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Europa Football League PreviewA Preview and betting from Totesport Bookmakers. There are four English clubs in action in the opening round of Europa League group stages with Stoke, Tottenham, Fulham and Birmingham all set to begin their campaigns. With every game vital to secure qualification to the latter stages of the event how will they get on in week one? Dynamo Kiev v Stoke City A trip to Kiev is always a daunting prospect but Stoke will head to the Ukraine full of confidence thanks to their unbeaten start to the season. The Potters have won two and drawn two of their first four Premier League games and are coming off the back of a 1-0 victory over a resurgent Liverpool side. They also took care of both Hajduk Split and FC Thun in qualifying for Europe and currently sit fifth in the top-flight standings. It is true that a clash with an experienced European club like Dynamo Kiev away from home will probably be Stoke’s biggest test of the season to date, but boss Tony Pulis invested heavily in new players during the summer and it is nights such as Thursday’s encounter that they will relish. Kiev may not be the side they were a few years ago but there is always a hostile atmosphere in places such as Kiev and Pulis will be delighted to come away with a point in their first Group E match. Odds: Kiev 5/5, Stoke 7/2, draw 5/2 Birmingham City v Braga It was always going to be tricky for Birmingham to compete in the Europa League once they were relegated to the Championship but they qualified for the group stage by beating Nacional 3-0 on aggregate. However things are about to get much tougher as they welcome last year’s runners-up to St Andrews to open their campaign. The Blues have not enjoyed the best of starts to their Championship season and have taken just seven points from their first five games but they did beat Millwall 3-0 on Saturday to give them a lift for their European encounter. Braga are flying high in the Portuguese top-flight with 10 points from their first four games seeing them sit in third place in the table. They have conceded just one goal so far this term domestically and so it will be a tough ask for Chris Hughton’s men to break them down. But anything can happen on the night and a European victory might be just what the Midlanders need to kick-start their season. Odds: Birmingham 6/4, Braga 7/4, draw 23/10 PAOK Salonika v Tottenham Spurs made a big splash in their Champions League debut last season and were a credit to the competition reaching the last eight but, having failed to finish in the top four last term, they can no longer eat off Europe’s top table. Returning to the Champions League is their goal this season and so it remains to be seen how seriously they will take the Europa League. Harry Redknapp has already hinted that fringe players such as Harry Kane, Tom Carroll and Jake Livermore could well play in the tournament to rest some of the established stars for domestic matters. But they should still have enough quality to force a victory in their opener in Thessaloniki on Thursday evening. Rafael Van der Vaart will play no part after being left out of Tottenham’s Europa League squad as it was thought his hamstring injury would need six weeks to heal. However the Dutchman insists he is already close to fitness and has expressed his frustration at the Euro snub. Spurs have endured a tricky stat to the season and a comfortable European win looks on the cards to back up their win at Wolves on Saturday. Odds: PAOK 9/4, Spurs 6/5, draw 23/10 Fulham v FC Twente The Cottagers reached the final of Europe’s second tier competition two seasons ago under Roy Hodgson but now have Martin Jol at the helm after Mark Hughes’ decision to abandon ship after just one season in charge at Craven Cottage. The west Londoners must feel like they have already reached the knock-out stage having played eight matches in qualifying but they still have a long way to go if they are to appear in the latter stages. It has been a tough start for Jol, as his charges have scored just two goals in the Premier League this term and have yet to win a match. And that is hardly the sort of form that he would have wanted going into the first match of their Group K campaign against a talented Dutch side, who played in the Champions League last season. But playing by the Thames will certainly give Fulham the edge and they clearly know how to win in Europe with their heroics two years ago and the way they have taken care of four teams en route to the group stage this time around. They may be under pressure domestically but it would be no surprise to see them come away with the points on Thursday night. Odds: Fulham 21/20, Twente 5/2, draw 12/5 |
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