The UEFA Europa League group phase continues this Thursday, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Group D matches. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and enter the action at Get More Sports.
Rijeka (Cro) vs. Austria Vienna (Aut)
Three-Way: Rijeka -179; X: +397 Draw; 2: Austria Vienna +800 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -1: Rijeka -130; Austria Vienna +127
Total +3: Over +110; Under -114
RIJEKA
The Croatian champions are not having a great time in the domestic HNL Liga as they suffered three consecutive defeats, including the most recent one to Dinamo Zagreb who is now nine points clear at the top of the table. The situation in the Europa League is somewhat better as Rijeka has an opportunity to get back into contention with a win here and fight for the place in the knockout stage. The Whites beat Austria in Vienna thanks to Mario Gavranovic’s brace and are favorites to take three points on Thursday.
Rijeka played 23 games so far in the 2017/18, recording 12 victories, three draws, and eight losses, with a goal difference of 48:26, which is 3.20 goals per contest on average. They experienced some problems at home lately, suffering four defeats in the last six matches, so the visitors will not be without chances at Stadion Rujevica.
The Swiss striker Mario Gavranovic is the team’s top scorer with 11 goals in 19 appearances, while the Brazilian Heber with nine, and the Austrian Alexander Gorgon with six goals are following him on a goal-scoring chart. The midfielders Josip Misic and Filip Bradaric are the most creative individuals with five assists apiece, while Gavranovic, Heber, Gorgon, and Domagoj Pavicic added four dishes at the moment. Matjaž Kek is delighted to have all of the players at his disposal as no new injuries occurred and the team is healthy and ready to go.
AUSTRIA VIENNA
The Violets are in a disastrous form as they lost five out of the last six matches and are in the 4th position in the Bundesliga with 12 points behind Sturm Graz. Austria is also not playing well in the Europa League, and only a win here would give them the right to think about the knockout phase. They are labeled as huge underdogs on Thursday, but on the other hand, Rijeka is under a lot of pressure, and that could be the chance for the visitors to make an upset.
Austria Vienna played 23 games in this campaign, recording nine victories, six draws, and eight losses, with a goal difference of 36:34, which is a bit over three goals per contest on average. The Violets are without an away win in the previous four matches, and they allowed seven in last three, so Austria will have a lot to do to keep the hosts away from their goal.
The midfielder Raphael Holzhauser is the team’s leading scorer with eight goals to his name, while Kevin Friesenbichler with six, and Christoph Monschein and Felipe Pires with five goals apiece are right behind him. The left-winger Pires is the top assist-maker with seven dishes; Holzhauser has six, while Friesenbichler and Dominik Prokop added four assists each. Thorsten Fink has plenty of injury-related issues as he cannot count on Vesel Demaku (shoulder), Lucas Venuto (cruciate ligament rupture), Robert Almer (cruciate ligament), Ruan (torn tendon), Alexander Grunwald (hyaline cartilage), Florian Klein (metatarsal fracture), Osman Hadzikic (foot), Abdul Kadiri Mohammed (muscle), Christoph Martschinko (cruciate ligament), David de Paula (thigh), and Ismael Tajoury (wound). Fink is practically without half of his team, and it would be quite surprising if Austria avoids a defeat in Rijeka.
Rijeka (Cro) vs. Austria Vienna (Aut) – Match Prediction
The Austrians are terrible at the moment, and they are without numerous first-team players, so I am backing the hosts to win, but also, I think we’re going to see at least three goals here.
MY PICK: Over 3 goals (+110
AEK Athens (Gre) vs. AC Milan (Ita)
Three-Way: AEK Athens +284; X: +252 Draw; 2: AC Milan +134 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread +0.5: AEK Athens -125; AC Milan +125
Total +2.5: Over +125; Under -130
AEK ATHENS
The Yellow-Blacks won two matches in a row and scored eight goals in the process, allowing nine in return, and are in the 3rd position in the Greek Super League with two points behind Atromitos. AEK is playing well in the Europa League as they are sitting in the 2nd place with two points fewer than Milan, and two more than Rijeka, so a potential victory here would complicate the situation in the group D.
AEK Athens played 18 games in this season, recording nine wins, five draws, and four losses, with a goal difference of 28:12, which is 2.22 goals per contest on average. The Yellow-Blacks are without a home victory in the previous two matches, but they will be highly motivated to welcome the European giants, so Milan will not have an easy job at Olympic Stadium on Thursday in the Europa League 4th round.
The right-winger Lazaros Christodoulopoulos is the team’s top scorer with eight goals in 16 appearances, while Petros Mantalos with four, and Sergio Araujo with three are also the key contributors to the attack. The former Inter striker Marko Livaja and Anastasios Bakasetas are the most creative individuals with four assists to their respective names, while Araujo added three dishes at the moment. Mantalos will miss the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament rupture, and Manolo Jiménez is also without Dmytro Chygrynskiy who is out with a hand injury.
AC MILAN
The Rossoneri ended a four-game winless streak with a victory over Chievo in Verona, but they fell short to Juventus at San Siro as the Old Lady took a 2:0 win to Turin. Milan is underperforming in the Serie A as they are in the 8th position with even 15 points behind Napoli, but at least, they are on a course to qualify for the Europa League knockout phase. They have seven points after three matches, and three points in Athens will certainly secure them a spot in the next stage.
AC Milan played 18 games in the 2017/18 so far, recording 11 wins, two draws, and five losses, with a goal difference of 34:19, which is 2.95 goals per contest on average. When it comes to matches away from San Siro, the Rossoneri conceded a goal in the previous five, and I am not sure they will keep their net intact on this one.
The Portuguese forward Andre Silva is the team’s leading scorer with six goals in 13 appearances, while Patrick Cutrone and Suso are following him on a goal-scoring chart with five goals apiece. The former Liverpool winger Suso recorded six assists to his name, while Hakan Calhanoglu with four, and Franck Kessie and Fabio Borini with three are among the most creative individuals in the squad. Vincenzo Montella is without Andrea Conti (cruciate ligament injury), Davide Calabria (head), and Giacomo Bonaventura (muscle) as they are all injured and unavailable to perform on Thursday.
AEK Athens (Gre) vs. AC Milan (Ita) – Match Prediction
I expect Milan to play defensive football and wait for the chance on the counters, while I also don’t believe the Greeks will open up, so I doubt we will see more than two goals in Athens.
MY PICK: Under 2.5 goals (-130)
