Copenhagen to beat APOEL Nicosia (2/5) – FC Copenhagen are the clear favourites to beat APOEL Nicosia in the home leg of their Champions League qualifier and it is tough to foresee any issues for the Danish side.
- Fenerbahce to beat Grasshoppers (4/11) – Playing away in Turkey is never easy. That’s something that Grasshoppers are going to find out on Thursday when they take on a Fenerbahce side who will be expecting to make it through qualifying and into the Europa League group stage.
- Gent to beat FK Shkendija (1/5) – Gent could hardly have got an easier qualifying tie in their attempts to play in the Europa League and they should win this first leg very comfortably indeed.
Medium Risk – 6/1 (BetVictor)
- Both teams to score in Porto v Roma (17/20) – This is perhaps the tie of the playoff round. Both teams will feel they’ve got a real chance of making it out of the group stage of the Champions League but they’ve got to get their first. This could be a cracker with both teams getting on the scoresheet.
- Over 2.5 goals in Villarreal v Monaco (11/8) – Villarreal had a very good season in La Liga last year and will be hoping to capitalise on their work with a place in the Champions League. Monaco will have something to say about that and with their number of goalscorers, this could be a high scoring affair.
- Celtic to beat Hapoel Beer Sheva (3/5) – Celtic have worked very hard to get to this stage of Champions League qualification and if they make the most of their home tie against their Israeli opponents they can put one foot into the group stage.
Long Shot – 48/1 (Bet365)
- Ajax to beat FK Rostov and over 2.5 goals (21/10) – Ajax need to make the most of their home leg against FK Rostov given the difficulties of playing away in Russia. The Dutch side should be able to get the win but it will not be straight forward. Goals are expected and goals are what you should be betting on.
- Monaco to beat Villarreal (16/5) – Villarreal had a brilliant season in La Liga and it would be a shame if they are not able to qualify for the Champions League. However, they’ve got a very difficult tie against Monaco who are scoring goals and looking very dangerous. This could be an away win at decent odds.
- West Ham to beat Astra Giurgiu and both teams to score (11/4) – West Ham will be very disappointed if they do not win this game to get revenge against the side who knocked them out of qualifying for the Europa League last year. The Irons should win but their defence is not convincing so Astra could well get on the scoresheet.