Home and Away: Fenerbahce to seal qualification on their own patch

14Mar 2013

Europa Liga

Jonno Turner looks to European action in his quest for more winners...

We're off to Turkey for our first pick of the day - as Fenerbahce host Plzen at the Sukru Sarakoglu Stadium, looking to build on a 1-0 lead from the first leg of this Europa League tie.

Aykut Kocaman's side were impressive in that fixture last week, and will be looking to nick another goal here in order to kill the hopes of their opponents as soon as possible.

Three wins from their last four will certainly have the hosts full of confidence, and 10 goals scored in that time suggests that they are well equipped to notch in front of their own fans here.

Fener have not lost in eight outings at home in this competition - and two clean sheets from their last three indicates that Plzen may struggle to secure the vital away goals they so crave in this clash.

The Czechs head into this clash having won just one of their last three, and two wins from five on the road in this trophy suggests that Pavel Vrba's side have an uphill struggle ahead.

Viktoria must attack their hosts in this game - and that should lead to an open game, with plenty of action at both ends.

But the Fenerbahce defence looked extremely disciplined in the first leg, soaking up everything their hosts threw at them, and I think that the outcome of this clash will be tight, too.

The Turks are likely to be without forward Wébo, who scored the all-important goal in the Czech Republic last week, but have more than enough attacking quality to cover - as a 4-1 thrashing of Bursaspor at the weekend showed.

Bet 1: Fenerbahce (HOME) @ 1.95

Staying in this competition for our second selection, as Benfica travel to Bordeaux with a 1-0 advantage.

The Portuguese side are on an incredible run which has seen them undefeated since October last year - and boss Jorge Jesus will be desperate for his charges to extend that form here.

A 1-0 win in the first leg of this tie was the visitors' fifth clean sheet from their last half a dozen games on their own patch, and their away form is similarly impressive, with four clean sheets from five on the road.

That will give the Eagles much confidence ahead of this clash, and a 5-0 thrashing of fellow Primeira Liga side Gil Vicente at the weekend underlined just how much quality they possess in the final third.

Rumour has it that Jesus could be missing Luisao and Garay from his backline, but the visitors have enough to cover those losses if so, and I think they are still a decent back to hold onto their advantage.

Bordeaux ended a four match losing streak with a 1-0 defeat of Bastia on Sunday - and Francois Gillot's side will be looking to end an inconsistent run which has seen them win just three of their last eight on their own patch, by recording back to back wins for the first time since November.

But Les Girondins have kept just three clean sheets from their last eight in this competition, and I think that could be telling as they welcome a potent Benfica side to France.

And Gillot will be without Diego Rolan, Julien Faubert, Evan Chevalier and Landry Nguemo, who all miss out on this clash.

Bet 2: Benfica (AWAY) @ 2.84