Bayer Leverkusen will aim to build on their impressive win on match-day one as they travel to Molde for a Group H fixture in the Europa League. The Germans have looked imperious this season and should have too much quality for Molde who were beaten in their open fixture.
Molde suffered a 1-0 defeat to Azerbaijani side Qarabag in their opening Group H fixture. They were second best for much of the encounter and could have lost by more having only managed just a single attempt on target.
That result highlights Molde’s erratic form this season as they have claimed just five wins in their last nine matches across all competitions. However, the good news is that their last two fixtures have ended in victory, including a 4-0 win over Viking in a domestic fixture last weekend.
Molde also have a poor record in European competitions as they have found things difficult in recent campaigns. Erling Moe’s men were beaten home and away by Galatasaray in the Champions League qualifiers before dropping to the Europa League where they lost their opening fixture.
It has been a superb start to the season for Bayer Leverkusen, who are already looking like early favourites to go all the way in the Europa League. They are yet to taste defeat across all competitions so far and are setting the pace in the Bundesliga.
Bayer Leverkusen where rampant in their opening Europa League fixture as they ran out 4-0 winners over BK Hacken. They had four different goalscorers with Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli, Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann all on target.
A prolific attack has been at the heart of Bayer Leverkusen’s impressive start to the season as they have scored at least two goals in each of their last nine matches across all competitions. They head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 3-0 victory at Mainz in a Bundesliga fixture last weekend.
How the bookies view it
Bayer Leverkusen have been installed as overwhelming favourites and are priced at 2/5 by William Hill to claim the win. Molde are considered outsiders at home at 6/5 by 10bet while a draw is set at odds of 4/1 by William Hill.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Molde and Bayer Leverkusen.
Players to watch
Magnus Eikram had impressed for Molde in recent weeks, scoring five times in his last seven matches across all competitions. He will be the one to watch for the Norwegians and is priced at 17/5 by William Hill to find the net on Thursday.
Bayer Leverkusen will look to Victor Boniface to provide the spark in track as he looks to continue his fine start to the season. The Nigerian striker has eight goals across all competitions this season and is priced at 5/6 by Paddy Power to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Bayer Leverkusen have dominated most of their matches this season and having earned a 4-0 victory in the opening fixture, a -1 handicap could be considered at 23/20 with Unibet. Their dominance could also see them win both halves at 5/2 with Paddy Power.
The Germans have scored in both halves in their last five matches and could be set for a similar pattern at 20/21 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between Molde and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on Oct 5, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Molde vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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