Thousands and thousands of hours of football, each more climactic than the last! Constant, dizzying, twenty-four hour, yearlong, endless football! Or, in other words, the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
There are approximately 6,498 games of football on this Thursday and eight of them feature sides from the UK and Ireland. So, to take the hassle out of your evening in front of the box, our tipster Andrew Cunneen has rounded up a savvy selection for each and every one of the little blighters this week.
We’ve got the Premier League Fancy Dans of Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea, Scottish sides Rangers and Hearts right through to good old TNS of Wales, Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers and Larne from north of the border. Strap in!
Thursday Football Betting Tips
5:45pm – Ferencvaros v Tottenham
Both teams to score and Spurs to win
5:45pm – Dinamo Minsk v Hearts
Under 2.5 goals
5:45pm – Molde v Larne
Molde to win to nil
8pm – Porto v Man United
Porto to win
8pm – Rangers v Lyon
Rangers to win
8pm – Chelsea v Gent
Chelsea to win
8pm – Fiorentina v TNS
Half-time result: draw
8pm – Shamrock Rovers v APOEL
Johnny Kenny to score
Ferencvaros v Tottenham – Both teams to score and Spurs to win
Ferencvaros last failed to score in a game (excluding a tactical first-leg performance against Borac Banja Luka) in a cup final last May against Paks.
For all that I believe Spurs will win the game, Ferencvaros are so full of self-importance, given the partisan demand from fans and their eternal commitment to beating everyone else in Hungary, that I’m sure they’ll find the net against Spurs.
That seems fair, particularly as they’re away to Brighton on Sunday afternoon.
Dinamo Minsk v Hearts – Under 2.5 goals
Hearts will undoubtedly go over here, try to nab a goal, and jump on the chartered flight without further questioning.
They’re bottom of the Scottish Premiership after seven games, having lost four of their last five – but they’re favourites here for a reason. From 1-11, they’re probably the better side.
Given the nature of Dinamo’s football and Hearts’ trepidation to do anything, the under is the play here.
Molde v Larne – Molde to win to nil
A part of me would love to put Larne in a double chance, but I’m not interested in you losing your few quid here.
They’re in flying form, and you can’t doubt that. That statement win at Cliftonville should be the thing that gets their domestic form back up and running, but remember that their domestic form relates to the top tier of Northern Ireland.
I mean, they’re playing H&W Welders before flying over to Norway. The crowd whose job it was to ensure the Titanic was tight. Oops.
Porto v Man United – Porto to win
I don’t feel remotely guilty about this, nor tongue in cheek. I believe United are now on the path to sacking Erik Ten Hag, and as you, dear reader, know only too well – once players feel that, their performance subconsciously goes off a cliff-edge.
Because why bother enacting what you did in your sessions? It’ll be redundant in two weeks anyway.
Rangers v Lyon – Rangers to win
These nights at Ibrox are never dull anyway. And Scottish football, above any other footballing nationality on earth, has this uncanny ability to turn it on, no matter how poor it’s going at home.
Look at Celtic’s heroics all those years ago – beating Barcelona after stumbling their way to three points over Dunfermline three days prior.
The response after the Old Firm defeat has been four wins to nil in a row, and that’s precisely the form they’ll need to be in to get the crowd involved.
Chelsea v Gent – Chelsea to win
There’s something very workmanlike about Enzo Maresca. I don’t think he takes things for granted, and that element of him being in control of a club with so many resources is seeing an excellent cultural return for investment.
I used to think Gent would be a good play here in a draw-no-bet environment, but I actually just think you should back Chelsea to win at a low price.
Fiorentina v TNS – Half time draw
I’m relying on Italian arrogance to last out until the break. Fitness will eventually be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, I promise you. But there’s a chance at the prices that Fiorentina will take this entirely as done before they ever kick a ball. Honestly, it’s hard to blame them.
Shamrock Rovers v APOEL – Johnny Kenny to score
I’d worry slightly about this fixture for Rovers if they were deep in the middle of a title race. But since they got hammered by Pat’s last week, it feels like it’s beyond them, and their sole focus will be on enjoying the rewards they fought so hard for in the qualification campaign.
Johnny Kenny has been the difference-maker against continental opposition, and there’s nobody more likely to score in this game than he is – across both squads.
*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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