The UEFA Europa League competition group stage is at the middle point as three rounds have been played and we are in front of three more. In this preview we will check out the group G that features Steaua Bucuresti (Romania), Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic), Lugano (Switzerland) and Hapoel Beer Sheva (Israel). Currently, the Romanian side sits at the top of the group ranking with three wins, while all other teams have one win and two defeats each meaning that we’ll witness a very interesting battle for the No. 2 spot that leads to the next stage.
UEFA team competitions midweek is looming so let’s take a closer look and get some money into our pockets.
Plzen (Cze) vs. Lugano (Swi)
Three-Way: 1: Plzen -172; X: +395 Draw; 2:Lugano +650 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -1: Plzen -125; Lugano +121
Total +3: Over -104; Under +100
PLZEN
The Viktoria Plzen team is currently ranked at the No. 3 spot in the group with the same amount of points earned as Swiss and Israelis but with worse goal difference than Lugano and better than Hapoel. They’ve managed to defeat Beer Sheva at home (3:1) but lost both road games at FCSB (0:3) and in Switzerland (2:3). This Europa League group is definitely still wide open and the Czechs probably have the biggest chance of advancing along with the Romanians having in mind that they’ll play two of their three remaining duels in front of their own crowd.
In the Czech Premier League, they are perfect after first 12 rounds with 12-0-0 record as they hold the top position in the league table with 11 points advantage over the second-ranked Slavia Prague. They’re coming off from a 3:1 road win over Karvina last Friday.
Manager Pavel Vrba will be without centre-back duo Marian Cisovsky (virus) and Jan Baranek (knee) on Thursday.
LUGANO
The Lugano team entered the group stage directly after ranking third in the Swiss Premier League last season and to be honest, they haven’t really lived up to the expectation. Their first win came against their next opponent at home in last round but this time they’ll try to get some kind of a positive result on the road and it won’t be easy. A possible draw would give the team the upper hand in the remainder of the stage but that’s much easier said than done.
In the domestic competition (Switzerland Super League) they are struggling at the beginning of the season and are nowhere near to the last year’s performances. The squad currently ranks at the No. 9 spot (competition has 10 teams in total) with only 12 points earned after 13 games and a 3-3-7 record. Still, they’re showing some signs of the awakening as they’re undefeated in last two weeks, coming off from a 1:0 home victory over Luzern.
Left-Back Goran Jozinovic (cruciate ligament rupture) and defensive midfielder Stefano Guidotti (wound) are listed as out for Thursday’s showdown.
Plzen (Cze) vs. Lugano (Swi) – Match Prediction
The Europa League Group G matchups have all been relatively high-scoring ones so far. All six games had over 2.5 goals in total and in five of those six both teams scored. There is no reason to believe that it will not be the case this time especially in the duel that will take place in Plzen.
Still, my first pick here would be a win for the home team because they’re obviously performing much better than the Swiss. Lugano did emerge victorious in their first duel and they are showing some signs of life lately in the domestic competition but nevertheless, Plzen should not have any problems at their home soil which is why I will go with the AH on the home team.
MY PICK: Plzen AH -1 (-125)
Additional pick: Over 3 goals (-104)
FCSB (Rom) vs. Hapoel Beer Sheva (Isr).
Three-Way: 1: FCSB -104; X: +285 Draw; 2: Hapoel Be’er Sheva +359 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -0.5: FCSB -112; Hapoel Be’er Sheva +112
Total +2.5: Over -115; Under +110
FCSB
The Romanians are holding the top spot in the group very firmly as they are 100% after first three rounds of the UEFA Europa League with all three wins. They’ve outplayed Plzen at home 3:0 and they’ve outscored Lugano and Beer Sheva on the road (2:1 both). The fact that they even have two more games at home before the end of the group stage makes them a certain traveler to the eight-finals in the spring.
The team is also performing great in the Romania’s Liga 1 (domestic top-tier soccer competition) as they currently lead the league caravan with a 10-5-1 record and 35 points in 16 games. They have one point advantage over their bitter rival CFR Cluj and they’re coming off from a comfortable 5:2 road win over the CSU Craiova. Top scorer for the team so far is Harlem Gnohere with nine goals while Florin Tanase has six.
Head coach Viorel Tanase doesn’t have any injury woes at the moment.
HAPOEL BE’ER SHEVA
One of two Israeli representatives in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, Hapoel Beer Sheva currently ranks at the bottom of the Group G table thanks to the worse goal difference in this trio of teams with a same number of points. The only win came at home against Lugano but the duel with Plzen that could decide the traveler to the next stage will be played in front of their own crowd in round 5 and they still have a solid chance of advancing.
The team is coming off from a 3:1 road victory over Ashdod and they are currently riding a six-game undefeated streak in the domestic competition, including three wins in last three rounds. They rank at No. 4 spot with 17 points in eight games and a 5-2-1 record. Team’s leading scorer is Anthony Nwakaeme with three goals while Elyaniv Barda has one assist recorded so far.
Manager Barak Bakhar has his entire roster available for Thursday’s matchup.
FCSB (Rom) vs. Hapoel Beer Sheva (Isr) – Match Prediction
Both teams are in a good form in their respective domestic competitions but the Romanian side proved to be on a higher level in first three rounds of the Europa League and I don’t think that they’ll have any problems at home against the opponent they defeated on the road. The first pick is obviously a home team win but I’ll go with the under 2.5 goals in total this time because the high-scoring trend in the Group G must end once.
MY PICK: FCSB (-104)
Additional pick: Under 2.5 goals (+110)
