Europa League Predictions

Real Betis vs Manchester United: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Manchester United will look to complete the job they started at Old Trafford last week when they face Real Betis in the second leg of the 2022/23 Europa League season.

Both teams met in the first leg of this tie last week, with United securing a 4-1 win. So the hosts have a mountain to climb to overcome a three-goal deficit against one of Europe’s most in-form teams.

However, Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini has refused to give in, with the Chilean saying, “I don’t think a knock-out game is ever over” ahead of a first competitive meeting of the sides on Spanish soil. Pellegrini has good reason to believe that, given he’s lost just one of seven home meetings against United throughout his career (W4, D2), with that record including a 4-1 win over the Red Devils whilst in charge of Manchester City in 2013.

But continuing that trend will require Los Verdiblancos to rediscover their home form, with Betis having won just one of their last seven games at Estadio Benito Villamarín, including three losses from their last five matches.

Manchester United have one leg in the next round after that dominant first-leg win. Yet the Red Devils cannot take anything for granted at this tournament stage.

The visitors have already avoided defeat on two UEL trips to Spain this term (W1, D1), and a third successful visit will secure their safe passage into the quarter-finals as their three-pronged trophy hunt continues. Erik ten Hag’s men won all three of their European road trips in the group stage, although a return of just two wins from six away games in 2023 (D2, L2) suggests United can be vulnerable away from Old Trafford.

But they will be confident of seeing this through, having lost just once in their last 14 competitive games (W10, D3).

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Manchester United vs Real Betis: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Manchester United will look to get back to winning ways when they host Real Betis in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.

The hosts suffered their most-embarrassing defeat under Erik ten Hag last time when they were beaten by their fierce rivals Liverpool at Anfield. In a shocking second-half display, the Red Devils conceded six times on their way to a 7-0 loss to Liverpool.

The loss was their biggest loss ever to Liverpool and ended a run of eleven games without defeat for United (W9, D2). Ten Hag declared after the match that his side’s performance at Anfield must not be repeated. However, he will hope that his boys can pick themselves up at Old Trafford, where they have been unbeaten since September (W17, D2).

However, United have a poor history against Spanish teams. The Red Devil’s last defeat on their own turf was to Spanish opposition in the form of Real Sociedad in this season’s group stage. However, optimistic Old Trafford faithful will feel that the loss came too far back as United recently defeated Barcelona 2-1 at this Stadium.

Real Betis will hope to avoid the fate of Barca when they travel to Old Trafford for the first time. The Spanish side come into this fixture in decent form, having not tasted defeat in their last four competitive games (W3, D1).

They held UCL champions Real Madrid to a goalless draw at the weekend to ensure they remain just three points adrift of the top four in La Liga. Los Verdiblancos are strong on the road, where they have won each of their last three road trips, with the last two decided by a 3-2 scoreline.

The Andalusian side are also unbeaten in five UEL matches away from home (W4, D1). Moreover, they qualified through the group stages without tasting defeat (W5, D1), so they’re unlikely to be intimidated by the boisterous Old Trafford crowd.

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AS Roma vs Real Sociedad: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

AS Roma will welcome Real Sociedad to Stadio Olimpico this Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie.

After losing 1-0 in their first leg against Salzburg last Round, Roma qualified for this tournament stage by beating the Austrian side 2-0 at home. That win at home was followed up by another narrow 1-0 win over Juventus last weekend, meaning that the hosts have won their last four home games in all competitions.

They have also kept a clean sheet in all those home games and have only conceded in one home game since the turn of the year. So Jose Mourinho’s men come into this tie in strong defensive form. But considering they have won only one of their last ten UEFA matches against Spanish clubs (D2, L7), they will rely on their home form to see them through this first-ever meeting with Real Sociedad.

The visitors will travel to Rome looking to secure a spot in a European quarter-final for the first time in 34 years. However, they will make the trip to Italy on the back of an indifferent seven-game run (W1, D3, L3), casting doubts on their preparedness to win.

