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Matchday 2 - Group G - L - Carrying the Title Favourites
By Joe, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Google+: Joe Bexpert
Udinese will be flying over to Scotland for the first time in their history and take on Celtic in the Matchday 2 of the Europa League while Malmo FF will be hosting Austria Wien. One of the longest lasting Europa League teams, London club, Fulham will face Danish team, OB, who has surprised a few people in their quest to make a name for themselves.
Malmo FF vs. Austria Wien
The Swedish Allsvenskan league title chase virtually ended last weekend when Malmo FF scored an late equalizer to draw 1-1 with AIK Stockholm handing the Swedish title to Helsingborg. Even though the title might have been lost, Malmo is still in a chase within the league to qualify for yet another European campaign in which they are hosting Austria Wien on Thursday. The home side needs to improve their group G performance as they suffered a 4-0 rump by Dutch side AZ in the group opener, Coach Rikard Norling is pressured to do something drastic to pick up their first point in the group stages. Goalscorer Mathias Ranegie combined well with Wilton Figueiredo on the weekend and they could be called upon this midweek to play into the 4-4-2 formation. The Swedbank Stadium home crowd will be expecting a fight on hand.
The Austrian outfits are in the similar situation to the host, no points in their first game leaving them third in the group but bettering in goal difference. Austria Wien opened their account by scoring the quickest goal in the group but as football goes, it’s how you end that counts not how you start and Wien left with the bitter taste of conceding a penalty goal to Metalist and running out losing. Their domestic concerns will speak volumes for how they approach their match. They are currently third in the league and only a point off the two joint leaders, with a weekend 2-1 home win over Sturm Graz, after going behind 1-0, with M. Liendl and N. Barazite scoring goals in the last ten minutes. This team will certainly travel to Sweden with a lot of confidence and with high spirits, getting points against Malmo could likely for the visitors.
Verdict: A draw would suit the situation, but not ideal if they were to look to qualify for the next round. Austria Wien are weak favorites.
Celtic vs. Udinese
There shouldn’t be any more drama regarding Celtics’s participation in the Europa League. However if we are looking at their performances on the pitch, then they are not really up to scratch in the group stages. Their 2-0 defeat in Madrid to Atletico showed that there is still a long way to go in terms of muscling with the European opposition however in the domestic league and cups, Celtic managed two consecutive wins over Ross County (cup) and 2-0 win over Inverness (league) after losing the Firm derby by 4-2 last weekend. Having said that, Coach Neil Lennon admitted that his side are still shaky in the opening minutes and a repeat of that might cost a bit more this coming midweek.
This will be the first time that Udinese will travel to Scotland face Celtic in Glasgow. In fact, this will be their first ever Scottish opponents. This won’t leave Udinese on the backfoot as they are enjoying a good spell of football. Undefeated in the Serie A and also picking three points in the season opener home game against Rennes, life can’t get anymore rosey than this. Well, you might be mistaken because Udinese are actually a team that hasn’t won in their last five European away games. Coach Francesco Guidolin failed to inspire his team last weekend in the 0-0 draw to Cagliari but he had concerns over Paulo Vitor Barreto, Antonio Floro Flores, Giovanni Pasquale and Andrea Coda. The picture will be similar when they fly out to Scotland. Good news is that Pablo Armero might get a chance to play a bit this midweek.
Verdict: There is a good chance that Udinese could steal the show but a draw is a definite wise choice.
OB vs. Fulham
It's all up to the Danish outfit to bring an elemnet of suprise as they face their next victim in group K. OB are certainly one of the unknown quantities in the Europa League and boy have they woken everybody around them after disposing Wisla Krakow 3-1 away in the first game of the group. A deserved victory and another repeat of the good performance will certainly put them in commanding order in their group. Domestically, the European campaign is certainly taking a toll to their league placing as they are supposedly one of the title chasers for the Superliagen. But a 7th place and already trailing 14 points to the league leaders, it could be only fair to label OB as a team looking to do well in Europe rather in the league. They lost 4-3 away to Horsens in the weekend but surely the unexpected will return in the midweek.
The London club is struggling domestically and Europa is definitely a distraction this year. Better result in the Europa League is surely the highlight but in the Premiership, Fulham are currently just above the relegation line only through goal difference. Their 0-0 draw to WBA at the Hawthorns in weekend play, surely will see a few key players being omitted to the trip to Denmark. Although players like Danny Murphy, Dempsey and Hangeland will be vital to form the core of the defense and midfield, so that players like Senderos, Etuhu and Ruiz will be able to play their part. There will be a good chance that either Bobby Zamora or Andy Johnson get a call up to travel to Odense.
Verdict: Coach Martin Jol needs to attack to win but that’s not happening and OB will be looking to exploit and pressure Fulham into making mistakes.
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