AJAX vs LYON
A few years ago, I’d have been all over Ajax in this fixture. Unfortunately, the Dutch outfit aren’t the force that they were back then and Lyon will fancy their chances of advancing to the final in Stockholm. Ajax have been in decent form as of late but Lyon are much better than the vast majority of sides competing in Eredivisie.
Lyon have been simply sublime in Europe so far this season and the French side will be full of confidence ahead of their trip to Amsterdam. On paper, Lyon are marginally better, both in attack and defence, and I’d find it difficult to back against Bruno Genesio’s men over two legs. While they may find beating Ajax on home soil a step too far, there should be plenty of goals and the 33/25 available for Lyon to score two or more looks well priced.
With star striker Alexandre Lacazette in fine form, Lyon will be quietly confident of notching an away goal or two. If the French outfit can breach the Ajax defence early on, a goal-fest could be on the cards. Lacazette has 30 goals in 39 appearances this season and he is great value at 11/9 to add another to his tally on Wednesday evening.
TIP: Lyon to score over 1.5 goals @ 33/25
ANYTIME SCORER: Alexandre Lacazette @ 11/9
OUTSIDE CHANCE: Lyon to win and both teams to score @ 4/1
CELTA VIGO vs MANCHESTER UNITED
Celta Vigo have more or less given up in La Liga and they will place all of their efforts into winning the Europa League. On their day, the Spanish side are capable of holding their own against elite opposition but this could be a step too far. While they have secured positive results against Barcelona and Real Madrid in the past, their form this year has been patchy at best...
By the same token, United will more or less wave goodbye to their own hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four. The Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw by Swansea City on Sunday and their best bet now may be to focus on winning the Europa League. With Marcus Rashford, scorer of United's late winner against Anderlecht in the previous round, leading the line, Jose Mourinho will be confident of coming away with a positive result.
At the time of writing, Rashford is 49/20 to score during 90 minutes on Thursday and United know that one away goal could be crucial in this contest. The iconic Zlatan Ibrahimović will miss the remainder of the campaign and Rashford has been tasked with leading the line. An away goal here will help to further boost his stock with United supporters.
TIP: United to win OR draw @ 2/5
ANYTIME SCORER: Marcus Rashford @ 49/20
OUTSIDE CHANCE: United to win 2-1 @ 10/1
