With plenty still to play for on an evening where dreams can be promised or shattered in the blink of an eye, many the return legs of this year’s Champions League 2nd qualifying round ties are evenly poised making many a punter wary of building a solid acca.
Fear not though folks as the answer to this such dilemma comes in the form of goals. Who can resist a market in which your bet can be won within the opening 5 minutes and yet still stands a chance even with just ‘Fergie time’ remaining? Too soon?
Both Teams to score means you can forget about who’s beating who, all we need is the net to bulge at either end and we’re ready to collect, here’s my pick of tonight’s action:
Daugava Daugavpils vs Elfsborg, KO: 17:00,
Both teams to score – (8/13, Sky Bet)
Latvian side Daugava Daugavpils, so good they named them twice then put some tablets on the end flattered to deceive when they travelled to Sweden last week and were duly despatched in emphatic fashion, 7-1 at the hands of Elfsborg. However the home side can restore some pride this time round against a no doubt weakened Elfsborg team. Neither side are at all goal shy – Elfsborg have found the net 14 times in their last 4 matches, whilst Daugava have hit 8 in their last 3. The Latvian’s have only failed to score at home once since March whilst the Swedes have just one clean sheet in their last 5. All roads lead to a goals galore banker here.
EB / Streymur vs Dinamo Tbilisi, KO: 19:00
Both teams to score – (8/15, Sky Bet)
In an almost identical situation to the one above, Georgian Champions Tbilisi thrashed the top team from the Faroe Islands, EB / Streymur, by 6 goals to 1 in the first leg. Despite the apparent gulf in class between the sides, Faroese Streymur will be looking to put up a fight for their supporters here against Dinamo who’s squad will no doubt already have one eye on the draw for the next round. The home side notched 13 in their 4 games before the hiding they got last week, and after grabbing a goal away in Georgia they’ll be confident of getting on the scoresheet again tonight.
Zeljeznicar vs Viktoria Plzen, KO: 20:00
Both teams to score – (4/6, Sky Bet)
The Olimpijski Stadion plays host to arguably the most evenly poised tie of the round from 8pm tonight. Not only that, two of the strongest teams in the competition at this stage will be doing battle to get one step closer to joining Europe’s elite in the competition proper. The Champions of Bosnia host the cream of the Czech Republic in a tie that really is awfully difficult to call either way in terms of a result.
After a 4-3 win last week, Plzen start the evening in the hat for the next round and have the added bonus of 4 away goals. However, Zeljeznicar hold the potentially vital card that is home advantage. The Bosnian’s will be fully fit and raring to go after a full pre-season schedule and their first league game is just a few days after this crunch European tie, so they’ll be keen to impress. Plzen meanwhile warmed up for this crucial 2nd leg with a 5-0 romp over Bohemians in their opening league game on Friday evening.
The above treble returns £41.40 from a £10 stake with Sky Bet!
