Europa League Betting

With the Europa League now nearing its climax then all attention will turn to the final in Hamburg in three weeks time and you can get the latest betting odds on bwin. We all know that SV Hamburg should they get to the final will play that game inside their own stadium. But the question is that after their rather tame 0-0 draw at home to Fulham last night; will they get there at all?

Fulham continue to confound the sceptics including me and Roy Hodgson is a really intelligent manger who knows how to nullify the advantage the superior teams have while maximising his own strengths. By rights, Fulham really shouldn’t be where they are but then again the same can be said for Atletico Madrid. They have only won two games in Europe this season. They didn’t’ win a single game in their Champions League group with three draws and three defeats.

In their three Europa League knockout ties, they have only won one game against Galatasaray but the last two ties have seen them draw all four matches and go through on the away goals rule each time. So their 1-0 win against Liverpool last night was only their second victory in Europe in no fewer than 13 matches and yet here they are on the verge of a European final. That is a really strange statistic and not one that you will see very often but it also highlights the nature of cup football.

The extra travelling involved has made it hard on the away teams in the first leg due to the volcanic ash cloud that has been hovering over Europe. The teams who were drawn away from home in the first leg would not have even dreamed that this would turn out to be a disadvantage. Not one single team has performed well in the European games this week who had to travel and that included a very sub par performance from Barcelona in the Champions League.

I really think that there is a great chance of an all English final next week and I expect Liverpool to overturn their 1-0 deficit to Atletico although being without Torres for such a key game will be a blow to them. David Ngog is a keen and willing striker but he can never compare to the great Spaniard when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net. A big passionate night at Anfield next week and a full house should guarantee a tough night for Madrid and I expect Liverpool to come through.

But neither of them scored an away goal and that could prove crucial in at least one of the games. Getting a 0-0 score at home isn’t the bad result that it used to be in Europe some years ago and this is mainly down to the offensive capabilities of modern players.

They are faster and more skilful and are able to create goals from nowhere these days and the new lighter balls can be very problematical for keepers. So next week should be very exciting in the Europa League and the Champions League too of course.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
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