Thursday’s Football Bet of the Day see’s me focus on the Europa League. I’ve picked a couple of selections which I like the look of to give us a nice odds against double.
Lyon vs Sparta Prague
🇪🇺 Europa League
⏰ Thursday 4th November, 17:45
French side Lyon host Czech side Sparta Prague at the Groupama Stadium on matchday 4. The hosts currently sit top of Group A, five points clear of their opponents who sit in 2nd.
Lyon came from two goals down to win 3-4 in the reverse fixture in Prague to maintain their 100% record in the Group. As mentioned, Lyon have won all three group games scoring nine goals in the process, scoring 2+ in all three. Lyon have only failed to score once in Ligue 1 this season and have scored in all seven of their home games. At home in Ligue 1, they’ve scored on 15 occasions, scoring 2+ in five of those.
Sparta Prague suffered their first defeat in Group A in the reverse fixture despite racing into a two goal lead. The Czech side remain in 2nd position although know that will change should they fail to win and Rangers win in Denmark. Sparta were twice pegged back in domestic action at Banik Ostrava to draw 2-2, with conceding goals on their travels becoming a regular theme. Sparta have conceded in each of their last five domestic away games, conceding on multiple occasions in each of their last four.
Leicester City vs Spartak Moscow
🇪🇺 Europa League
⏰ Thursday 4th November, 20:00
Leicester City host Russian side Spartak Moscow at the King Power in a crucial match in Group C. Both these sides may sit 3rd and 4th respectively but only three points separate Legia Warsaw at the top and Spartak Moscow at the bottom.
Leicester City finally got their first win in the group in the reverse fixture but only after coming from two goals down to win 3-4. Leicester have now scored six times in the group but have also conceded six times with them yet to keep a clean sheet in their first three group matches. Domestically, they’ve also struggled to keep clean sheets with them not keeping one since the opening day of the season against Wolves. Whilst they’ve conceded 17 times in their first 10 Premier League fixtures, they’ve also scored 15, with the Foxes only failing to score twice. 7/10 Premier League matches have went over 2.5 goals.
After beating Napoli 2-3 in Naples, Spartak Moscow looked on the verge of making it back to back wins in Group C as they raced into a two goal lead. However, they conceded four times to lose 3-4 and they are yet to keep a clean sheet in the group, conceding on seven occasions. Worse was to come after that for the Russians as they were then thumped 7-1 four days later by champions Zenit. They then conceded a stoppage time equaliser at home to Rostov at the weekend highlighting how vulnerable they are defensively.
Bet of the Day
Lyon know a win will secure qualification from Group A and will be in confident mood of doing so. Lyon have been scoring plenty of goals this season, with them scoring nine times in three group games and 15 times in seven home Ligue 1 games. Sparta Prague have been vulnerable on their travels domestically, conceding in each of their last five away games, conceding 10 goals. Lyon’s extra quality should shine through and I’m expecting them to net at least twice. Both Leicester City and Spartak Moscow need a win here and that should lead to an entertaining encounter. With both sides having been poor defensively all season, I’m expecting goals and we should see at least three between two sides who served up seven goals in the reverse fixture.
- Lyon to Score 2+
- Leicester City vs Spartak Moscow – Over 2.5 Goals
- Double Pays 23/20 (William Hill)
In December 2020 we sadly 
