Good Morning Folks!

Here it comes, Day2 of the final group stage of Europa League. After this is around 2 months of European Tournaments Break and around February the eliminating rounds start. After great games last night, and with just few surprises the first half of the teams qualified.

Tonight we are going to see which would be the other half of the teams that will qualify for this wonderful tournaments. You probably know already,but the 3rd Teams from the group stage of the Champions League will join Europa League for the elimination rounds.

Teams like Juventus and Liverpool will be present, so being first or second tonight in the groups can make a big difference.

Let’s take a look at the games that we would be able to watch tonight:

Ajax v Anderlecht 17/12/2009 18:00 GMT

Dinamo Zagreb v FC Timisoara 17/12/2009 18:00 GMT

Genoa v Valencia 17/12/2009 18:00 GMT

Lille v Slavia Prague 17/12/2009 18:00 GMT

Hapoel Tel Aviv v Hamburger SV 17/12/2009 18:00 GMT

Rapid Wien v Celtic 17/12/2009 18:00 GMT

Lazio v Levski Sofia 17/12/2009 20:05 GMT

Villarreal v Salzburg 17/12/2009 20:05 GMT

Benfica v AEK Athens 17/12/2009 20:05 GMT

Everton v BATE Borisov 17/12/2009 20:05 GMT

Steaua Bucuresti v Twente 17/12/2009 20:05 GMT

Fenerbahce v FC Sheriff 17/12/2009 20:05 GMT

So as usual let’s start with the first team on our list, till the last. If the game has no importance to the overall qualifying I will just vaguely mention it.

First are Ajax v Anderlecht. Both teams have qualified already. Anderlecht has the chance to grab the first spot today if they actually win. But is that important and would they actually try for it? Who knows we can only guess. If you take a look at the odds, you will see something odd :) . The draw odds for this game are extremely low around 2.50. That rarely happens, so I will go with the bookmakers here and pick a tie game between the two.

The second game Dinamo Zagreb v FC Timisoara from that group has also zero importance because both team will leave the tournament. Dinamo did win the first game with 0:3 and they are expected to win today as well. However the odds are just not good so I would skip this game if I was you. My pick would be a home victory for Dinamo.

Next on the list are Genoa v Valencia. This is a direct battle for the first place, and one of these two teams can actually go home if Lille wins as well today. So it’s a pretty messy situation, while Valencia needs only a draw, Genoa has to win at all cost. I think the hosts will go full power and will leave large defending areas uncovered. If Valencia’s fast strikers take advantage of that the game is theirs. First game between the two ended up 3:2 in Spain. My pick for today would be an away victory as well.

The other game from this group is Lille v Slavia Prague. After the first game ending 1:5 in Prague, I don’t think anyone has any doubts about the game today. Lille clearly has to win in order to qualify for sure, and it’s against a fairly easy opponent. The odds are not good, so skip this game if you would like. My pick a home victory for Lille.

Next are Hapoel Tel Aviv v Hamburger SV. Both teams have qualified already and this game would be for the first spot. Hamburger won the first game in Germany with 4:2. Both teams do realize that spots will make a difference in the next stage of the tournament, so I am pretty sure both would wanna come out victorious. However Hamburger will be happy with the draw as well and I don’t think they are going to try as hard. My pick would be a draw between these two.

The second game in this group Rapid Wien v Celtic has absolutely no importance as well. Both teams are going home, and this game is just for pride. Celtic did poorly in might wanna win this one, in order to go home with their heads high. Rapid Wien is playing at home, and would wanna win probably as well. However I would go with the more experienced team here and that’s Celtic.

Now pay close attention! Last night I told you about Roma’ victory as the most sure game of the night. Tonight that game isLazio v Levski Sofia. Levski has 0 scored goals 0 victories and 0 points and that 1.50 for Lazio win seems like a gift. Although Lazio has nothing to play for, they might want to end the tournament victorious and vs Levski will not be a challenge. My pick a home win, probably if you want greater odds with the scores of 1:0 or 2:0.

The leaders in that group Villarreal v Salzburg will also meet. Villarreal lost the first game with 0:2 and might wanna take a revenge. Salzburg however have won all 5 games already and who knows might try for the sixth one. Although it will be very unlikely and surprising I have the feeling that they will succeed tonight. My pick would be an away victory. If you feel that’s irrational go with the home win.

Another game with 0 importance is Benfica v AEK Athens. Benfica are already first and nothing will take them down from the first place. AEK are last and they are leaving the tournament. I don’t think those two will try at all today and the game will end up a tie. Looking over the statistics those two have played only twice and each got out a win.

The other game from the group again has 0 importance, Everton v BATE Borisov. Everton has qualified already and did win the first game in Belarus. I doubt anything different will happen tonight, but the odds seem low for anyone to consider this game. My pick a home victory for Everton.

I know todays games might be kind of boring since the qualifiers are already known, but this last group is interesting, First we have Steaua Bucuresti v Twente. Both teams ended up 0:0 in France, and tonight Twente needs only a draw to qualify. Will they get it? Probably, Steaua has nothing to play for and will not be motivated. Twente on the other hand will probably just defend since scoring is not important for them tonight. Although the bookmakers predict an easy win for Twente I will go for the better odds and pick a draw!

And last but not least is the second game of the same group between Fenerbahce v FC Sheriff. Sheriff must win, in order to have any chances tonight to qualify. They will still depend on the outcome of the other game in the group, but still. Fenerbahce is the leader of the group and will probably test tonight their youngsters and new plays. They did win with 1:0 the first game, but who knows today. I am not familiar with the performance of these Sheriff guys, but the odds are great for an away victory. If they go full power tonight might actually get it!

So there you have it folks! Be sure to check my Daily Videos page, if you have missed the more interesting games last night. I will post my Daily Picks in a few! If you are looking for good sports betting books or just interested in that kind of literature, check the books on your right!

Thanks for visiting,good luck betting and have a great day!


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