While the elite of Europa are involved in domestic cup action this week, the lower echelons are still slogging it out in the Europa Conference League.
Football tipster Shane O’Brien has been looking at the British and Irish teams involved: Hearts, The New Saints, Larne, and Chelsea taking on Shamrock Rovers at Stamford Bridge.
Thursday’s Acca tips
*All games kick off at 8pm
Chelsea v Shamrock Rovers: Chelsea (-3)
Larne v Gent: Gent (-2)
NK Celje v The New Saints: Celje (-1)
Hearts v Petrocub: Hearts (-1)
- An Accumulator with these bets pays at approximately 18/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Chelsea v Shamrock Rovers: Chelsea (-3)
Europa Conference League match at Stamford Bridge
TV: TNT Sports
Shamrocks Rovers have exceeded all expectations to take 11 points from their opening five games in the Conference League to guarantee a spot in the competition’s knockout stages, becoming the first Irish club to make it to the knockout stages of a major European tournament.
Not only that, but Rovers have guaranteed they will be one of the seeded sides if they lose to Chelsea and drop into the play-off places, which is as close to a certainty as any football result can possibly be.
The Dubliners are one of three undefeated clubs left in the competition, but that is unlikely to remain the case after Thursday when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on by far the best team in the competition.
Chelsea have not been playing their strongest XI but have still won their five games by an average of more than three goals, scoring 21 goals so far.
In their two home games to date, Chelsea have scored 12 goals and conceded two and will simply have too much for Rovers on Thursday, regardless of the team they field.
Larne v Gent: Gent (-2)
Europa Conference League match at Windsor Park, Belfast
TV: TNT Sports
Unlike their neighbours south of the border, Larne have not enjoyed their foray into Europe this season, currently standing as the only side in the Conference League yet to register a point.
Larne have lost their games by an average of two goals and suffered a 4-1 home defeat against Rovers in what has been a European campaign to forget.
They must endure one more difficult outing before their Conference League journey comes to an end, however, when they take on a Gent side vying for a place in the top eight.
Gent gave Chelsea their most difficult test in the competition to date when they went down to a 4-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the opening round of the competition and have only dropped points in one other fixture, when they lost 2-0 at fourth-placed Lugano.
Otherwise, the Belgian outfit have been one of the stronger teams in the competition and will be looking to give their goal difference as much of a boost as possible, with several teams directly ahead of them boasting superior goal difference at present.
They should have no problems giving their top-eight chances a shot in the arm against Larne on Thursday.
NK Celje v The New Saints: Celje (-1)
Europa Conference League match at Stadion Z’dežele, Celje
TV: TNT Sports
Celje currently find themselves just outside the knockout places after a mixed campaign that saw them record an impressive 5-1 victory against Istanbul Basaksehir but fail to win any of their other four games, leaving them on just four points.
In Celje’s defence, however, they have faced difficult opposition, including away games against second-placed Vitoria and 12th-placed Pafos and a trip to Real Betis, all of which ended in defeat.
Their only other home game to date ended in a 3-3 draw with eight-placed Jagiellonia Bialystok of Poland.
Their clash against the New Saints on Thursday represents a much-needed winnable fixture in what has been a difficult run to date.
The Welsh side have a slim chance of snatching a knockout place if they win on Thursday night, but they have shown little evidence that they are capable of doing so.
TNS have lost each of their two away games in the competition, going down 2-0 at Fiorentina and 2-1 at Rovers earlier in their Conference League journey.
Their only points in the competition came courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Astana, who are currently outside the knockout places, and there is little to suggest that they will claim a second win of the tournament on Thursday.
Celje should do more than enough to win on Thursday night and secure a place in the knockout stages.
Hearts v Petrocub: Hearts (-1)
Europa Conference League match at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh
TV: TNT Sports
It has been a difficult season for Hearts so far, both in Europe and in Scotland, not least because they currently sit bottom of the Scottish Premiership with 17 games played.
The Edinburgh side are guaranteed to finish behind Shamrock Rovers in the Conference League group stages, which should sound alarm bells considering the financial chasm that exists between their two leagues.
With six points from their opening five games, their place in the knockout stages of the competition is by no means guaranteed.
Luckily, they face a Petrocub side that has struggled to leave an impression in the Conference League this season, picking up just one point from five games and sitting just one place above Larne in the standings.
The Moldovan side has scored just two goals in the competition to date and Hearts should have enough to secure a place in the knockout stages in some comfort.
Europa Conference League betting tips
Chelsea v Shamrock Rovers: Chelsea (-3)
Larne v Gent: Gent (-2)
NK Celje v The New Saints: Celje (-1)
Hearts v Petrocub: Hearts (-1)
- An Accumulator with these bets pays at approximately 18/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*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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