Thursday nigh’s European action sees three English teams involved in the Europa League and the Europa Conference League.
Man United host Real Sociedad at Old Trafford, where it’s 1-1 after the first leg. Spurs are at home to AZ Alkmaar and trail 0-1 following their defeat in the Netherlands last week. Chelsea take a 2-1 lead into their second leg at Stamford Bridge against FC Copenhagen.
Football tipster Shane O’Brien has pored over the markets for these three games to whip up a rather tasty-looking Bet Builder, so let’s get into his picks.
One of his picks is also covered by Paddy’s Super Sub offer, which means that if the player is substituted, the pick carries over to his replacement.
Thursday’s Multi-Match Bet Builder tips
8pm Man United v Real Sociedad
Over 2.5 goals
Bruno Fernandes to have 3+ shots
8pm Spurs v AZ Alkmaar
Under 2.5 goals
Over 4.5 cards
8pm Chelsea v FC Copenhagen
Cole Palmer to score or assist
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 22/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Man United v Real Sociedad
Europa League match at Old Trafford, Manchester
TV: TNT Sports, 8pm
Over 2.5 goals
Manchester United put in impressive performances in back-to-back games against Real Sociedad and Arsenal, yet only have two 1-1 draws to show for it.
In fact, Ruben Amorim’s side have now had three straight 1-1 draws, with the first of those ending with their exit from the FA Cup on penalties to Fulham ten days ago.
United are without a clean sheet in eight consecutive games and are likely to concede again on Thursday, despite Sociedad failing to score against Sevilla at the weekend and scoring just 23 times in 27 La Liga outings this season. The hosts will be confident of breaching the Sociedad rearguard again after creating a number of excellent chances last week, but they may have to score at least twice if they are to progress to the last eight.
Bruno Fernandes to have 3+ shots
It is becoming quite repetitive to wonder where Manchester United would be without Bruno Fernandes this season.
The Portuguese midfielder appears to be the only reason United are not currently battling it out with Ipswich et al. to avoid relegation. He has scored seven league goals this campaign, the most of any United player.
Fernandes has only scored once in the Europa League this season and will be keen to improve upon that record. He will certainly be likely to try.
The United captain averages 2.9 shots per game in the Europa League, the tenth-highest in the competition and the second-highest of any United player after Alejandro Garnacho, who is not guaranteed to start against the Basque side.
Across all competitions, Fernandes averages the most shots of any United player, averaging 2.7 shots per game during the 2024/25 season. He attempted just two shots during last week’s draw in Spain but is likely to get more opportunities at Old Trafford as Red Devils should go on the front foot in front of their own supporters in what could be their last meaningful game of the season.
Spurs v AZ Alkmaar
Europa League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
TV: TNT Sports, 8pm
Under 2.5 goals
Tottenham and AZ Alkmaar will meet for the third time in the Europa League this season when the Dutch outfit travels to London.
Both sides have recorded 1-0 wins in this fixture this season, with Spurs winning 1-0 during the league phase and AZ winning via the same scoreline in last week’s first leg.
All signs point to a low-scoring return leg on Thursday night, with AZ set to sit and protect their slender advantage.
Spurs surely cannot be as poor as last week when they mustered just a single shot on target, but they did not show much sign of improvement in most of Sunday’s draw with Bournemouth before mounting a late fightback.
This is likely to be a tense and nervy affair, and it would not be surprising if we saw a third 1-0 of this particular trilogy.
Over 4.5 cards
AZ picked up three bookings in last week’s 1-0 win over Spurs, with all three of those cards coming in the final 30 minutes as the Dutch side played down the clock for an important win.
They are likely to receive just as many cards on Thursday, if not more, as they attempt to cause a major upset and dump out their much better-financed opponents.
The away side conceded three bookings and a sending off during their previous visit to Spurs in the league phase of the competition, and it would not be surprising if they picked up at least four cards again on Thursday night.
Tottenham, on the other hand, average just over a card per game in the competition, but that should be enough to bring the total cards to at least five.
Chelsea v FC Copenhagen
Europa Conference League match at Stamford Bridge, London
TV: TNT Sports, 8pm
Cole Palmer to score or assist
Cole Palmer is currently experiencing the most difficult moment of his young career, having failed to score or assist in nine consecutive games.
It had almost been too easy for Palmer, who hit the ground running after joining Chelsea in 2023 and never looked back. A dry spell such as this was always going to happen, and the young star needs a goal as quickly as possible to arrest that downward momentum.
Thursday’s second leg against Copenhagen offers an opportunity to stop the rot.
Chelsea are in pole position to qualify for the last eight of the Conference League after last week’s win in Denmark, but Gabriel Pereira’s late goal means that they cannot quite take their foot off the gas, meaning the England international should see some game time at Stamford Bridge.
The home side are far superior to the visitors, and Palmer should get plenty of chances to find his form and his confidence.
Thursday’s Euro betting tips
Man United v Real Sociedad
Over 2.5 goals
Bruno Fernandes to have 3+ shots
Spurs v AZ Alkmaar
Under 2.5 goals
Over 4.5 cards
Chelsea v FC Copenhagen
Cole Palmer to score or assist
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 22/1 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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