Their most recent outing was a goalless draw against Cádiz on Friday. Though it was a poor result, it was enough to keep them inside the LA Liga top four. The White and Blues qualified for this tournament’s stage directly, thanks to a top-of-the-table finish in their group. In addition, they were the only team to win their first five UEL group games this season, which included three away wins on the trot.

They can become just the third team to win four consecutive UEL matches on their travels. But achieving that feat will likely require an improvement on their recent away form, as the visitors have won just one of their last four competitive away games (D1, L2), alarmingly failing to score on three occasions.

So given Roma’s strong defensive showing at home and Sociedad’s recent inability to score away from home, the best prediction for this game is under 2.5 goals.

Manchester United vs Barcelona: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

After a 2-2 draw in Camp Nou, Barcelona will travel to Manchester on Thursday to face Manchester United in the return leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff game.

Manchester United felt they deserved to win the first leg after outplaying their opponents, with goal-scorer Marcus Rashford claiming they ‘feel the draw was a loss’. However, the Red Devils returned to winning ways over the weekend, with an excellent 3-0 win over Leicester City, taking them to five points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

They are on course to make history as they are still in four competitions. They have the Carabao Cup final to play on Sunday against Newcastle and will be desperate to win here to ensure they can still win all four competitions they’re still playing in.

They have the ammunition to do that–Old Trafford, where they lost just two of their last 11 UEFA home games (W6, D3) and are unbeaten in 17 competitive home matches (W15, D2).

Barcelona have enjoyed little success in Europe this season, losing out on a place in the UCL. But they have been in fine form in La Liga this season and come into this tie on the back of a 2-0 win over Cádiz on Sunday.

The result maintained their eight-point lead at the top of the table, making it an incredible 18-match unbeaten run for the visitors (W16, D2).

United’s recent home dominance should not faze them despite their underwhelming away record across their last nine UEFA road trips (W3, D2, L4).

That said, another BTTS/GG game can be expected, given the goal-scoring abilities of both teams.

Monaco vs Bayer Leverkusen: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Bayer Leverkusen will look to make up for a heartbreaking 3-2 first-leg loss to Monaco when both sides meet for the return leg in Stade Louis II on Thursday.

Though controversial, the French side beat their German opponents in the first leg. But regardless, they will feel they’re firmly in the driver’s seat to win this tie. History would certainly back that up, given they’ve successfully progressed from all 14 of their UEFA competition ties when winning the first leg on the road.

They simply need to avoid defeat here to progress, and they will be confident of achieving that, considering they are currently riding an eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions (W6, D2).

Bayer Leverkusen will be desperate to win; however, they have a poor record against Monaco, winning just once in seven previous encounters (D2, L4). The odds are stacked against them here, especially since they’ve failed to overturn a first-leg home defeat in a two-legged knockout round tie of any major European competition in all 11 prior attempts.

Xabi Alonso’s men are also in poor form, with four losses and just one win in their last five games. However, the visitors have enjoyed some success on the road recently by winning three of their last four away matches (L1), although they failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 such games.Therefore, the correct score prediction for this game will be Over 1.5 goals.

Ajax vs Union Berlin: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Ajax will welcome Union Berlin to Johan Cruijff Arena for the first leg of the 2022/23 Europa League knockout playoffs.

Ajax find themselves in this stage of the Europa League by finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group stage behind Napoli and Liverpool.

They have not had a good season since Erik ten Hag left, with his replacement Alfred Schreuder sacked last month after overseeing a seven-game winless run of league games.

But things have looked up under Johnny Heitinga, with the new coach leading Ajax to four consecutive league wins.

They will turn their attention to this tie, hoping to build on their all-time record against German opponents in search of progression (W23, D7, L8). The hosts have progressed from ten of their 12 two-legged UEFA ties against German opponents, so they will back themselves to record a straight win here.

Union Berlin qualified for this stage of the Europa League courtesy of a second-place finish in their Europa League group.

This is their first taste of knockout European football, and they will be hoping to get their first-ever positive result against Dutch opponents after a pair of defeats against Feyenoord last season.

