Osijek and Videoton have been playing since the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. The Croatian club will play at home against Austria Wien, while Videoton will enter Partizan’s turf. The Everton versus Hajduk Split encounter will take place at Goodison Park, while Estádio do Marítimo will be the venue of the Marítimo versus Dynamo Kyiv skirmish.
OSIJEK (Cro) vs. AUSTRIA WIEN (Aut)
3-Way: 1: Osijek +117; X: +242 Draw; 2: Austria Wien +282
Spread -0.5: Osijek +114; Austria Wien -127
Total +2: Over -120; Under +114
OSIJEK
NK Osijek was fourth in last season’s 1. HNL and was defeated by eventual 2016-17 Croatian Football Cup champion Rijeka in the semifinal of that tournament. Prior to this season, the last time the club participated in the continental-level competition was back in 2012-13, reaching the second qualifying round of the Europa League.
Right now, Osijek is one of three teams with 9 points in the Croatian top flight, just behind Rijeka with two less in the GD. En route to the UEL playoff round, OSI stopped UE Santa Coloma, Luzern, and PSV Eindhoven. Macedonian forward Muzafer Ejupi had 14 league goals last season.
AUSTRIA WIEN
FK Austria Wien came out second in last season’s Austrian Bundesliga. Austria is currently at seventh of the domestic table with 4 points. It beat Cypriot club AEL Limassol in the third qualifying round of Europa League. Olarenwaju Kayode, Alexander Grünwald, Ismael Tajouri, Raphael Holzhauser, and Lucas Venuto are the club’s leading scorers last season, combining for 51 league goals.
OSIJEK vs. AUSTRIA WIEN – Match Prediction
Although Austria Vienna is at the bottom half of the league table, the Austrian Bundesliga is a more competitive league. What is going for Osijek is the opportunity of being able to play outside of its country. I think that both teams could score enough goals to top the +2 offered at -120.
MY PICK: Over 2 goals (-120)
PARTIZAN (Ser) vs. VIDEOTON (Hun)
3-Way: 1: Partizan -112; X: +280 Draw; 2: Videoton +375
Spread -0.5: Partizan -116; Videoton +110
Total +2.5: Over -109; Under +100
PARTIZAN
Partizan Belgrade won the double last season by topping the Serbian SuperLiga and the Serbian Cup, pulling the rug under derby rival Red Star on both occasions. The club was not able to get past the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, losing to Zagłębie Lubin in penalties, 3-4.
Leonardo, who had 24 league goals in the previous season, is now with Al-Ahli Saudi FC. Defender Nikola Milenković transferred to Fiorentina.
Partizan is currently fourth at the SuperLiga with 12 points, winning its last fixture against Vojvodina, 1-0. It participated in two qualifying rounds at the Champions League, losing to Olympiacos in the last round with a 3-5 aggregate. Uroš Đurđević led the club in scoring last season with 28 total goals.
VIDEOTON
Videoton FC placed second in the 2016-17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. Marko Nikolić took over as manager after Henning Berg acted that role for one year. It is currently playing home fixtures at Pancho Aréna while the new Sóstói Stadion is under construction.
The club is behind Honvéd on the domestic table with a solitary for goal separating the two. It went past Balzan, Nõmme Kalju, and Bordeaux in the first three qualifying rounds of the Europa League.
Last season’s club scoring leader Marko Šćepović had 13 Hungarian league goals, just behind Márton Eppel’s 16. Danko Lazović also had ten league goals. The two combined for 13 goals in all competitions this season.
PARTIZAN vs. VIDEOTON – Match Prediction
FK Partizan has one of the loudest home pitches in Europe, making it hard for visiting teams to clinch a victory there. In contrast, Videoton is currently playing in the more intimate 3,000-seater Pancho Aréna.
MY PICK: Partizan to win (-112)
EVERTON (Eng) vs. HAJDUK SPLIT (Cro)
3-Way: 1: Everton -303; X: +540 Draw; 2: Hajduk Split +1330
Spread -1.5: Everton -102; Hajduk Split +110
Total +2.5: Over -123; Under +114
EVERTON
Everton FC is the biggest club in this preview, finishing seventh in the English Premier League, eight points behind Manchester United. It did not do well at The Football Association Challenge Cup and English Football League Cup though, going only as far as the third round in both tournaments.
Last season’s club goal leader Romelu Lukaku (26 in all competitions) is now with Man United, but taking his place is prodigal son Wayne Rooney, who scored a goal against Stoke City this weekend. Everton also snagged Davy Klaassen from Ajax, Jordan Pickford from Sunderland, and Michael Keane from Burnley. The Liverpool-based club eliminated Ružomberok in the third qualifying round to advance to the Europa League playoff round.
HAJDUK SPLIT
Hajduk Split ended up third in last season’s Prva HNL. Last year, it reached the Europa League playoff round, conceding to Maccabi Tel Aviv in penalties. It was also eliminated early at the 2016-17 Croatian Football Club, lasting only until the second round.
The squad is currently second in the top flight table with ten points in five matches, three points behind leader Dinamo Zagreb.
Márkó Futács, Ante Erceg, and Franck Ohandza are Hajduk’s top scorers last season. Erceg has four total goals to date, with three coming from continental fixtures. Ohandza has three goals in all competitions, two of which are scored in the league. Keeper Dante Stipica has logged three clean sheets, all at the UEFA Europa League.
EVERTON vs. HAJDUK SPLIT – Match Prediction
Talk about being outmatched. Even if Hajduk Split is in high spirits right now, it is unfathomable to see Everton dropping this one.
MY PICK: Everton AH -1.5 (-102)
TOTAL: Over (-123)
MARITIMO (Por) vs. DYNAMO KYIV (Ukr)
3-Way: 1: Marítimo +368; X: +244 Draw; 2: Dynamo Kyiv +110
Spread +0.5: Marítimo -109; Dynamo Kyiv +100
Total +2: Over -119; Under +112
MARITIMO
CS Marítimo placed sixth at the Primeira Liga last season, barely qualifying for the second tier continental tournament with 50 points, just one more than Rio Ave. It reached the fourth round of the 2016–17 Taça de Portugal and third round of the 2016–17 Taça da Liga. Last year, it played in the group stage of the Europa League, finishing third in its group, winning a solitary match.
Marítimo is currently in the middle of the pack in the Portuguese league with three points. It put away Botev Plovdiv to start its Europa League campaign. Raul Silva had 7 league goals to top the club last season.
DYNAMO KYIV
Dynamo Kyiv finds itself practically demoted after getting the chance to play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League last season, placing fourth on Group B with five points. It played second fiddle to Shakhtar Donetsk in both the Ukrainian Premier League, Ukrainian Cup, and even this year’s Ukrainian Super Cup.
The club is currently the top dog of the domestic league with 13 points after five matches. It lost to Young Boys in the UCL third qualifying round.
Captain Andriy Yarmolenko had 19 goals in all competitions last season to lead his team. Júnior Moraes and Denys Harmash combined for 24 goals as well. Yarmolenko and Dieumerci Mbokani currently share top scoring honors with four goals each in the young season. Maksym Koval and Artur Rudko have five clean sheets between them.
MARITIMO vs. DYNAMO KYIV – Match Prediction
The Portuguese side is not known to send the ball to the back of the net, while its opponent has plenty of options up front.
MY PICK: Dynamo Kyiv to win (+110)
