Europa League: Thursday betting preview and top tips

From 5.55pm Thursday

Sporting impressed in the Europa League group stage, finishing just three points behind Arsenal, and they can make a strong start to the knockout rounds by beating La Liga strugglers Villarreal in Lisbon.

The tie comes at a tricky time for Villarreal, who are at serious risk of slipping into the Segunda Division for the first time in 21 years.

Villarreal have won just three of 23 league games and they are four points adrift of safety with three months of the campaign left.

Every league game is important and their top priority this week is Sunday's league clash at home to Sevilla.

The Yellow Submarine finished top of Europa League Group G after winning two and drawing four games, but it was a weak section featuring Rapid Vienna, Rangers and Spartak Moscow.

Sporting are the toughest opponents they have faced in the competition and they are particularly strong at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

They have won nine of 11 home league games this season and their chances of beating a distracted Villarreal look better than the markets anticipate.

Genk are dominating the Belgian top flight, leading second-placed Bruges by 11 points, and they look overpriced to clinch an away win at Czech table-toppers Slavia Prague.

Both sides are playing with confidence and Slavia deserve respect having taken 52 points from a possible 60 in the Czech top flight.

However, the Belgian league is rated eighth on the latest Uefa coefficients, eight places above the 16th-placed Czech association, and the difference in class could show on the pitch.

Lazio's preparations for the home leg against Sevilla are being undermined by injuries to key players Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Immobile, Lazio's top scorer with 11 league goals, has not played for ten days after suffering a hamstring injury in a 1-0 success at Frosinone.

He was joined in the treatment room by influential midfielder Milinkovic-Savic, who sustained a thigh injury in last Thursday's 1-0 victory at home to Empoli.

Ecuadorean target man Felipe Caicedo has come into the side, scoring in each of the last two games, and looks the main danger to Sevilla, who are 8-13 favourites to go through.

Recommendations
Sporting
1pt 13-10 bet365, Betfred
Genk
1pt 21-10bet365, Betfair

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