Europa League matchday one best bets and predictions: Trabzonspor look strong

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Thursday's group matches in the Europa League.

Ferencvaros v Trabzonspor

When to bet

8pm, Thursday

Best bet

Trabzonspor draw no bet
2pts 23-20 BoyleSports

Match preview

Domestic form can often be deceptive when analysing a team's chances of a Europa League victory and that might be the case when looking at Ferencvaros's hopes of beating Trabzonspor on Thursday.

The Hungarians have put in some excellent league performances, none more so than the 6-0 win they claimed at Ujpest last weekend, which was their fifth straight win since the start of the season.

However, they cannot afford to rest easy when they receive their Turkish visitors.

It could well have been the case that they eased up when they headed to Ireland to play Shamrock Rovers having already claimed a 4-0 lead from the first leg of their Europa League qualifier, but a 1-0 defeat in the return fixture is still a disappointing result.

And little confidence can be gained from their Europa League experience last year, when they lost five of their six group games and the one victory came on the final matchday when opponents Bayer Leverkusen had already qualified for the knockout stage.

Trabzonspor were knocked out of Champions League qualifying by Copenhagen, but their confidence should be high after Trezeguet gave them a 1-0 win at Umraniyespor last time out.

They are eighth in Turkey's Super Lig, but only three points off leaders Besiktas, and could prove a decent draw-no-bet option for their group-stage opener.

Nantes v Olympiakos

When to bet

8pm, Thursday

Best bet

Olympiakos
1pt 21-10 bet365

Match preview

Nantes head into the Europa League having won just one of their six Ligue 1 matches this season and they look set to face a tough test against Olympiakos.

The Greek team battled through a qualifier against Apollon, winning on penalties, but two defeats in their last 13 league matches should be a cause for confidence.

A trip to northern France should also not hold many fears as they are unbeaten in their last nine away matches.

Six goals in six matches is a worrying tally for the home team and they may not have enough firepower to stop their visitors getting off to a winning start.

Omonia Nicosia v Sheriff

When to bet

8pm, Thursday

Best bet

Omonia Nicosia
1pt 27-20 Coral, Ladbrokes

Match preview

Neil Lennon's Omonia Nicosia made light work of beating Gent over two legs in the qualifiers and they should be able to build on that when Sheriff head to Cyprus for their group opener.

Omonia are unbeaten in ten matches at home in all competitions and have scored at least twice in four of their last five matches on their own patch.

Sheriff surpassed expectations by booking a place in the Champions League group stage last season but the fact they needed penalties after two goalless draws against Armenian side Pyunik suggests they could have their work cut out to make a big impression.

The home side a good value proposition to get off to a perfect start.

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