Sports Mole provides score predictions and previews for all of today’s Europa League fixtures, including Porto vs. Man United.
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Tottenham Hotspur will endeavour to win their fifth game in a row across all competitions when they travel to the Groupama Arena in Budapest to face Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
This fixture represents the first meeting between these two clubs and Spurs’ first-ever encounter with Hungarian opposition.
We say: Ferencvaros 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Ferencvaros are regarded as one of the weaker teams in this season’s Europa League, but they will hope to frustrate Tottenham on Thursday and should not be taken lightly by Postecoglou’s side. Nevertheless, even if the Aussie boss opts to freshen up his starting lineup, it is difficult to back against Spurs coming out on top in this one.
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> Will Son return? Predicted Tottenham lineup vs. Ferencvaros
> Son latest and double defensive concern: Tottenham injury list for Ferencvaros
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After a convincing win on the opening matchday, Lazio look to continue their fine start to the Europa League on Thursday, as they welcome Nice to Stadio Olimpico.
The French club may have been beaten in all six of their previous encounters with Serie A sides, but they will be intent on ending that streak when arriving in Rome.
We say: Lazio 2-1 Nice
Lazio will soar highest in a battle between Les Aiglons and Le Aquile, as they have home advantage and Nice are burdened by injuries.
Following Ciro Immobile’s departure, the Italian side have refreshed their attacking options for this season and are now scoring at a regular rate.
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Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat in their first Europa League fixture of 2024-25 when they play Danish champions FC Midtjylland on Thursday at Stadion Partizana.
The hosts lost 2-1 against Sporting Braga on September 26 and are currently 26th in the Europa League table with no points, while their opponents Midtjylland drew 1-1 with Hoffenheim on September 25 and are 19th with one point after one matchweek.
We say: Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-2 FC Midtjylland
Considering the sheer number of shots that Maccabi Tel Aviv faced against Sporting Braga, it would be surprising if they kept a clean sheet.
Additionally, the visitors are in strong form and have been difficult to beat away from home, and they should come into Thursday’s clash as favourites.
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Braga will be looking to claim consecutive Europa League victories when they travel to Greece for Thursday’s clash with Olympiacos.
Meanwhile, the hosts are hoping to get off the mark after they began the league phase with an away defeat against Lyon last week.
We say: Olympiacos 2-2 Braga
Olympiacos will be desperate to make full use of home advantage by claiming all three points in Thursday’s contest, but we think that they will have to settle for a share of the spoils when they go up against a Braga side that are yet to lose on their travels this season.
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Both looking to record their maiden victories of the League Phase in the revamped competition, Qarabag FK and Malmo will clash on Thursday night in the Europa League.
The Stallions struggled at the home of a Premier League side last time out, whereas the Blue Ones were unable to get the better of Scottish opposition in Sweden.
We say: Qarabag FK 1-0 Malmo
Despite the negative result last Thursday night, Qarabag will be stronger following their match against one of the favourites for the Europa League crown.
As a result, we expect the Stallions to record their maiden win of the competition, sentencing Malmo to back-to-back defeats on the continent.
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La Liga’s Real Sociedad will welcome Belgian outfit Anderlecht to Reale Arena on Thursday for the second match of the Europa League main draw.
Real Sociedad began the league phase with a draw against Nice, while Anderlecht took maximum points from their home meeting with Ferencvaros.
We say: Real Sociedad 2-1 Anderlecht
Real Sociedad would have taken confidence from Saturday’s comprehensive home win over Valencia, and we think that they will build upon that result by producing another strong home display to record a narrow victory against Anderlecht on Thursday.
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In the second round of fixtures in the Europa League, Latvian champions Rigas Futbola Skola are set to host Turkish Super Lig champions Galatasaray on Thursday at Daugavas Stadiona.
The home team are in 35th place of the Europa League table with no points after they lost 4-1 against FCSB on September 26, while the away side are in fifth place with three points and won 3-1 against PAOK on September 25.
We say: Rigas Futbola Skola 1-4 Galatasaray
Given that Galatasaray boast significant attacking depth even if Osimhen is not ready to start, they could still create numerous chances.
As for RFS, it is difficult to see them avoiding defeat considering the strong form of the visitors.
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Ajax will seek a first ever win in Czechia when they face Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday.
It was a minor miracle Ajax qualified for the competition given the season they had last year, but they look set to be competitive this time around.
We say: Slavia Prague 2-2 Ajax
Slavia have won 11 of their last 14 home games in Europe, and Ajax have never won away in the Czech Republic, but that does not mean this will be a foregone conclusion.
The Dutch side look much better than they did last season, and were dominant in their win over Besiktas last week, and should play their part in a close, entertaining encounter here.
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Hoffenheim are set to host Dynamo Kiev at the PreZero Arena on Thursday evening, aiming to secure their first win in the 2024-25 Europa League.
The hosts drew 1-1 in their opening game of the league phase, while the visitors disappointingly lost 3-0 in their first fixture.
We say: Hoffenheim 2-1 Dynamo Kiev
While Hoffenheim have had a horrific start to the 2024-25 campaign, they have a much stronger squad than their opposition and also boast the home advantage, two factors that should help them secure a victory.
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Athletic Bilbao will host their first European game at San Mames in over six years when AZ Alkmaar travel to the Basque Country in the Europa League on Thursday.
