Europa league 25 April

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Football » International Clubs » UEFA Europa League
Closes 1 X 2
25 Apr 22:05 FC Basel - Chelsea FC 3.00 3.20 2.52 +172
25 Apr 22:05 Fenerbahce - Benfica Lisbon 2.80 3.15 2.75 +139

 

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BASEL V CHELSEA PREDICTIONS

Basel have had an excellent Europa League campaign so far but the books think Chelsea will be too strong for them in this semi-final, can they cause another upset?

Basel are top of the Swiss Super League with 57 points from 28 matches which gives them a 3 point lead over 2nd place Grasshopper. They have won 3 straight Swiss titles and are looking on course to make it 4 but the extra pressure of these games could affect their league form. In the quarter final against Tottenham they weren’t given much hope but they had two excellent performances, drawing 2-2 in London and at home, before winning in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Chelsea are 4th in the Premiership with 62 points from 33 games which puts them 1 point behind 3rd place Arsenal and 1 point ahead of 5th place Tottenham. It’s a very tight fight for the Champions League places and one slipup could cost the team. Chelsea were disappointed to finish third in their Champions League group behind Juventus and Shakhtar but they have made the most of the Europa League with a win over Rubin Kazan in the last round seeing them into this match.

BASEL – CHELSEA BETTING TIPS

Chelsea are favourites for the tie overall and small favourites for this match. The question may be if they will settle for a low scoring draw here and then press for the win at home or will they look to take complete control of the tie by winning the away leg first.

I think Chelsea have the much stronger team here and I’ll be backing them to win this match at the great price of 2.50 with BetVictor

 

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FENERBAHCE V BENFICA PREDICTIONS

The Europa League semi-finals give us two exciting games pitting two teams who have come from the Champions League against two sides who have been in this competition throughout the year.

Fenerbahce sits 2nd in the Turkish Super Lig with 55 points from 30 matches. They are 7 points behind leaders Galatasaray but have a 6 point lead over 3rd place Bursaspor so look good to hold onto 2nd place and a Champions League place for next season. This year Fenerbahce had the chance of the Champions League but could not get through a qualifier against Spartak Moscow so had to settle for the Europa league where they have performed admirably. They beat a very strong Lazio side in the quarter final thanks to a 2-0 home win and a 1-1 away draw.

Benfica have been dominant in the Portuguese Primeira Liga this year and have 70 points from 26 matches. That’s 22 wins, 4 draws and 0 defeats! Despite that amazing record they are only 4 points ahead of Porto who are also undefeated and it will be very disappointing for one of the teams that they have to finish second. Benfica were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages behind Barcelona and Celtic. They beat Newcastle United in the quarter final to get here and played some fantastic football in the home leg.

FENERBAHCE – BENFICA BETTING TIPS

Benfica are strong favourites for the tie so Fenerbahce know they need to give everything in this home leg to give themselves a chance. Benfica are playing some amazing football though and are devastating on the break.

I think Benfica will be too strong here and I’ll be backing them to win at a top price of 2.50 with Betsson.

 

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CHELSEA V BASEL PREDICTIONS

Chelsea take the advantage into the second leg of this Europa League semi-final but the tie is far from over with this very dangerous Basel side still capable of causing a shock.

The first leg saw Chelsea waste little time and they took the lead after just 12 minutes through Viktor Moses and that looked to be the only goal of the game as we nearer the end of the game but then the match sparked to life. Basel won a controversial penalty in the 87th minute and looked to have rescued the draw when centre back Fabian Schar converted to make it 1-1 but things were not done yet! David Luiz was playing in midfield for Chelsea in this game and has scored a few fantastic goals lately fancied his chances from a 25 yard freekick in the 94th minute and he beat the keeper to give Chelsea a last gasp win. The goalkeeper could have done better and Basel will feel they at least deserved a draw from the game.

Chelsea got back to winning ways in the EPL at the weekend with an important 2-0 win over Swansea which keeps them as favourites in the top 4 race but they have two tough matches coming up against Manchester United and Tottenham so that fight is far from over.

Basel suffered a shock 3-0 defeat at home to Luzern but luckily for them Grasshopper also suffered an unlikely defeat which keeps the gap at 3 points in Basel’s favour.

CHELSEA – BASEL BETTING TIPS

Chelsea will be confident they can put the tie beyond all doubt here and will be strong favourites to win but know Basel can cause a shock. Basel having to score at least 2 goals will mean they have to push forward and that will give Chelsea the advantage.

I’ll be backing a Chelsea win at 1.50 with Paddy Power.