Granada hold the advantage as they face Molde in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 clash at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. With the match being held at a neutral venue due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Spaniards will fancy their chances against the Norwegian side.
Granada earned a 2-0 victory in the first leg thanks to goals in each half from Jorge Molina and Roberto Soldado. They followed it up with a victory in La Liga as they triumphed 1-0 against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Diego Martinez’s men have been the surprise package of the Europa League this season, reaching the round of 16 in their first ever European campaign. They have claimed some major scalps in their fairy tale run, including victories over heavyweights PSV and Napoli.
Granada head into Thursday’s match in good form with three wins from their last four matches in all competitions. They have also impressed on their travels in Europe with just one defeat in six away matches.
Molde were disappointing in the first leg as they lost 2-0. They failed to make their superior possession count and finished the match with 10 men after Martin Ellingsen was sent off midway through the second half.
With the Norwegian league currently on break, Erling Moe's men are well rested between European games. However, they have failed to take advantage of their light schedule and have endured an inconsistent campaign in the Europa League this season.
Molde head into the second leg off the back of just two wins in their last seven matches in the competition. Thursday’s match is likely to be extra tricky with the clash not being held in Norway.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have once again installed Granada as the favourites with SBK offering 25/19 on the Spaniards to win. A victory for Molde is priced at 12/5 by betfair while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 by Unibet.
With Thursday’ match being held outside Norway, I fancy Granada to earn a draw here.
Head to head
The previous leg was the first ever meeting between Molde and Granada.
Players to watch
Much of Molde’s goals come from midfield with Eirik Andersen finding the net three times in his last three matches. He is priced at 9/2 by Paddy Power to score anytime while fellow midfielder Magnus Eikrem is also priced at 3/1 by betfair in the same market.
Jorge Molina and Roberto Soldado did the business for Granada in the first leg and both men will once again be the ones to watch. Unibet has Molina at 43/20 to score anytime while also offering 9/4 on Soldado in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
Molde should be much better in attack in the second leg so I am expecting goals on Thursday. Sport Nation is offering 9/10 on both teams to score, over 2.5 goals is priced at 10/11 by bet365 while over 3.5 goals is valued at 5/2 by BetVictor.
Both teams often score their goals in the second half, so it could be worth a punt backing the second half as the highest scoring half on Thursday at 11/10 with Paddy Power. With this in mind, a halftime draw is also worth considering at 6/5 with SBK.
This UEFA Europa League match between Molde and Granada will be played on Mar 18, 2021 and kick off at 17:55. Check below for our tipsters best Molde vs Granada prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
