The opening Europa League night was a good one for Serie A, with its three teams all winning well. This week, however, it may not be so easy for the Italians.
This week’s Europa football games send Atalanta to Lyon in Group E, in the tie of the round, and sports betting fans have a difficult choice to make.
GROUP STAGE WEEK 2 FRIDAY:
Lyon vs Atalanta
Atalanta are at tempting odds of 3.30 to win with Lyon clear favourites at 1.93. That may surprise you after Atalanta started their campaign with a resounding 3-0 win over Everton while Bruno Genesio’s Lyon failed to beat Apollon. Both have started their domestic season modestly – Lyon winning four and losing three in Ligue 1, while Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta have won, drawn and lost two games in Serie A. Former Manchester United striker Memphis Depay scored for Lyon in the opener and is one to watch again.
Lazio vs Zulta Waregem
Lazio should have no such trouble at home to Zulta having already registered a win, coming from behind to beat Vitesse Arnem 2-3, while their opponents were thumped 1-5 at home to Nice. Ciro Immobile is in great form for Lazio and the hosts are available at odds of 1.81 to win with a handicap of -1.75.
AC Milan vs Rijeka
The third Italian representative should have an equally successful night when they entertain Rijeka. Milan can take a firm grip on Group D, having won 1-5 away to Austria Vienna, Andre Silva scoring a hat-trick while Rijeka lost at home to AEK Athens.
BATE Borisov vs Arsenal
BATE are unbeaten in six matches in all competitions and earned an impressive point, drawing with Red Star Belgrade thanks to a Nikolay Signevich equaliser. The Gunners started with a win, Alexis Sanchez scoring a beauty, in their opening clash with Cologne which was delayed by crowd trouble. They’ll hope for a more peaceful night and are at 2.00 to win with a -1.25 handicap.
Everton vs Apollon Limassol
Everton got a much needed win in the Premier League after a poor start, having made an equally dismal showing in their Europa opener, losing 3-0 to Atalanta. Apollon held Lyon to a draw so they may not be the pushover the Toffees would expect.
Zenit St Petersburg vs Real Sociedad
La Liga representatives Real Sociedad started with a big win in Group L, thrashing Rosenborg 4-0 with a double strike from Diego Llorente. But Zenit went one further with a 0-5 rout away in Vardar. This will be a tough test for the Spanish side, which have stuttered in La Liga after a strong start.
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Villarreal
Villarreal have stuttered so badly that they have sacked manager Fran Escriba after six games. They also struggled in their Europa League opener, winning 1-3 against Kazakhstan minnows Astana, thanks to two late goals. Maccabi lost in Prague so the Yellow Submarine can hope this game heralds a new dawn.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
