Pre-season is now in full swing across Europe but a number of teams have already played competitive football in their quest to qualify for continental football. There are fixtures in the qualifying stages of both the Europa League and Champions League to get our teeth into this week as we look to find some winning accumulators to start your seasons with a profitable bang. Whether you’re looking for an easy winner or something with bigger odds, we’ve got you covered.
Easy Winner – 8/5 (BetVictor)
- Shakhtar Donetsk to beat Young Boys (1/2) – An away game against Shakhtar is never an easy proposition and Young Boys will do very well to keep their tie alive after a very tough first leg.
- Olympiakos to beat Hapoel Be’er Sheva (3/10) – Olympiakos have claimed some big scalps in the Champions League in recent years and they should make light work of their Israeli opponents to take them one step closer to more big European nights.
- Lille to beat FK Gabala (1/3) – Lille should have way too much for FK Gabala at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The French side have their sights firmly set on a place in the Europa League group stage and are overwhelming favourites for good reason.
Medium Risk – 7/1 (Sky Bet)
- FC Luzern to beat Sassuolo (2/1) – Sassuolo will fancy their chances of beating FC Luzern in the first leg of their Europa League qualifying tie but the Italian side will not have things all their own way. FC Luzern are no mugs and 2/1 looks too big a price to ignore.
- Hertha Berlin to beat Brondby (8/15) – Hertha Berlin are one of the sides in qualifying who will be expecting to make it to the Europa League proper rather than simply hoping. This looks like a relatively straightforward home win for the side from the German capital.
- St Etienne to beat AEK Athens (3/4) – This is a very well matched tie which could really go either way. However, AEK Athens will believe that a defeat does not leave them out of the running. St Etienne are the favourites given they’re at home and should have the advantage at the half way stage.
Long Shot – 21/1 (Bet365)
- West Ham/West Ham in half time/full time against NK Domzale (8/5) – West Ham have to ensure that they take this Europa League qualifying process much more seriously than they did last season. That means coming out all guns blazing against NK Domzale and holding the lead at half time and full time.
- Anderlecht to beat Rostov (19/10) – Rostov are not an easy team to face but Anderlecht have enough about them to bag an important win away from home in their quest to qualify for the Europa League.
- Celtic to beat FC Astana (19/10) – Celtic had to overcome a very poor first leg defeat against Lincoln Red Imps but that will have taught them some important lessons. If Brendan Rodgers’ side maintain their concentration and play to their potential they can give themselves less work to do in the return leg at Celtic Park than in the previous round.