Thursday’s football tips: Season’s on the line for Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur still lead the betting for Europa League glory this season but their whole season rests on turning around a 1-0 deficit at home to AZ Alkmaar tonight.

With Spurs stuck at the wrong end of the Premier League table and out of both domestic cups, you get the feeling Ange Postecoglou needs to go all the way in Europe to hang on to his job.

But his side were dismal away to AZ in the first leg of their last-16 showdown last weekend and will need a big improvement back on home soil to stay alive.

Tottenham Hotspur vs AZ Alkmaar top betting tips

Postecoglou will want his players to come flying out of the traps and how AZ Alkmaar cope with the early pressure will go a long way to deciding how this tie pans out.

The corner count could rack up as Spurs bid to get back on level terms and I like the 7/5 on offer at BoyleSports for Tottenham -2.5 in the first-half corner handicap. The same firm also offer 11/10 on over 7.5 match flag kicks for Spurs.

AZ should get a few chances on the counter attack and winger Ernest Poku looked dangerous in the first leg. He's 18/5 at Unibet to either score or assist tonight.

Manchester United vs Real Sociedad top betting tips

Manchester United are another side who need Europa League success to salvage their season and they're tied 1-1 with Real Sociedad heading into the second leg.

BoyleSports make the Red Devils 4/11 favourites to reach the quarter-finals with home advantage but they've been so flaky this season that this tie remains very much in the balance.

It promises to be a nervy 90 minutes so the half-time draw could easily come up, although the odds aren't great at 20/21 with BoyleSports.

Real Sociedad have players who can hurt United's defence so also BTTS looks appealing at evens, given it came up in the first leg.

For a long-odds option, a double on midfielders Casemiro and Brais Mendez going into the book pays 13/1 at BoyleSports.

Rangers vs Fenerbahce top betting tips

Rangers have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after a stunning 3-1 win over Fenerbahce in Istanbul.

That result was a feather in the cap of caretaker boss Barry Ferguson as he got one over Jose Mourinho. The only frustration for Rangers was they could have won by an even bigger margin, with a couple of tight VAR calls going against them.

They punished the Turks with lightning counter attacks so the tactics should stay the same tonight as Mourinho's side push to get back into the tie.

Over 1.5 Rangers goals looks good at 11/10 with BoyleSports while SkyBet are offering the same odds on Gers keeper Jack Butland making over 3.5 saves. That stands a decent chance as Fenerbahce have to go for it.

Chelsea vs FC Copenhagen top betting tips

Conference League favourites Chelsea also have one foot in the quarter-finals after beating FC Copenhagen 2-1 on the road last week.

It's hard to see the Danes upsetting the odds in London and BoyleSports price the Blues at just 1/50 to qualify.

BoyleSports price Enzo Maresca's side at evens in the handicap at -1 and that looks good if the Chelsea boss fields a strong side.

We only saw one corner in the first leg but the Blues won 12 when they beat Leicester 1-0 in the Premier League at the weekend.

They should dominate possession in this game too so over 7.5 Chelsea corners could be worth a punt at 17/10.

Thursday's Super Singles

• Spurs -2.5 first-half corner handicap 7/5 BoyleSports
• Over 3.5 Jack Butland saves 11/10 SkyBet
• Chelsea -1 handicap Evens BoyleSports

Long shot

• Casemiro and Brais Mendez to be carded 13/1 BoyleSports

Upcoming match previews and betting tips

• Thu 17:45 Athletic Bilbao vs Roma
• Thu 17:45 Lazio vs Viktoria Plzen
• Thu 17:45 Olympiacos vs Bodo/Glimt
• Thu 20:00 Manchester United vs Real Sociedad
• Thu 20:00 Tottenham Hotspur vs AZ Alkmaar
• Thu 20:00 Chelsea vs FC Copenhagen
• Thu 20:00 Rangers vs Fenerbahce
• SlipsTips’ Tips: Vaclav offers value at Ibrox

Racing tips

It's another huge day for punters at the Cheltenham Festival and our top team are on hand with some top tips.

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As always, leave your own comments and tips below.

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