- The first legs of the Europa League semifinals are on this Thursday.
- West Ham hosts Eintracht Frankfurt.
- Meanwhile, RB Leipzig meets Glasgow Rangers in Germany.
The closing stages of the Europa League arrived. Four teams are left, and each one has the ambition to win the trophy. Some of them have international titles, while others, such as RB, didn’t lift continental trophies.
West Ham vs. Eintracht Frankfurt Preview and Prediction
Both sides aren’t shining in the last few weeks, as they have just one win in the past five games. Though, both were extremely valuable because they brought these respective units a place in the EL semis.
West Ham beat Lyon on the road 0-3, to reach this stage. It was arguably one of the best performances this year for the Hammers, who would lose two and play two draws in the remaining events. Moyes’ boys are playing tough football without too many goals. As proof, we will say that they have just one event with over 2.5 goals in the past five contests.
The same goes for Eintracht, who defeated Barcelona at Camp Nou in front of 30,000 spectators from Germany. It was a shocking turn of events, as nobody could foresee that outcome. The Eagles have problems in defense because they have only two clean sheets in the previous 10 games.
In our opinion, this should be a low-efficient game, because both teams don’t want to fall behind and have a deficit before the second 90 minutes. Also, they do use a bit more conservative tactics, meaning that goals are rarely seen once they play.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals
RB Leipzig vs. Glasgow Rangers Preview and Prediction
These two sides are coming into this event with high morale and big ambitions. They play solid football, know how to defend and attack, and, more importantly, the intensity of the action on the pitch is high.
The Bulls suffered their first loss following 17 consecutive events in which they haven’t felt the taste of defeat. It was against Union Berlin, the team whom they defeated two days earlier in the semis of the German Cup. They have problems in breaking the ultra-defensive units because RB has players who prefer counter-attacks and fast transition.
On the other side, the Rangers recently defeated Celtic in the finals of the Scottish Cup, and that brought them a much-needed boost of morale before the closing part of the campaign. They’ve won four in a row, seven in the past 10 events. The only aspect of the game which they should improve is defense, due to only two clean sheets in the previous ten games.
This, too, should be a game with one or two goals, preferably on one side. The Gers will defend, and they do that all the time on the road, while RB, as said earlier, has certain problems at home against such rivals. That is why we suggest betting on under 2.5 goals. Expect a very tough matchup, with lots of rough tackles and yellow cards.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals
