Europa League Betting: 4th Fixture Picks

The Europa League may be the ugly step-sister to the Champions League, but this season, a couple of storied clubs – Manchester United and Ajax – find themselves playing for Europe’s ultimate consolation prize.

Through three fixtures, those perennial powers are performing as expected, topping their respective groups. Will they continue their march back to the upper echelon of club soccer in the fourth fixture (Nov. 3, 2016), or will their reputations as legitimate European contenders take another hit?

Let’s take a look at their upcoming matches.

Manchester United (139) at Fenerbahce (193), Draw (229)

Thursday, November 3, 2:00 PM Eastern at Sukru Saracoglu, Turkey

Manchester United (2-0-1) lead Group A with six points in three games, outscoring their opponents 5-2 so far. They lost their only road game, however (1-0 at Feyenoord), and now have to travel to Turkey to face Fenerbahce (1-1-1). With four points through three fixtures and a -2 goal difference, Fenerbahce sit third in the quartet. They’re playing just their second home game of the tournament, though, and picked up a 1-0 win over Feyenoord in their first.

Neither side is having the success they expect domestically. United are a disappointing seventh in the EPL, while Fenerbahce are fifth in the Turkey Super Lig.

Four of United’s five goals in the tournament game last time these sides met, when they routed Fenerbahce 4-1 in England. United certainly have the more talented side, as that game showed, but they’re not playing well on the road this year – either in this tournament or the EPL – so I’m not going to lay money on them to win after the long trip to Turkey. But I also don’t see an overmatched Fenerbahce handing the Red Devils a loss. You know what that means, value-wise …

Pick: Draw (229).

Celta Vigo (305) at Ajax (-114), Draw (248)

Thursday, November 3, 4:05 PM Eastern at Amsterdam Arena, Netherlands

Ajax (2-1-0) established themselves as the class of Group G in the opening trio of games, winning two and drawing the third. They didn’t dominate (+2 goal difference), but they managed to stay undefeated despite playing two of the first three on the road. Their only home game so far was a 1-0 win over Belgian side Standard Liege. The traditional Dutch power is having a decent year in the Eredivisie, sitting second in the table, five points behind Feyenoord.

Celta Vigo (1-2-0) are currently second in the group; they have an identical +2 goal difference as Ajax, but only managed one win (and two draws) in the first three fixtures. Their first and only road game so far was a 1-1 draw with Standard Liege, and they’re currently eighth in Spain’s uber-tough La Liga.

Celta couldn’t take care of business at home when these sides met a few weeks ago in Spain, playing to a 2-2 draw. While Celta have the advantage of playing stiffer competition, domestically, each week, Ajax are a quality side that plays well in front of their fans.

Pick: Ajax (-114).

Photo credit: Ian C (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/].