The UEFA Europe League group phase is starting this Thursday, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Group I matches. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from in the opening round of the new Europa League campaign, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Guimaraes (Por) vs. Salzburg (Aut)
Three-Way: 1: Guimares +256; X: ++256 Draw; 2: Salzburg +140
Spread +0.5: Guimares -130; Salzburg +125
Total +2.5: Over +110; Under -110
GUIMARAES
Vitoria qualified for this year’s edition of the Europa League by winning the 4th position in the Portuguese Primeira, but they didn’t start this season on a high note as their form looks quite unbalanced. The Conquerors recorded two wins, three defeats, and a draw this season, but they only played in domestic competitions thus far. One particular loss was rather painful; the home game against Sporting that ended 0-5, but Guimaraes managed to recover and collect four points in the next two matches with Ferreira and Boavista.
Guimaraes scored only five goals and conceded 13, but they kept their net intact in a previous couple of games, and that is certainly encouraging sign going into this clash with the Austrian champions. The introduction of the Colombian forward Sebastian Rincon against Boavista resulted in a winning debut goal for the former Tigre player. Although he had some heart problems in the last few weeks, Rincon is now healthy and could be Vitoria’s key man on Thursday.
Other players who could play significant roles against Salzburg are surely the left winger Rafinha and attacking midfielder Paolo Hurtado, who joined from Reading this summer. Two of them scored three out of Guimaraes’ five goals, while Hurtado also has a pair of assists to his name. The hosts don’t have a lot of injury-related issues as the left back Joao Vigario has been the only sidelined player at the moment.
SALZBURG
The 11-time Austrian champions are going through plenty of problems this season as they don’t look strong as it was the case in the previous years. First, Salzburg sold Jonathan Soriano, their top scorer, to Chinese team Beijing Guoan, and then they were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualification. Losing to the Croatian side Rijeka was undoubtedly a big blow, but Salzburg bounced back and defeated Viitorul in the Europa League playoff, 7-1 on aggregate. However, they are without a win in the last two league matches and will be looking to heal their wounds with a victory in Portugal.
Salzburg played 14 matches in 2017-18, scoring 38 goals and conceding eight, so it’s clear that they are finding the net over 2.7 times per 90 minutes, and it is realistic to expect them to bag at least one goal in their visit to Vitoria. Still, the defense seems to be a bit leaky recently, as they allowed three goals in last two games, which can be concerning for Salzburg, but at the same time a possible opportunity for the hosts.
The reason for Salzburg bad form of late is, of course, the absence of some key performers, while in total, the Austrians cannot count on eight players due to various injuries. The centre forward Samuel Tetteh is out with a meniscus injury, while the Brazilian defender Paulo Miranda (knee), the left-backs Andreas Ulmer (concussion) and Stefan Stangl (strain), the centre-back Marin Pongracic (muscle), the midfielders Reinhold Yabo (cheekbone fracture) and Marc Rzatkowski (toe), and forward Takumi Minamino (ligaments) are all sidelined for this encounter. Four of these players are defenders, so it is no wonder why Salzburg’s back four conceded three in last two games. The right-back Patrick Farkas was forced to play on the left in the last match against Rapid, and Guimaraes could exploit the fact that he is playing out of his position.
The South Korean Hee-Chan Hwan is the team’s top scorer with seven goals, while Fredrik Gulbrandsen and Munas Dabbur are tracking him with six goals each. Dabbur also added six more assists to his name and is currently red hot, so he can continue with scoring after the 92nd-minute equalizer in a derby game against Sturm that ended 2-2.
Guimaraes (Por) vs. Salzburg (Aut) – Match Prediction
Guimaraes is a rather unpredictable team, but except for the heavy defeat against Sporting, they are usually good at home. Salzburg is a highly efficient team, and I am convinced they will score here, so my pick is both teams to score in this Europa League clash.
MY PICK: Both teams to score YES (-115)
Marseille (Fra) vs. Konyaspor (Tur)
Three-Way: 1: Marseille -222; X: +425 Draw; 2: Konyaspor +900
Spread -1.5: Marseille +120; Konyaspor -120
Total +2.5: Over -115; Under +112
MARSEILLE
After a solid start of the season and four wins and three draws in seven matches, Marseille suffered two big defeats; 1-6 to Monaco, and most recently, 1-3 at home to Rennes. What’s gone wrong is very hard to explain as they suddenly stopped playing well, and conceding nine goals in two games is surely alarming. Olympique knocked out Oostende (4-2 on aggregate) and Domzale (4-1 on aggregate) to qualify for the Europa League group stage, but they are struggling heavily in the Ligue 1, and maybe a win here could give them a bit of relief.
Marseille have played nine games so far in the 2017-18, scoring 15 goals and conceding 13, which means that we saw 3.1 goals on average in their matches. Twelve of those 15 goals came at Velodrome, so that suggests that Olympique are very dangerous at home, and they will attack the Turks from the referee’s first whistle. However, they also allowed six goals in five home games, and that is a promising sign for the visitors, who will definitely get a chance to test Steve Mandanda.
Konstantinos Mitroglou, the 29-year-old striker who joined from Benfica for €15 million, is still out with a muscle injury, but Dimitri Payer returned to the full fitness and even recorded an assist in a 1-3 loss against Rennes. The former Monaco forward Valere Germain is Marseille’s top scorer with five goals, Clinton N’Jie and Morgan Sanson recorded three each, while Florian Thauvin has two goals to his name, and also five assists (team’s leader).
KONYASPOR
The Turkish Cup winners are participating in the group phase of the Europa League for the second year in a row, and unlike Marseille, Konyaspor directly qualified for the competition. Following their surprising 2-1 victory over Besiktas in the Turkish Super Cup, Konya recorded three losses and only one win. They suffered two consecutive defeats; away to Basaksehir and home against Alanyaspor, scoring just one and allowing four goals in the process.
In six matches this season, Konyaspor bagged six and conceded seven goals, so it is evident that their games are tight, but not necessarily low-scoring, as four out of six went in over 2.5 goals. Considering Marseille’s defense at the moment, the visitors can find the way to Mandanda’s net, but also, they will need to tighten up in the back and not let the French team take an early lead. Konya averages a goal per away game, while Marseille concedes one on average at Velodrome, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Turks score on Thursday night.
The 34-year-old centre-back Ali Turan is back in the squad after he sat out the match against Alanyaspor because of suspension, while the striker Abdou Traore is a long-term absentee due to a fractured foot. Interestingly, the right-back Nejc Skubic is Konya’s top scorer with three goals, while Musa Araz is following him with two. Araz, Moryke Fofana, and Deni Milosevic should be the ones to keep an eye on as they can create something out of nothing and cause problems to Marseille’s shaky defense.
Marseille (Fra) vs. Konyaspor (Tur) – Match Prediction
Although I am almost positive Konyaspor will score at Velodrome, I do think Marseille is a big favorite to win this Europa League match and return to winning ways, but it will certainly not be an easy win. Both teams will wait for the opponent to make a mistake, meaning that they will play mostly a defensive sided match, with not many goal scoring opportunities. Therefore, there is a high possibility that we might not see one team score in this match.
MY TIP: Both teams to score NO (-125)
