The Europa League takes centre stage this week with a total of 18 matches spread across Wednesday and Thursday night.
Each club will face eight different opponents in the new-look league phase, with the top eight sides automatically progressing to the round of 16 and sides ranked ninth to 24th facing off in a play-off for a spot in the knockout stage.
There are a number of intriguing ties on offer this midweek, with the pick of the fixtures arguably Roma’s home meeting with Athletic Bilbao.
Manchester United and Tottenham get their campaigns under way at home to Twente and Qarabag respectively, while Rangers start off on the road as they travel to Malmo.
- TOTTENHAM TO WIN VS QARABAG
- OVER 2.5 GOALS IN LUDOGORETS VS SLAVIA PRAGUE
- UNDER 2.5 GOALS IN MALMO VS RANGERS
- BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE IN ROMA VS ATHLETIC BILBAO
- MANCHESTER UNITED TO WIN VS TWENTE
TOTTENHAM VS QARABAG
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham have managed to string a couple of positive results together and they could continue their decent form when they host a Qarabag side who have lost all previous six meetings with English clubs.
Spurs responded to their 1-0 north London derby defeat to Arsenal with a 2-1 comeback victory over Coventry in the Carabao Cup and they made it two wins on the bounce with a 3-1 victory against Brentford at the weekend.
Qarabag have also been in strong form recently with three wins from their last three matches, leaving them top of the Azerbaijan Premier League after six matches.
However, the Horsemen have lost three of their last four continental fixtures and a trip to one of the major sides in the English top flight is likely to be too tall a task to overcome.
TOTTENHAM TO WIN
LUDOGORETS VS SLAVIA PRAGUE
Ludogorets and Slavia Prague have started their domestic campaigns in fantastic fashion and an exciting encounter could be in store when the sides meet at the Huvepharma Arena on Wednesday.
The Greens are top of the Bulgarian Parva Liga, ahead of Levski Sofia thanks to their superior head-to-head record, and Zahari Sirakov’s men have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions.
Slavia Prague are also top of their domestic division by the finest of margins. They lead bitter rivals Sparta Prague on goal difference, and the Cervenobili have won each of their last four games, including a 2-1 home win over Lille in their Champions League qualifying play-off.
Picking a winner on form is difficult. However, three of Ludogorets’ last six have seen at least three goals scored while Slavia Prague have scored in three of their last four on the road so there could be plenty of goals to enjoy in Bulgaria.
OVER 2.5 GOALS
MALMO VS RANGERS
Philippe Clement’s Rangers have improved after a poor start to their campaign but they could be in for a tricky trip to Sweden when they take on runaway Allsvenskan leaders Malmo on Thursday.
The Gers have won four of their last five matches in all competitions, their sole defeat coming in the Old Firm derby (3-0) at the beginning of September. However they have won just one of their last six away matches stretching into last season.
Henrik Rydstrom’s Malmo are nine points and 29 goals better off than second-placed Djurgarden in the Swedish top flight and have won three of their last four matches at their Eleda Stadion home.
However, despite keeping clean sheets in each of their last four games, Malmo have won just twice during that run. Their strong defence should limit the chances for the visitors but they may struggle to create many themselves and so a low-scoring affair looks likely.
UNDER 2.5 GOALS
ROMA VS ATHLETIC BILBAO
Roma recently parted ways with club legend Daniele De Rossi as manager and the new-boss bounce under Ivan Juric was evident on Sunday as the Giallorossi cruised to a 3-0 home victory over Udinese.
The feel-good factor could be back at the Stadio Olimpico, however Roma face a stern test on Thursday night when they host an Athletic Bilbao outfit who have been in strong form of late.
The Basque side have won four of their last five matches including each of their last three, with their sole defeat coming at home to a strong Atletico Madrid side at the end of August.
The result looks too close to call but both sides possess plenty of high-quality forwards. With Paolo Dybla and Artem Dovbyk netting at the weekend for Roma and the Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico, starring for the visitors, both teams to score looks a strong bet in this clash.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
MANCHESTER UNITED VS TWENTE
The Red Devils have clicked into gear in recent weeks and Erik ten Hag’s side will be expected to take all three points when they host Eredivisie outfit Twente at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Manchester United are unbeaten across their last three matches in all competitions and they arguably should have claimed victory in each. Wasteful finishing at Selhurst Park saw the Red Devils come away with only a draw against Crystal Palace.
Twente head into this encounter following two consecutive victories, but they came against two struggling sides in Almere City (second-bottom of the division) and Heerenveen, who lost 9-1 to AZ Alkmaar in their prior fixture.
The jump up in quality could prove to be too much for the Tukkers and so a victory for the hosts, who put seven past League One Barnsley in a morale-boosting win in their last home match, looks the smart bet.
MANCHESTER UNITED TO WIN