Urs Fischer’s men look well placed to do exactly that after maintaining their perfect 2023 competitive record (W6) with a 2-1 win at Leipzig at the weekend, a victory which kept them just one point in arrears of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich as they strive for a maiden top-flight title.

Union Berlin games have been characterised by tight margins, as four of their last five victories came by a 2-1 scoreline. All six of their UEL group games also ended with a 1-0 scoreline either way (W4, L2), highlighting the Iron Ones’ steely determination.

That said, we can expect an Under 2.5 Goals outing in this game.

Barcelona vs Manchester United: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Barcelona will welcome Manchester United to Camp Nou this Thursday as both sides faceoff in the first leg of the 2022/23 Europa League knock playoffs.

Barcelona qualified for this stage of the Europa League by finishing in third place in their Champions League group, behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. While that represented an embarrassment for the La Liga giants, they will want to make the most of their opportunity here.

Last season they also found themselves in the Europa League after exiting the UCL. Still, they failed to win the title after losing to eventual winner Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.

Coming into this tie on the back of a 16-game unbeaten run (W15, D1) shows that Barca aren’t as lousy as they were early this season or last season when they crashed out of the UCL.

Unlike Barca, who came from the Champions League, Manchester United qualified for this stage by finishing second in their Europa League group on goal difference.

They are also a team in form, having lost just once across 17 competitive matches (W14, D2) whilst managing eight clean sheets in that period.

So, they will travel to Camp Nou full of confidence despite their poor record against Barcelona (five losses in the last five head-to-heads).

Given how solid both teams’ defence is, this game could end in under 2.5 goals.

Arsenal vs PSV Match Preview

Arsenal’s rescheduled Europa League game against PSV will finally be replayed after the death of Queen Elizabeth II forced the game to be called off.

Mikel Arteta’s side has been in fantastic form this season, especially in the league and they will want to also show their worth in Europe.

They have won three of three games in this group already and PSV is the only club they have not faced so far.

This game will decide who the better side in the group is as the Dutchmen are trailing the Gunners by only 2 points.

Both clubs are now clear favourites to reach the next round, but Arsenal will want to do so as group leaders, which will be hard to achieve unless they win this match.

PSV are a free scoring side and they even have more goals than the Gunners in this group so far and we expect them to get some in this game too.

The best bet prediction for this game is over 1.5 goals. For similar predictions, click here.

Manchester United vs Omonia Match Preview

Manchester United will look to continue their recent fine run of form after two wins from two games and they face an Omonia side that gave them some trouble in the reverse fixture.

The Red Devils won the game 3-2 and that score clearly shows the visitors did not make life easy for them on different levels.

United also beat Everton 2-1 in their last Premier League game to show they have recovered well from the 6-3 loss to Manchester City.

This game is another chance for them to show they are a top club under Erik Ten Hag and it will hand Cristiano Ronaldo a chance to add to his 700 career club goals.

Omonia almost pulled off a win in the first leg, but they ultimately lost. They know this reverse fixture would be tougher, but we expect them to still give a good fight for the points.

They lost to AEL Limassol at the weekend, so they need a performance in this game to give themselves a confidence boost.

The best bet prediction for this game is over 2.5 goals. For similar predictions, click here.

Bodo/Glimt vs Arsenal Match Preview

In-form Arsenal will look to continue their fine start to this season when they face Bodo/Glimt in this game.

The Gunners beat Liverpool 3-2 at the weekend to show everyone they mean business this season and they would want a crack at European glory as well.

They have won all but one of their matches in all competitions this season and they will be keen to get more as one of the top sides in England.

They just failed to make the top four last season, but they will want more than that this term and their current form shows they might be the team that challengers Manchester City for the league title.

Bodo has been an impressive outfit since they started making the group stages of European competitions and they have made some stunning performances on that stage.

However, Arsenal is in a different class and the Gunners proved that in the reverse fixture with a 3-0 win. We expect another tough day at the office for their players in this game.

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