Frankfurt 500/1 - and two scorers for today...
Thursday 6th August 2020
In Across the Leagues today:
- Europa League, kick off 5.55pm…
- Frankfurt flip-flop not too far-fetched…
- First Goalscorer notebook…
Frankfurt 500/1 – and two scorers for today…
The Europa League is back in action. After play got underway yesterday, there are four more games this evening, starting from 5.55pm…
Flip-flop not too far-fetched…
Back in February (in my previously-named Football Angles service), Eintracht Frankfurt were a 50/1 outsider selection for the Europa League.
The Germans took out Salzburg that month. But then things fell away, with a 0-3 home 1st leg defeat v Basel on 12th March, played behind closed doors as the coronavirus situation started to develop.
Over four months later, the 2nd leg will finally take place this evening. Odds of 6/1 in general for Frankfurt ‘To Qualify’ tonight suggest the bookies don’t think this tie over just yet. Betfred are an industry-best 11/1 for the Frankfurt flip-flop.
Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter knows the Swiss league well. He won the title there as manager of Young Boys. Overturning that 3-0 deficit at Basel is in his sights this evening. Talking to the press this week, Hutter said: “We want to make the impossible possible.”
In the Outright Winner market, most firms have the German side at 200/1 or 250/1. BetVictor are twice that price, happy to lay rank outsider odds for Frankfurt of 500/1. With the same bottom-of-the-pile quote for Rangers, who are 3-1 down on aggregate and travel to Bayer Leverkusen.
First Goalscorer notebook…
Last night’s four Europa League matches saw two of the favourites land the odds in the First Goalscorer markets.
Romelu Lukaku was a 3/1 (4.0) chance for Inter Milan v Getafe. And the Ukrainian league’s top scorer for 2019/20, Junior Moraes popped up in the 89th minute to trigger a late flurry of goals in Shakhtar Donetsk’s 3-0 win over Wolfsburg. Moraes was 7/2 (4.5).
There are four more Europa League games this evening. Here are some notes & pointers on the Scorers…
The star men…
Two favourites in a similar price bracket to Lukaku and Moraes last night are German hot property Kai Havertz for Bayer Leverkusen v Rangers. And one of the players of the season in the Premier League, Raul Jimenez for Wolves v Olympiacos.
Havertz is 4/1 (5.0) at best, and as short as 5/2 (3.5) to open the scoring. Jimenez landed First Scorer odds four times in nine games after the restart in the Premier League. The Mexican is 7/2 (4.5) at best today, and also as short as 5/2 (3.5).
Cheering for Sevilla…
For Sevilla v Roma, our regular post-lockdown pick Lucas Ocampus isn’t far off those prices, at around 4/1 (5.0) in the First Goalscorer betting.
We’re looking for Sevilla to make it through in this one-off, decided-on-the-night tie v Roma. Last night, Inter Milan beat Getafe 2-0 to move into the quarter finals. Inter Milan & Sevilla is our 16/1 or 14/1 pick in the ‘Name the Finalists’ market. Skybet now make that combination a 10/1 chance, with Paddy Power & Betfair Sportsbook going 9/1.
The two I like…
Here’s the case for two other scorer contenders on my radar today, Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) and Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt)…
With both Rangers (3-1 down) and Frankfurt (3-0 down) needing goals, and their hosts Leverkusen and Basel with sizeable leads to protect. Any passive starts from the home teams could see the visitors make a move and shake things up.
The top five players in the first scorer betting for Leverkusen v Rangers are all on the home team. Including the aforementioned Havertz, as well as Kevin Volland and Lucas Alario at 9/2 (5.5) each for the German outfit. It could be that Rangers’ top scorer from last season is a little underrated here…
Alfredo Morelos is heavily linked with a move away from Rangers this summer. But right now, he’s still in Steven Gerrard’s plans. The Colombian was on the plane to Germany. And the manager says, "He's fit, he's available. He wants to play, he's ready to play." Morelos played the full 90 minutes in the first game of the new Scottish Premiership season last weekend.
In the Europa League this season, Morelos is level top-scorer with six goals. He’s a standout 15/2 (8.5) to score first.
Andre Silva finished the Bundesliga season in superb scoring form, with 11 goals in eight games since the restart in Germany. He landed seven Anytime Scorer bets in that period, and three First Scorer payouts. The on-loan AC Milan forward also takes penalties. Silva is a top price 11/2 (6.5) to get Frankfurt off to a good start tonight.
There are plenty of players to consider in the scorer markets today. With the aggregate situations in mind, Morelos and Silva are my picks at the top prices.
Today’s picks
Europa League
Bayer Leverkusen v Rangers (5.55pm, BT Sport)
Basel v Eintracht Frankfurt (8pm, BT Sport)
I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon with our first look at the Champions League. There are two games taking place on Friday night, and two more on Saturday.
Then the quarter finals begin next week with UEFA’s ‘Final Eight’ competitions in both the Europa League and Champions League. Lots of knockout ties to look forward to.
Enjoy the football…
Best wishes,
Oliver Upstone
Across the Leagues |