An impressive draw away in the Italian capital got Athletic’s campaign off to a good start, while AZ were victorious on matchday one.
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-0 AZ Alkmaar
Athletic rarely slip up at home, and after an impressive result against Roma, they could be very competitive in the Europa League this season.
AZ made an excellent start claiming three points on home soil last midweek, but Elfsborg gave them plenty of trouble and they were beaten by Utrecht at the weekend, making them big underdogs here.
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Both looking to earn their maiden wins of the revamped League Phase of the competition, Besiktas and Eintracht Frankfurt will lock horns in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Black Eagles endured a challenging start to their continental quest for glory, whilst Die Adler were involved in a dramatic share of the spoils in Germany.
We say: Besiktas 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
With home advantage, Besiktas should be confident of recording a positive result on Thursday night, regardless of their horror show in Amsterdam last week.
On the other hand, Eintracht Frankfurt are in the midst of an impressive unbeaten streak and will not expect to break it in Turkey, so we are predicting a split of the points.
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Two teams seeking their first win in this season’s Europa League meet at Boras Arena on Thursday, as Elfsborg play host to Roma in their second league-phase fixture.
The hosts are intent on claiming a first home victory in major European competition since 1978, while their visitors aim to improve a dismal record on the road.
We say: Elfsborg 1-2 Roma
While Roma are set to rest several players, they have sharpened up since changing manager and will still prove too strong for Elfsborg.
Some bright attacking talent is available to Ivan Juric, so the Giallorossi will get off the mark with a first European win of the season.
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Seeking to bounce back from a humbling Premier League defeat, Manchester United travel to the Estadio do Dragao to face Portuguese giants Porto in their second Europa League fixture of the new season on Thursday night.
The Red Devils were convincingly beaten 3-0 on home soil by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, while Porto – in stark contrast – cruised to a 4-0 victory over Arouca in the Primeira Liga.
We say: Porto 2-2 Manchester United
Ten Hag is in desperate need of a reaction from his Man United players on Thursday, but success against a Porto outfit who have lost just one of their last 22 home matches (W18, D3) in all competitions is not guaranteed.
The Red Devils’ last four European away games have seen a total of 23 goals scored (nine for and 14 against) and they have only won once during this run. Another tricky trip on the road could be on the cards for Ten Hag and co, and they may have to settle for a share of the spoils on this occasion.
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> Ten Hag to make three changes? Predicted Man United lineup vs. Porto
> Mount, Maguire latest: Man United injury, suspension news vs. Porto
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Aiming to build on a respectable point during the opening gameweek of the competition, FC Twente will welcome Turkish giants Fenerbahce to De Grolsch Veste in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Tukkers enjoyed a share of the spoils at the Theatre of Dreams in England last week, whereas the Yellow Canaries secured a narrow success over Belgian opposition.
We say: FC Twente 1-2 Fenerbahce
Drawing at Manchester United last week, Twente will be confident heading into another high-profile Europa League clash on Thursday night.
Fenerbahce have responded well since a disappointing defeat to Galatasaray and should be good enough to narrowly earn three points in the Netherlands.
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After making contrasting starts to their Europa League league-phase campaigns last week, PAOK and FCSB will square off in the second round of fixtures on Thursday.
The hosts started with a trip to Galatasaray last time out and left empty-handed, while their visitors got off the mark with a convincing victory at home to Rigas Futbola Skola.
We say: PAOK 2-0 FCSB
Despite the teams’ contrasting results in the first round of fixtures in the Europa League league phase, PAOK boast more quality and continental experience in their ranks than the visitors and should have enough to open their account with home advantage on Thursday.
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Scottish giants Rangers welcome French outfit Lyon to Ibrox for their second Europa League fixture of the new season on Thursday night.
Both teams picked up maximum points on matchday one last week, with the Gers beating Malmo in Sweden and Les Gones coming out on top against Olympiacos on home soil.
We say: Rangers 2-2 Lyon
Both teams enter Thursday’s contest in buoyant mood and will back themselves to come away with a positive result. Rangers have looked solid at the back in recent weeks, but they may have their work cut out in keeping Lyon quiet considering that the French side have scored two or more goals in four of their last five matches.
A closely-fought contest with plenty of goalmouth action could be on the cards here, and with that in mind, we can see the spoils being shared in an entertaining score draw.
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Union SG will be looking to bounce back from their opening-matchday defeat when they play host to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday.
In sharp contrast, the visitors are making the trip to Belgium on the back of beginning their campaign in perfect fashion.
We say: Union SG 3-1 Bodo/Glimt
Given the profile of the team that they defeated last time out, we cannot ignore that Bodo/Glimt will be full of confidence ahead of this contest. However, home territory for Union SG could prove key, leading us to back a victory for them in an entertaining fixture.
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Viktoria Plzen square off against Ludogorets Razgrad on Thursday looking to build on their impressive start to the Europa League main stage.
While the Czech side were securing a draw against Bundesliga opposition, Ludogorets were losing to another team from Czech Republic.
We say: Viktoria Plzen 3-1 Ludogorets Razgrad
While there is an argument that Ludogorets will be more familiar with taking on Czech opposition, facing a team from that country on away territory will be a stiffer task. With that in mind, we expect Plzen to come through with flying colours, strengthening their bid to finish in the last 24.
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