5 Europa League Tips for Thursday Night’s Action - 30/9/21

Lyon host Brondby at the Groupama Stadium on matchday two of Group A in the Europa League.

The Ligue 1 outfit emerged victorious from their first game, having beaten Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox thanks to a first-half Karl Toko Ekambi strike, before an own goal by Gers right-back James Tavernier in the 55th minute settled the outcome of the match.

Meanwhile, Brondby drew 0-0 in a hard-fought contest against Sparta Prague on matchday one, meaning that the Danish Superliga outfit will be under pressure to perform, especially considering their under-par league positioning as they are eighth in their domestic league with 11 points in eight games, finding the back of the net 13 times and leaking 14.

At present, Lyon are seventh in Ligue 1 having managed 12 points from eight matches, this is particularly to do with their defensive record, as they have scored 13, but, conceded 12.

Next up on this list of tips is Real Sociedad versus AS Monaco in Group B of the competition.

The hosts drew 2-2 with PSV Eindhoven on matchday one as goals from Adnan Januzaj and Alexander Isak were cancelled out by strikes from Mario Gotze and Cody Gakpo. Imanol Alguacil’s side actually come into this game in good confidence as they are second in La Liga with 16 points from seven matches, having scored just 10 times, winning via the score range of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 four times.

AS Monaco are actually at the top of the Group B standings following their slender victory of Austrian Bundesliga outfit Sturm Graz via a Krepin Diatta goal. But, Niko Kovac’s team have been very inconsistent this season, seeing them sit in eighth position with 11 points from eight Ligue 1 matches, which is already 13 fewer than PSG.

Celtic take on Bayer Leverkusen at Celtic Park on Thursday night in a must-win match for Ange Postecoglou’s men.

The Parkhead club lost in dramatic style to Real Betis on matchday one, as they took a two-goal lead through Albian Ajeti and Josip Juranovic, before goals from Juan Miranda, Juanmi (2) and Borja Iglesias gave Manuel Pellegrini’s side a 4-2 lead after 53 minutes, with Anthony Ralston’s 87th-minute strike being a consolation goal for the Hoops.

On the other hand, Leverkusen beat Hungarian outfit Ferencvarosi 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Exequiel Palacios and German prodigy Florian Wurtz in a game that they dominated with 67% possession and 22 shots, despite falling behind to an eighth-minute strike from Ryan Mamaee. Leverkusen are currently second in the Bundesliga with 13 points from six matches and have scored 16 times, as well as conceding six.

In Group E, Lazio host Russian Premier League side Lokomotiv Moscow at the Stadio Olimpico, with Maurizio Sarri’s side looking to bounce back from a disappointing result on matchday one.

Lazio were beaten 1-0 away at Galatasaray by a freak own goal from Albanian goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha and the Serie A club will now know that this game against Lokomotiv Moscow is now a must-win match. Sarri’s men have started their league campaign in an average fashion, as they have 11 points to their name in six matches, with 15 goals to their name, the third-most of any side in the division.

Lokomotiv earned themselves a 1-1 draw against Marseille on matchday one as an 89th-minute goal from Tino Anjorin cancelled out a Cengiz Under penalty just before the hour mark. Moscow managed just two shots on target with 26% possession versus Marseille.

A notable player to look out for in this match is Euro 2020 winner Ciro Immobile. The 31-year-old has scored six goals and created two assists in six Serie A appearances this season, following on from the 56 he managed across the previous two campaigns, seeing the Italian striker priced at 1/1 to score in a Lazio win.

The final game on this list of tips is another match from Group G as Hungarian side Ferencvarosi host Real Betis on matchday two.

Ferencvarosi were narrowly defeated in their opening game against Leverkusen at the Bay Arena, despite taking an early lead through Mamaee, showing that on their day they can be a tricky opponent, especially is they take the lead and drop into a deep defensive shape as they did against the Bundesliga club.

Meanwhile, Betis blew away Celtic despite falling behind to goals from Ajeti and Juranovic, as they raced into a 4-2 lead at the Estadio Benito Villamarin with former Schalke full-back Miranda getting on the scoresheet, whilst a Juanmi brace and Borja Iglesias goal showed the La Liga side’s attacking capabilities, before conceding late on to Ralston, holding on to a 4-3 victory.

Pellegrini’s men are seventh in La Liga at present and have won three and drawn one of their last four matches, defeating the likes of Osasuna and Getafe 3-1 and 2-0, in their last two fixtures in their domestic league, showing that they have more than enough quality to defeat Ferencvarosi with a -1 goal handicap.