Europa League Predictions – 11 April
Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle all carry hopes of making the last four of the Europa League tonight, as the quarter finals reach their conclusion.
Today’s Europa League predictions come from St James Park, as Newcastle host Benfica.
Europa League Predictions
Newcastle (3.00) v Benfica (2.50); Draw (3.40)
Benfica’s 3-1 win over Newcastle at the Estadio da Luz last week left the Aguias on the brink of qualification, as the Portuguese side continued to impress on the continent.
Benfica have won each of their last five matches in the Europa League and Jorge Jesus’ largely impressive side are a strong bet to lift the Europa League crown at odds of 3.50 on the football betting markets.
Jesus has no new injury concerns going into the match, so Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo are likely to be the strike-force that Jesus names, with Brazilian Lima missing out.
Benfica go into Thursday night’s game in supreme confidence having won their last eight matches in all competitions and the Portuguese giants will be looking to secure another victory at St James Park tonight.
Hosts Newcastle have not lost any of their last 22 games at home in European competition, but the Magpies have to deal with a host of personnel problems going into the match.
Mathieu Debuchy and Yoann Gouffran are both ineligible for Newcastle in this competition, whilst Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon and Cheik Tiote are all out.
Hatem Ben Arfa could be a surprise addition on the bench, but the French midfielder’s last appearance only came against Anzhi Mackhachkala in the last round of the Europa League, following a three-month injury lay-off.
Newcastle have lost three of their last six games in all competitions and Alan Pardew’s decision to start the match in a patient manner could see the Draw/Benfica bet at 5.00 on the HT/FT market bank.
Papiss Cisse will again carry the Magpies main threat after grabbing the consolation goal at the Estadio da Luz last week and the Senegal international’s record of four goals in his last four appearances at St James Park gives Newcastle at least some hope of cancelling out their deficit.
Benfica have lost only three of their 43 games this season and the Aguias will be looking to hit their injury-hit opponents on the break and qualify for the last four of the competition.
Recommended Bets
Both Teams to Score (Newcastle v Benfica) @1.80
Author Credit: Jonathan Day
Image Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEzequiel_Garay_on_Benfica.jpg
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