The UEFA Europa League group phase is starting this Thursday, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Group L matches. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Real Sociedad (Esp) vs. Rosenborg (Nor)
Three-way: 1: Real Sociedad -278; X: +540 Draw; 2: Rosenborg +1200
Spread -1.5: Real Sociedad -116; Rosenborg +116
Total +3: Over +110; Under -115
REAL SOCIEDAD
Real Sociedad ended the last season in the 6th place in La Liga, which guaranteed them a direct spot in the group stage of the Europa League, and they are the favorites to qualify for the knockout phase from the Group L, alongside Zenit St. Petersburg. The Royals also would like to improve their domestic league position in 2017-18 and reach the UCL by securing the 4th position.
Sociedad has been in an excellent form early this season as they recorded three wins in three matches, scoring ten and conceding four goals in the process. That’s more than three goals per game for Real, and even though they are allowing over one per contest, the offense is looking fantastic at the moment. The latest, 4-2 win at Deportivo La Coruna is the perfect proof for it, as Sociedad scored early two and late two goals to see off the hosts. Sociedad played only one home game so far; an impressive 3-0 victory over strong Villarreal, one of the rivals for the UCL place, so they shouldn’t have problems with the Norway champions on Thursday night.
The Royals have very talented players in the squad such as Carlos Vela, Asier Illarramandi, Xabi Prieto, Willian Jose, Adnan Januzaj, Juanmi, Sergio Canales, and Imanol Agirretxe, among others. Juanmi is currently the team’s top goal-scorer with three goals to his name, while Illarramendi and Willian Jose contributed with two goals each. Eusebio Sacristán has some concerns in the midfield and defense as he will be without Mikel Orayzabal (muscle), Ruben Pardo (knee), Carlos Martinez (ligaments), and Raul Navas (knee).
ROSENBORG
The Norwegian champions are cruising to another title as they are currently at the top of the Eliteserien with eight points ahead of Sarpsborg and nine matches to go. Although they still have to win some matches to secure the domestic championship, Rosenborg have a space to focus on the Europa League as well and try to achieve a respectable result n 2017-18, which would mean getting to the next round. It going to be really hard in the group with Sociedad and Zenit, but the Troll Children are experienced enough and they will certainly not give up without a fight.
Rosenborg proved they are no pushovers in a playoff clashes with the UEL vice-champions Ajax, after two victories and a 4-2 result on aggregate, so it is not excluded that they can make an upset at Anoeta. They played in 33 games this season already, recording 19 wins, seven draws, and seven losses, scoring 59 and conceding 26 goals. That is a bit more over 2.5 goals per contest, and considering both Sociedad and Rsenborgs goal-scoring record this season, there will be goals on Thursday night. The interesting fact is that Rosenborg actually plays better away from home as they suffered just one defeat in 16 matches, and they played at Celtic and Ajax, so that is really impressive.
Matthías Vilhjálmsson leads the team in scoring with 15 goals, but he also added six assists to his name, while Milan Jevtovic (12 goals, seven assists), and Nicklas Bendtner with ten goals are also key players for Rosenborg. The central midfielder Mike Jensen recorded astonishing 13 assists, while Fredrik Midtsjö (9) and Pal André Helland (8) are also frequent contributors. However, Vilhjálmsson and Helland are sidelined for this clash, while Magnus Stamneströ had a knee operation and his return is unknown.
Real Sociedad (Esp) vs. Rosenborg (Nor) – Match Prediction
Sociedad entered this season on a high note and although Rosenborg is a serious team that mustn’t be underestimated in the Europa League, I believe the Spaniards will exploit the visitors’ defensive weaknesses and the fact that they are playing at Anoeata, although it could be a close match. Therefore, my safer bet is to go with the under 3 goals.
MY PICK: Under 3 goals (-115)
Vardar (Mac) vs. Zenit St. Petersburg (Rus)
Three-way: 1: Vardar +640; X: +375 Draw; 2: Zenit St. Petersburg -167
Spread +1: Vardar +108; Zenit St. Petersburg -109
Total +2.5: Over -102; Under +100
VARDAR
The Macedonian champions made the biggest surprise of this year’s Europa League qualification round after they defeated the Turkish side Fenerbahce in the playoffs. Prior to that success, Vardar also managed to eliminate the Swedish champions Malmo in the UCL qualifications, before Copenhagen knocked them out. Vardar showed the entire world that they can play and that nobody can intimidate them, and even though they have slim chances of advancing to the knockout stage, the Red & Blacks will be highly motivated to display great performances.
Vardar played in ten games in 2017-18, recording seven wins, two defeats, and a draw scoring 21 and conceding 11 goals in total. With 33 overall goals in their matches, it is clear that we should expect at least three against Zenit. Vardar bagged 13 of 21 goals at Philip II Arena, and they won all five home games, so the Russians will have a lot to do to beat the Macedonians on their own soil. Additionally, Vardar allowed only two goals at home, while Zenit is struggling with efficiency lately.
The Armenian international Tigran Barseghyan leads the team in scoring with four goals, while Boban Nikolov (3), Nikola Gligorov (2), and Boban Grncarov (2) are right behind him. The Brazilian attacking midfielder Juan Felipe currently has three assists to his name and he leads in that regard. The mix of domestic and foreign internationals proved to be a winning combination for the head coach Cedomir Janevski, and it will be interesting to see what the Macedonians have to offer in this phase of the competition.
ZENIT
Zenit eliminated Yehuda from Israel and the Dutch side Utrecht in a way to the group stage of the Europa League, but they did have some problems to beat Utrecht as they needed 210 minutes to knock them out. The champions of the UEFA Cup (2007-08) are the biggest favorites to make it to the next phase from the group L, but their current form is a bit concerning following a great start of the season.
The Anti-aircraft Gunners entered the 2017-18 campaign with four consecutive victories, but since then, the situation is not that great for the former UEFA Cup champions. Zenit has played in 13 matches this season, recording eight wins, three draws, and two losses, scoring 20 and conceding just five goals. While the defense is the least problem for the head coach Roberto Mancini, the recent inefficiency is surely alarming, as Zenit scored only three goals in previous five games. They did allow only one goal in that span (away to Utrecht), but the strikers must step up and start scoring some goals. Also, in last four away matches, Zenit recorded one win, so this is a great opportunity for Vardar to take the advantage of the Russian’s bad form and score a goal or two, which could settle the clash.
The 26-year-old striker Aleksandr Kokorin leads Zenit with nine goals, while Daler Kuzyaev with three, and Domenico Criscito and Sebastián Driussi with two each are also main contributors. Driussi (4), Dmitri Poloz (3), and Oleg Shatov (3) are at the top of the assist chart, so it is rather inexplicable how they are struggling to score lately with plenty of talented players in the squad. That is the proper question for Mancini, and he has to respond with a win in Skopje because any other outcome will be deemed as underperformance. Except for Viktor Faizulin who will be out for the rest of 2017 with a knee injury, Mancini has all the players available for this clash.
Vardar (Mac) vs. Zenit St. Petersburg (Rus) – Match Prediction
I expect Zenit offensive woes to end in Skopje, but I also think the hosts will find the net, so my pick for this Europa League encounter is both teams to score. It can be a quite opposite though, but I doubt that Zenit can play three scoreless games in a row.
MY PICK: Both teams to score YES (+108)
