Europa League Tips: Immobile on the move

Lazio's star striker can shine

Midtjylland v Lazio
Thursday 15 September, 17:45
Live on BT Sport Extra

There are signs that "Sarriball", the attractive method of attack-minded football favoured by former Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri, is starting to flourish in the Italian capital with Lazio. Sarri is in his second season with the club, and they are making progress at home and abroad.

The collection of 11 points from the first six Serie A fixtures isn't too bad when you consider Lazio have had to face Inter and Napoli already, and they swept Inter aside in an excellent 3-1 win. Last week's entertaining 4-2 victory over Feyenoord was another step in the right direction, and the Roman club has found the net at least once in all but one of their competitive fixtures.

When Lazio are scoring goals, it naturally follows that Ciro Immobile will be on the scoresheet. The Italian international has been a goal machine for the Biancocelesti since joining them in 2016, so much so that he is now the club's record scorer. Immobile has scored three goals in six Serie A games this term.

Danish side Midtjylland made a losing start to the group stage, as they went down 1-0 in Austria against Sturm Graz, and they are struggling in Europe. They were thrashed 7-2 on aggregate by Benfica in the Champions League qualifiers, and they have leaked 20 goals across their last ten competitive games.

I'll happily back Immobile to score here at evens on the Sportsbook.

Roma can enjoy La Joya

Roma v HJK Helsinki
Thursday 15 September, 20:00
Live on BT Sport 4

Roma made a surprisingly poor start to their Europa League campaign last week, as they suffered a sloppy 2-1 defeat away to Bulgarian champions Ludogorets. That has eroded the margin for error for Jose Mourinho's men, so we should expect them to take this game against Finnish side HJK Helsinki seriously.

The Giallorossi got back on track with a 2-1 win at Empoli on Monday, as Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham found the net. Dybala, a free agent signing from Juventus, is looking sharp and happy. The Argentinean has already scored three Serie A goals and set two up, and in a game Roma really do need a win from, it'd be a surprise to see him benched here, even with a clash against high-flying Atalanta on the horizon.

You can back Dybala to score here at 1.9210/11, and given that HJK lost 2-0 to Betis last week and leaked five goals in their Champions League defeat at Viktoria Plzen, I think that's an attractive price.

Monaco to maintain momentum

Monaco v Ferencvaros
Thursday 15 September, 17:45
Live on BT Sport Digital

It's already been a topsy-turvy season for Monaco and their coach Philippe Clement. ASM finished last season like a TGV, storming into the Champions League spots, but at the start of this campaign they were edged out by PSV in the UCL qualifiers, and they have lacked consistency in Ligue 1.
However, the Monegasques have managed back-to-back wins against high-profile opponents Nice and Lyon in their last two Ligue 1 matches, and they are rightful favourites against Hungarian side Ferencvaros. FTC started their group stage with a shock 3-2 win over Trabzonspor, a result made all the remarkable by the fact they had defender Eldar Civic sent off in only the 16th minute.

However, Ferencvaros are really poor travellers at this level. Last term they lost all three of their away games in the group stage, and they were held to a 1-1 draw by Qarabag in the UCL qualifiers, before losing the home leg 3-1.

Both teams have scored in all five of Monaco's home matches in all competitions this term, so I'll back Monaco to win and BTTS at 3.185/40 on the Sportsbook.

There'll be heat in the Arctic

Bodo Glimt v Zurich
Thursday September 15, 20:00
Live on BT Sport Digital

Although Bodo Glimt have stunned Norwegian football by winning back-to-back titles, it seems their reign is coming to an end. The team from the edge of the Arctic Circle is 13 points behind title rivals Molde, who recently thrashed them 4-1 on their own patch. However, the European adventure for Kjetil Knutsen's enterprising side is still going strong.

Bodo Glimt started the group stage with a 1-1 draw at PSV, and they have scored plenty of goals in their European games. They put eight past Linfield in the Champions League qualifiers, and although they ultimately lost to Dinamo Zagreb, they did score home and away in that tie.

Zurich played better than expected against Arsenal last week in a 2-1 defeat, but they are still nowhere near the side that won a shock Swiss Super League title last term. They lost 3-2 at Servette at the weekend, and have now conceded at least twice in each of their last four matches.

Bodo Glimt lost 3-2 at Tromso at the weekend, and neither team is exactly racking up the clean sheets. Both will see it as an opportunity to grab a win in a tough group, and I like the look of backing Over 3.5 Goals at 2.427/5.