Home and Away: Fenerbahce eye Turkish delight in Europa League tonight

21Feb 2013

Europa Liga

Jonno Turner looks to the Europa League calendar to select two Thursday tips - and he fancies a good day for one of our own.

We're off to Turkey for our first pick of the day - and Fenerbahce host BATE Borisov at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, looking to book their place in the next round of the Europa League.

Aykut Kocaman's side secured an important 0-0 draw in the first leg which took place in Belarus last week, and will be desperate to build on that scoreline by making their home advantage pay here.

The Turks showed great fight to hold their hosts to that goalless draw, having had Raul Meireles sent off in the fifth minute of the game - and he will miss this clash through suspension.

Just one loss from their last eight Europa League outings suggests that the Istanbul side are more than capable of securing that victory, and four clean sheets from their last five on the continent will have the home fans confident of their side avoiding any away goals here.

A 3-0 defeat of Trabzonspor in their last outing ahead of this one will have morale high in the host camp, especially considering that Kocaman rotated his squad in order to keep key players fresh for this clash - and they will be looking to make it 11 unbeaten from their last 12 this evening.

BATE Borisov travel to Turkey in the middle of their preparations for the new campaign which starts in March - and they go into this without a win in their last four on the road.

Viktor Gonacharenko's side have shipped nine goals in their last four, and that suggests that they may struggle to contain a Fener side which boasts hotshots Moussa Sow, Dirk Kuyt and Pierre Webo amongst its ranks.

And the visitors will be kicking themselves for missing the opportunity to get a foothold in this tie during the first leg - so it will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure of this clash having played just one competitive game since the turn of the year.

This promises to be another tight encounter, with both sides desperate not to concede first - and I'm backing the home side to come out on top.

Bet 1: Fenerbahce (HOME) @ 1.66

We're following one of our own all the way to the Ukraine for our next tip today, as Newcastle United make the journey to Metalist Kharkiv in another finely-balanced European tie.

The Magpies were left wondering how they hadn't scored in the first leg, with Cissé missing a host of chances, and two goals ruled out for offside - and Alan Pardew will be keen for his side to make the most of their attacking quality here.

Newcastle are outsiders for the win here, and much of that is probably down to their underwhelming Premier League campaign, but the Europa League looks to be providing some respite for the north east side, and they will be desperate for an early away goal to steady the nerves tonight.

Just one loss from their last four outings suggests that Newcastle may have turned a corner of late, and no game last weekend means that they have enjoyed a full week to prepare for this tie.

Hatem Ben Arfa is expected to miss out on this clash with a hamstring injury, but the visitors have had plenty of time to experiment with replacements, and Moussa Sissoko is expected to drop in to the side.

The hosts line up for this one without a win in their last two games, and like BATE Borisov, they are out of season, and have played competitively just once since the beginning of December.

Myron Markevych's side cruised through their qualifying group, but with all due respect, the likes of Rapid Vienna and Rosenborg were no great shakes, and Newcastle will be rightly eyeing a place in the next round here.

And just two clean sheets from their last five European games suggests that Newcastle stand a decent chance of weighing in with an away goal here.

There's no doubt that Metalist are strong on their own patch, but they are short of competitive games - and I think that the visitors are cracking value to pull off a shock in the Ukraine this evening.

Bet 2: Newcastle United (AWAY) @ 4.2