The UEFA Europa League group phase continues this Thursday, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Group F matches. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and enter the action at Get More Sports.
Sheriff Tiraspol (Mda) vs. Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus)
Three-Way: Sheriff Tiraspol +297; X: +240 Draw; 2: Lokomotiv Moscow +125
Spread +0.5: Sheriff Tiraspol -127; Lokomotiv Moscow +120
Total +2: Over -104; Under -108
SHERIFF TIRASPOL
The Moldovan champions are in a solid position in the Europa League group F with two points from the first couple of matches, and they have the same amount of points as Copenhagen. Sheriff is in an excellent form of 13 games without a defeat, including consecutive wins in the Moldovan National Division over Zimbru and Petrocub. The duel with Lokomotiv is a quite unpredictable one but Sheriff could become a leader of the group with a potential win, so it’s lot at stake in this Europa League Thursday night matchup.
Sheriff has played 22 games so far in 2017/18, recording 13 victories, seven draws, and two losses, with a goal difference of 48:18, which is precisely three goals per contest on average. They suffered just one home defeat this season, scoring 32 goals and conceding 11, so we can expect to see plenty of action when Lokomotiv comes to town.
The 18-year-old striker Vitalie Damascan is the team’s leading scorer with ten goals; the Montenegrin forward Stefan Mugosa has six, as well as the Brazilian Jairo, the midfielder Josip Brezovec added five, while Ziguy Badibanga contributed with four goals so far. Head Coach Roberto Bordin is delighted to have all of his players healthy and available to feature here as no new injuries occurred recently.
LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW
The Railroaders suffered a disappointing 0:1 loss to UFA following a good run of three consecutive victories, and they are currently in the 2nd place in the Russian Premier League with two points behind the leaders Zenit. Lokomotiv are at the top of the Europa League group F with four points from the opening two matches, and now they have an opportunity to practically secure one of the first two positions with a win here.
Lokomotiv played 17 games in this campaign, recording nine wins, three draws, and five losses, with a goal difference of 24:16, which is 2.35 goals per contest on average. When it comes to matches away from RZD Arena, the Red-Greens have just three victories in nine outings, and they allowed at least a goal in all but one, so it’s going to be hard for Lokomotiv to keep their net intact on this one. However, they failed to find the net on a couple of occasions when visiting, and I think they are in a strong position to score minimum one in Tiraspol.
The Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes has been in a fantastic form this season as he scored seven goals thus far and is the team’s top scorer, while Aleksey Miranchuk with four and Solomon Kvirkvelia with three are behind him on the goal-scoring chart. Fernandes and Miranchuk are the most influential individuals in this squad as they added five assists to their respective names, so it is clear that the duo will represent the biggest danger to Zvonimir Mikulic and Sheriff’s defense. The Brazilian forward Ari is sidelined with a ruptured cruciate ligament and will not return until December while the centre-back Vedran Corluka is near to returning to the pitch as he’s recovering from Achilles tendon rupture.
Sheriff Tiraspol (Mda) vs. Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus) – Match Prediction
It’s going to be a tight affair this one, and I am not sure which team to pick, so I am going with goals on both sides.
MY PICK: Both teams to score YES (+125)
Zlin (Cze) vs. Copenhagen (Den)
Three-Way: Zlin +375; X: +262 Draw; 2: Copenhagen -102
Spread +0.5: Zlin -102; Copenhagen -108
Total +2: Over -141; Under +123
ZLIN
The Cobblers are in a hot and cold form recently, but they managed to stay undefeated in the previous three matches, with a pair of straight victories over Pisek in the Czech Cup, and Jihlava in the 1. Liga. Zlin collected a point from the opening two games in the Europa League group F, and they have an imperative to win here in order to stay in the contention for the knockout phase. In case they suffer a defeat on Thursday night, Zlin will have minimal chances to advance, so the importance of this tilt is enormous for them
Zlin played 13 games so far in the 2017/18 season, recording five wins, three draws, and five losses, with a goal difference of 13:14, which is a bit over two goals per contest on average. They are without a home defeat in this campaign and conceded just three goals in six outings, so the visitors will have a lot to do to beat Zlin at Andruv Stadion in Olomouc. Zlin is playing home matches in Olomouc because their Stadion Letna doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure to comply with UEFA’s requirements.
The Nigerian right-winger Ubong Ekpai, the Senegalese striker Dame Diop, and the Bosnian midfielder Mirzad Mehanovic are the team’s leading scorers with a couple of goals so far, while Daniel Holzer with three and Diop with two assists are the most creative individuals in this team. Head coach Bohumil Panik doesn’t have any injury-related concerns as all of the players are healthy and raring to go.
FC COPENHAGEN
The Danish champions are in a poor form of late as they recorded consecutive losses in the Superliga, but are in a good situation to advance to the knockout stage of the Europa League with two points from the opening two fixtures. Copenhagen have yet to score in the competition, but they didn’t allow a goal as well, and another goalless stalemate is simply not an option here.
Copenhagen played 21 games in the 2017/18 campaign so far, recording nine victories, five draws, and seven defeats, with a goal difference of 34:22, which is 2.66 goals per contest on average. When it comes to matches away from Telia Parken, the Lions have been awful as they suffered six losses in 12 outings and kept their net intact on only four occasions. Copenhagen are favorites to secure a win in the Czech Republic on Thursday, but Zlin is a tough team to beat on their turf.
The Serbian striker Andrija Pavlovic is the team’s top scorer with nine goals to his name, while Pieros Sotirou with seven, Benjamin Verbic with six, and Federico Santander with four are behind Pavlovic on the goal-scoring chart. The left-back Pierre Bengtsson and the Slovenian winger Verbic are the leading assist-makers with four dishes each, while Sotirou and right-back Peter Ankersen are following them with three assists. The Paraguayan forward Santander is out for six more weeks and cannot help his teammates here, while the pair of centre-backs Mikael Antonsson and Erik Johansson is sidelined with cruciate ligament injuries.
Zlin (Cze) vs. Copenhagen (Den) – Match Prediction
Zlin are without a home loss this season and Copenhagen are not playing well on visits, but they do have a better team, and I believe the Danish champions will not lose this clash, so I opted for double chance.
MY PICK: DC Copenhagen to win (-102)
