Best Games for Over 2.5 Goals in Thursday’s Action – 29/04/21

On Thursday night Manchester United host AS Roma at Old Trafford in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.

Two of United’s last four matches have landed in the over 2.5 Goals market, in 3-1 wins against Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur.

Meanwhile, Roma’s last two away games in Serie A saw them face up to relegation battling Torino and Cagliari which resulted in 3-1 and 3-2 losses.

United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is a specialist in this competition, having finished as the top scorer with eight goals last campaign, featuring for both Sporting Lisbon and the Red Devils.

Roma’s Borja Mayoral is the joint-top goalscorer in this season’s competition, as the former Real Madrid man has seven goals to his name, averaging 0.98 goals per 90 minutes. Roma have also scored the second-most goals in the competition with 26, having started in the group stages of the competition.

Paulo Fonseca’s side also won their last away leg in the quarter-finals 2-1 away at Ajax via second-half strikes from Lorenzo Pellegrini and Ibanez.

Barcelona take on Granada at the Nou Camp knowing that a win would put them on top of the table with just five games to go in La Liga, following Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao last weekend.

Ronald Koeman’s side come into this game in good form, having won their last three matches against Athletic Club 4-0, Getafe 5-2 and Villarreal 2-1, with their last defeat being at the hands of Real Madrid on 10th April, as Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos’ first half goals left them with too much to do in the second half, as Barca fell to a 2-1 defeat at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

Granada’s last two matches have yielded over 2.5 goals, in a 4-1 win against Eibar on 22nd April, before losing 2-1 at Sevilla on Sunday.

Barca have by far the best attack in La Liga with 76 goals in 32 matches, 16 goals better off than Atletico’s, whilst Granada have the worst defensive record in the league, leaking 53 goals.

The last meeting between these two sides resulted in a dramatic 5-3 win for Barca in the Copa del Rey, as Koeman’s men were 2-0 down going into the 88th minute, following goals from Kenedy and Roberto Soldado, before Griezmann scored with two minutes to go, which then lead to a stoppage-time equaliser from Jordi Alba to take the match to extra time. Further goals from Griezmann, Alba and Frenkie de Jong settled the outcome.

14th placed Maritimo face fourth in the table Sporting Braga on Thursday night, in what is a crucial clash at both ends of the table, as the hosts are looking to consolidate their place in the division for another year, whilst Braga are chasing Benfica who occupy the final Champions League qualification place.

Maritimo have the fifth-worst defence in the league, conceding 40 in 29 outings, whilst Braga have the fourth-best attack, scoring 49.

None of Maritimo’s last five matches have resulted in over 2.5 goals being scored, however, Braga’s last came on 21st April in a 2-1 win at home to Boavista thanks to goals from Fransergio Barbosa and Andraz Sporar.

The last time Braga took on Maritimo was back in early January, where goals from Iuri Medeiros and Ricardo Horta earned Carlos Carvalhal’s side all three points.

Promotion chasing Hamburg host eighth-placed Karlsruher in Bundesliga 2, with the hosts in desperate need of a win, otherwise, they risk losing the playoff place in the German second tier.

Three of Hamburg’s last four matches have resulted in over 2.5 goals being scored, as Daniel Thioune’s side have faltered in the run in for promotion, losing 2-1 to both Sandhausen and Darmstadt, as well as drawing 3-3 with Hannover 96 despite going 3-0 up thanks to an Aaron Hunt hattrick.

Meanwhile, the last time Karlsruher were involved in a match that had over 2.5 goals in it was in a 2-2 draw at home to Wurzburger Kickers, where a stoppage-time goal from Lars Dietz pegged back Christian Eichner’s side, having taken the lead twice through goals from Kyoung Rok Choi and Dominik Kother.

The last meeting between these two sides took place in December last year, where Hamburg ran out as 2-1 winners at Wildparkstadion, thanks to strikes from Bakery Jatta and Simon Terodde.

Former Koln striker Terodde is the top scorer in Bundesliga 2 with 20 goals in 29 appearances, whilst Hamburg have scored the most goals in the league, finding the back of the net 59 times in 30 matches.

The final game on this list comes from the Turkish Super Lig where Fenerbahce travel to Alanyaspor, which is a battle of second against fifth, with Fener sitting just three points behind Besiktas at the top of the table.

Both of these sides come into this game with strong goalscoring records, as Fener are the third top scorers in Turkey’s top flight with 64 goals in 35 games, compared to Alanysapor’s tally of 55 in 36.

Three of Alanyaspor’s last five matches have landed in the over 2.5 goals market, in 3-2 wins against both Gaziantep and Denizlispor, as well as in a 3-0 loss to Besiktas on 7th April.

Fenerbahce’s last three matches have yielded over 2.5 goals, in crucial 3-1, 2-1 and 3-2 victories against Gaziantep, Istanbul Basaksehir and Kasimpasa.

The last time these two sides met was back in early January, where Fener edged out Alanyaspor in a 2-1 win at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium via goals from Sinan Gumus and Dimitris Pelkas.