Europe UEFA Europe League, 4 November

[spkutano]

 

[spkutano]

Bayer Leverkusen vs Betis Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Bayer Leverkusen:
Hradecky; Frimpong, Kossounou, Tah, Hincapie; Andrich, Demirbay; Diaby, Wirtz, Paulinho; Alario

Betis:
Bravo; Montoya, Pezzella, Gonzalez, Miranda; Guardado, Carvalho; Joaquin, Fekir, Ruibal; Iglesias

Bayer Leverkusen welcome Betis in the fourth round of Group G of the Europa League at the Bay Arena. Both teams have seven points and they look to maintain their unbeaten record. Celtic are on the third place with three points, while Ferencvaros are at the bottom after losing all three fixtures. The reverse fixture between Betis and Leverkusen played in Spain finished with an 1:1 draw. Betis took the lead after 75 minutes thanks to Borja Iglesias who converted a penalty after Jeremie Frimpong's unlucky handball. However, Bayer Leverkusen managed to equalize the result seven minutes later. Robert Andrich was the scorer from outside the box. Almost with the final whistle, Kerem Demirbay had the winning goal on the foot, but failed to score because of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo's excellent save. Bravo had a busy day and made four essential saves and one wonderful clearance to disclaim Leverkusen attacker to attain. At the end, it was a fair result and both coaches should be satisfied with one point.

Bayer Leverkusen started the campaign with a narrow 2:1 win over Ferencvaros. Palacios in the first half and teenager Florian Wirtz in the 69th minute completed the comeback after the Hungarians took an early lead. The second match of the group was much better as they beat Celtic with high 4:0 in Glasgow. Piero Hincapie opened the result, Florian Wirtz made it 2:0 in the first half, while Lucas Hilario and substitute Amine Adli scored two more in the second. As I've mentioned above, they have seven points after the first three matches, so a victory here could guarantee progress if Celtic lose in Budapest. But Bayer coach Gerardo Seoane has huge injury issues ahead of this match. Six important players are sidelined through injuries - strikers Patrik Schick and Emrehan Gedikli, as well as midfielders Charles Aranguiz, Exequiel Palacios, Karim Bellarabi and Julian Baumgartlinger. On the positive note, Moussa Diaby, who missed the home defeat to Wolfsburg at the weekend through suspension, is available.

Betis also started with two victories. First they beat Celtic with 4:3. Juanmi netted a brace, while Juan Miranda and Bruno Iglesias contributed Betis' other goals. In the second match of the group they won 3:1 against Ferencvaros. Nabil Fekir and Cristian Tello were the scorers, plus an own-goal. In the meantime Betis played three matches in the domestic La Liga. They managed to beat Rayo Vallecano and Valencia scoring seven goals in the process, but lost 3:0 to Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Despite the defeat, I believe the players confidence is high. Coach Manuel Pellegrini will hope that was simply a "bad day" and will now turn his focus back to the Europa League. Most of the players are ready, including the former Arsenal man Hector Bellerin who has recovered from a stomach issue. The only sidelined player is defender Youssouf Sabaly through a muscle injury.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Betis Prediction:

Both teams have seven points after the first three matches, while Celtic have three. It look like everything is decided in Group G, but that's not true. The Scottish outfit are likely to claim a win over last-placed Ferencvaros, so points from this match are very important for both teams. I expect an interesting match and I believe the guests could stay unbeaten. The main reason for my pick is connect wit the fact Leverkusen have six important players (Patrik Schick, Emrehan Gedikli, Charles Aranguiz, Exequiel Palacios, Karim Bellarabi and Julian Baumgartlinger) sidelined through injuries.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Betis Pick: Betis +0.5 AH @ 1.88 with Pinnacle

 

[BillyDuke89]

Genk - West Ham

The bookmakers give a tempting odds on a West Ham win - and this is a bet that should be considered. The Hammers are in excellent condition and even with a semi-reserve lineup are quite capable of winning in Belgium. Of course, the guests' non-loss looks like a more reliable option, but it also has a small coefficient. In such cases, you can add total to it. Logic and statistics suggest that you should not expect many goals in this pair: West Ham never conceded a single goal in the Europa League group stage, and Genk did not score a single goal. But I guess both of these episodes will be interrupted. Therefore, my choice is West Ham's non-loss + total over (2.5).