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betting » Previews » Matchday 1 - Group G - L - Britain Euro Teams

Matchday 1 - Group G - L - Britain Euro Teams

By Joe, BettingExpert.com | Edited

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andy johnson fulham

Fulham and Andy Johnson will feel that they must be somewhere near the final and dreams can come true if they manage to get past the group stages starting with Twente at Craven Cottage. Meanwhile, Celtic returns to European action travelling away to Atletico Madrid while Championship side, Birmingham, takes on Braga.

 

 

Birmingham vs. Braga (Group H)

The Europa League must be the only thing for Birmingham to feel that they are still part of the elite in football terms. Their relegation to the Championship last season hit both the club and it’s finances, seeing players leave one by one and Alex McLeish take up the hot seat with rival club, Aston Villa. In comes former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton and the quest for Premiership football begins, unfortunately, mid-table, 12th in the Championship after five games and 7 points. They take on Braga with a renewed confidence after coming off a weekend 3-0 win over Millwall, registering their second win under Chris Wood's well taken hat trick. Old guards, Carr, Caldwell, Ridgewell and Davis will continue to start while opportunities for both Wade Elliott and Pablo Ibanez could get a run in on Thursday.

Last season Europa League finalist, Braga will start their European campaign in the Europa League. They were not good enough to make Champions League this season and will have to settle for European football in the competition where they reached their first major final. They will be looking to do a repeat and winning their first game looks certainly possible as they are coming off two consecutive wins in their domestic league, beating both Setubal 1-0 away and most recently, 3-1 home win over Gil Vicente. Birmingham shouldn’t be an issue at this rate.

 

Verdict: Considering Braga doesn’t do well away from home, Birmingham could produce a result at home as this is all they have left.

 

 

Atlético Madrid vs. Celtic (Group I)

Winner of the 2009 Europa League, Atletico Madrid will need to find some form if they want to make a good start to their European group stage campaign. They managed to beat Portugese side, Guimaraes in the last round but in their domestic duties, Atletico has suffered from early season jitters by drawing 0-0 against Osasuna at home and losing 1-0 away in the weekend against Valencia. Their frontal attack might have lost it’s potentency after the departure of Diego Forlan to Inter while his replacement, Brazilian Diego has not found his form yet, but then neither has former Arsenal player, Jose Antonio Reyes or Garcia. Maybe skillful Arda Turan will match his potential and show well on the European stage.

No one would have thought that Scottish club, Celtic would take any part in Europe after losing to FC Sion in two legs and kicked out of Europa League. Their late inclusion was due to the Swiss club fielding an ineligible player and so, in comes Celtic for the group stages, landing another chance for their fans to enjoy success in Europe. Coach Neil Lennon is being given a chance to make amends as many have ruled out Celtic in European plan since they are struggling with a few teams domestically. They are currently second in their league with a 4-0 home win over Motherwell last weekend. Celtic hasn’t been convincing and with lots of defensive error, they will need the service of Captain Scott Brown who is doubtful to play in Madrid.

 

Verdict: Not the same Celtic we once knew them, but neiher is Atletico, but home side tends to win these meetings.

 

 

 

Fulham vs. Twente (Group K)

No other team has played as much as Fulham when it comes to European football in the Europa League. Craven Cottage bids yet another midweek European league but this time with a distinct competitive opposition. They disposed Nes Soknar, Crusaders, RNK Split and Dnipro to get into the group stages for the third consecutive year. Craven Cottage might have seen a lot of games but the players might have already felt a bit of football behind their legs. Their European games are seriously hampering their Premiership form by harboring a place right under the relegation line. So only two points of out four games, Europe seems like a success story while drawing 1-1 at home against Blackburn last weekend, might not be what many fans were hoping for. Good news is that Bobby Zamora is back with goals, but unlikely to start on Thursday. So it will be interesting to see who Martin Jols will pick in his starting eleven, most likely Andy Johnson, Grygera, Kelly and Dembele, while Ruiz might face his former club.

One of the teams that didn’t make the Champions League group stages will start life in the Europa League instead. Dutch outfit, Twente, must be one of the favourites to take control of the group and having witnessed their domestic form, their is nothing to suggest that they shouldn’t be able to make the knockout stages of the Europa League. Twente are just one point away from the league leaders, Ajax in the Eredivise and with 4 wins and one defeat, they are certainly in a good position. But having said that they did lose 2-1 away to Roda this weekend and that might be due to their lack of concentration and the loss of Ruiz in the transfer window. Both Luuk De Jong and Marc Janko will be the driving force for the Dutch 2010 Champion in London on Thursday evening.

 

Verdict: Twente will attack at Craven Cottage and favoring the Dutch offensive here.



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