Back Napoli for away victory
Jonno Turner delves into tonight's Europa League fixtures to find value on the continent in his Home and Away column.
We're turning our attentions to the Europa League this evening - and there's plenty of value in the competition if you look hard enough.
In-form Napoli travel to Sweden in our first pick of the day, looking to make it five games unbeaten of late - and book their place in the last 16 of this competition.
A 4-2 demolition of Genoa in their last outing on the road from the Stadio San Paolo will have boosted confidence in the away camp, and 10 goals scored in their last three outings suggests that the Azzurri are more than capable of punishing their hosts here.
Hotshot Edinson Cavani has once again been attracting attention this campaign, and his eight goals in 13 appearances in bound to have big clubs sniffing when January comes around - but Walter Mazzarri will know that a decent run in this competition will play a huge part in his ability to hold on to key figures in his squad.
A win in this game would see the visitors all but assured of their place in the next round of this competition, and the Serie A side will be desperate to maintain momentum this evening, and not fluff their lines.
Home side AIK go into this game sitting third in Group F, and the pressure is on the Swedes to take three points from this game, and close the two point advantage held by their guests going into this one.
But just two wins from their last half a dozen at the Rasunda Stadium suggests that Andreas Alm's side are susceptible to the odd slip up on their own patch.
And eight goals conceded in four Europa League games indicates that the Gnaget may struggle against the abundance of attacking quality in Napoli's squad.
Last time these two sides met, the Italians ran out comfortable 4-0 winners - and I envisage another emphatic victory here.
Over to Norway now - as Eliteserien champions Molde welcome FC Copenhagen to the Aker Stadion, looking to build on an incredible home record which has seen them unbeaten in 39 of their last 42 outings.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side stole the plaudits last campaign by running away with the Norwegian top tier, and have repeated that feat once again this year, proving their quality.
And with their domestic season now finished, the hosts are able to focus all of their attentions on their Europa League trials, where they currently find themselves bottom of the mini league.
However, although Steaua Bucharest are running away with first place in Group E, there are just two points splitting the rest of the teams - and Solskjaer will be reminding his players that this competition is still wide open...for now.
A win tonight could lift the hosts into that coveted second place, and with it being potentially their last outing of this competition in front of their own fans, they will be desperate to bow out with a win.
And three clean sheets from five suggests that the home side certainly have the defensive nous to hold off the threat of their visitors.
Copenhagen make the short trip to Norway having won just twice from seven games on the road - and boss Ariel Jacobs will be keen to arrest that slump here.
And eight without a win from nine Europa League games indicates that the away side struggle when face with real quality opposition, a notion that the visiting boss will be hoping to dispel tonight.
But the Danish Superliga is still in full flow, and with Copenhagen looking over their shoulder in top spot, they could be distracted from this game.
A home win here could blow the group wide open - and I'm backing Solskjaer to lead his charges to another home victory, at cracking odds.
Bet HERE !
Viewed 599 times
Keywords: Napoli, Molde
Source: Bet365
Comments and Feedback
There are no comments yet. Be the first to comment this article!
Register or log in to submit your comment.
122 guests, 0 users are online right now.