* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
It’s not a Thursday without some European football of wildly-varying quality, is it? The Europa League might be having a rare rest week but many of the major and minor leagues across the continent are taking the chance to get some league and cup games in.
Our journey today takes us from the top of La Liga and Serie A to Belgian and Danish cup competitions. Oh yes, we’ve got the new best team in Spain, Real Sociedad heading to Celta Vigo before Europa League stalwarts Midtjylland tackle AaB in the Landspokalturneringen. That’s the Danish Cup to you and me. I think I got the pronunciation right.
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It’s a short hop south west to Belgium for Royal Antwerp’s trip to Westerlo in the Belgian Cup and elsewhere Serie A pace setters Napoli take on a depleted Bologna at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Finally we brace ourselves for a late night encounter with Diego Simeone and his Atletico Madrid henchmen as they make the trip to struggling Levante in La Liga. There’s plenty to take in and lots to mull over so let’s get into our Thursday night five fold.
* An accumulator on these best bets pays at around 43/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
6pm: Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad – Real Sociedad to Win
TV: LaLigaTV
With all the noise around Real Madrid and Barcelona both on and off the pitch this season it’s been easy to overlook the impressive performances of Real Sociedad. The Basque club sit atop of La Liga heading into this round of games with 21 points from 10 games, just one clear of Real who have a game in hand.
They take on 14th-placed Celta Vigo here looking to maintain their spot at the summit of Spanish football. Celta have been improving recently, winning three of their last five, though those were against the 16th, 19th and 20th placed teams.
Real Sociedad will be a completely different proposition and Celta have lost against everyone half decent that they’ve played so far. With the hosts crumbling when facing a better side and the visitors in great nick, you have to be on Real Sociedad to Win.
6.45pm: Midtjylland v AaB – Under 2.5 Goals
To the Danish Cup where the Superliga’s top side, Midtjylland, host 4th, Aalborg. Midtjylland are 10 points clear of their opponents and are in much better form as well. AaB have lost three of their last four.
Midtjylland have only lost one of their last 10 in all competitions, away to Braga five games back. However, I’m siding with Under 2.5 Goals here. In these two’s last seven meetings, Unders has landed six times with just three goals in the other match.
That run goes back to August 2019 and we’re getting a decent price because of these two’s recent goal-happy form. However, I think the results when these two play each other overrides that so I’m happy to side with another close, low-scoring game here.
7.45pm: Napoli v Bologna – Napoli to Win and Over 2.5 Goals
TV: BT Sport 1
Napoli dropped their first points of the Serie A season on Sunday as Jose Mourinho’s Roma reverted to type and parked the bus on route to a 0-0 draw. That shutout was obviously an outlier though and generally the goals flow when Luciano Spalletti’s side take to the field.
Bologna fought their hearts out but eventually succumbed late on against AC Milan, finishing the game with nine men. They did fight back from 2-0 down to make it 2-2 with 10 but Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Co eventually ground them down. Their best performances come at home and their three wins this season have been at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
With a depleted squad, facing the best team in the league so far and a poor away record, I think it’s safe to side with a Napoli Win and we’re getting decent value adding Overs into the mix. It’s landed in seven of the away side’s 10 games this season and eight of Napoli’s 12 games this term.
7.45pm: Westerlo v Antwerp – Antwerp to Win
Royal Antwerp, who sit 3rd in the Belgian top tier, head to second-tier Westerlo in the cup here. Westerlo are going well in their division and that’s making Antwerp’s price for us a bit. Also, Thursday’s hosts are yet to lose and have won seven of their nine games this term.
Antwerp are in slightly dodgy form and have won just once in the last five in all competitions, including a draw and a loss in the Europa League. While they’re struggling on the continental stage, the visitors did win four of their last five before that so are a force to be reckoned with domestically.
It all points towards them making short work of Westerlo here, then. While the hosts are in great form they’ve not been in the top flight for eight years and can’t come near their opponents in terms of squad depth. Antwerp to Win keeps us rolling along.
8.30pm: Levante v Atletico Madrid – Atletico to Win to Nil
TV: LaLigaTV
Finally, we’re back where it all started in La Liga for Atletico Madrid’s trip to 2nd-bottom Levante. Atletico are 4th heading into the midweek round of fixtures and will probably be looking forward to this one after a tough run of games including Liverpool, Barcelona, AC Milan and table-toppers Real Sociedad.
Atletico don’t have a great record against Levante, though. Last season they took just one point against the Valencia-based team and lost at home to them as well. However, the hosts are yet to win a game this season and have just five points from five draws and five losses.
They’re in shocking form and have only scored in one of their last five games. Atletico have been uncharacteristically leaky recently but, as mentioned previously, they’ve had a tough run of games. Coming up against the blunt and woefully out of form Levante, it should pay to back Atletico to Win to Nil.
Thursday’s Football Acca
6pm: Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad – Real Sociedad to Win
6.45pm: Midtjylland v AaB – Under 2.5 Goals
7.45pm: Napoli v Bologna – Napoli to Win and Over 2.5 Goals
7.45pm: Westerlo v Antwerp – Antwerp to Win
8.30pm: Levante v Atletico Madrid – Atletico to Win To Nil
* An accumulator on these best bets pays at around 43/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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