UEFA Europa League Player Props
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
Last week, we had the return of the UEFA Champions League, which came back with a bang, delivering some highly entertaining games. It’s now time to see if the UEFA Europa League can return in such style, with a total of 18 fixtures taking place across Wednesday and Thursday.
Now to quench our player-prop thirst with four bets ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday’s Europa League action:
Sturm Graz vs Rennes: Esteban Lepaul to Score (+145)
As Rennes make the relatively short journey from France to Austria, where they’ll take on Sturm Graz, a bet on ‘Esteban Lepaul to Score’ catches the eye at odds of +145 (FanDuel).
A key player for the visitors, Lepaul has made a fine start to the new season, scoring three times in four Ligue 1 appearances, producing an early-season average of 0.78 goals per 90 minutes. As the season develops, such an average will likely come down, but regardless, the early signs are very positive.
Not only has the French forward scored regular goals at the start of this term, but he’s looked very hungry, which is never a bad thing, getting himself into an awful lot of dangerous positions, shooting as much as possible. Ahead of this game, Lepaul averages 4.17 shots per 90 minutes, as well as 2.09 shots on target.
Clearly, we’re talking about a confident and in-form player, who has now scored 23 goals in his last 36 Ligue 1 appearances. Such a stat makes him look a little generously priced to notch against a Sturm Graz team that has struggled to keep teams out of late.
Anderlecht vs Lyon: Danylo Sikan to Score (+240)
Moving on Anderlecht vs Lyon, ahead of which Danylo Sikan appeals as a viable scorer bet all the time odds of +240 are on offer.
Sikan hasn’t exactly scored for fun at the start of the Belgian Pro League campaign, scoring only one goal, but he’s been playing like a man who is ready to up his output this term. The Ukrainian forward comes into this game having fired off no less than 18 shots in five appearances, shooting twice as many times as any other Anderlecht player. He wants goals, that’s clear to see.
In UCL qualifying, we saw Lyon crumble at the back when playing both Fenerbahce and Sparta Prague on the road, so let’s not be shocked if the hosts do some damage here, and I’m betting that at the front of the scoring queue will be Mr Sikan.
Besiktas vs Marseille: Amine Gouiri to Score (+275)
Besiktas and Marseille will go at it in Istanbul on Thursday, when Amine Gouiri will be looking to cause the hosts a few problems.
We’ve seen a few forwards make fast starts in Ligue 1 this season, but few have looked as deadly as the Algerian, who has notched four in four, which leaves him sitting as the joint-top scorer in the division.
Averaging 0.66 expected goals per 90 minutes, Gouiri is clearly making light work of getting himself into dangerous positions, and with his team likely to threaten on the break against a forward-pushing Besiktas side, the in-form forward will surely fancy himself to once again get into the thick of it. Given his early-season performances, odds of +275 look too big to ignore.
Plzen vs Union SG: Prince Adu to Score (+275)
Last but not least, it’s worth opting for Plzen’s Prince Adu to find the net at home to a Union SG team that loves being involved in open, high-scoring encounters.
Like Sikan above, Adu hasn’t made the most blistering start to the season in terms of goals scored, averaging a modest 0.28 goals per 90 minutes, but over the last couple of seasons, he’s had a tendency to turn up in big continental games for Plzen, while he’s another who is looking very hungry, shooting with the sort of regularity that suggests that the goals will soon start to flow.
Right now, the Ghanaian is Plzen’s best player in terms of shots taken per 90 minutes, averaging a whopping 4.97 shots per 90 minutes, not to mention 1.66 shots on target. Such numbers are more than good enough for me to support him to find the net at odds of +275.
