Free football betting tips: Europa League action on Thursday October 22

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Rapid Vienna v Arsenal

  • 17:55 BST on BT Sport 2
  • Match odds:

Arsenal are fancied to progress far in this competition but their first game could become a struggle as they face a Rapid Vienna side who have started the season in positive fashion.

A 3-0 win over LASK, Tottenham's opponents on Thursday night, in their last outing moved them up to second in the Austrian Bundesliga as they look to challenge Red Bull Salzburg at the top. They have now secured ten points across their first four games and goals have been a regular feature.

Only the reigning champions Salzburg can boast more goals in their opening fixtures with 17 compared to Vienna's ten but this could be a high-scoring contest with neither having issues in front of goal. What could be problematic for Arsenal is that Rapid have scored seven goals in their two home league games so far.

One player who is worth backing at anytime goalscorer odds of 10/3 is Ercan Kara. The forward comes into the contest in fine form after scoring five goals in eight games across all competitions. He also netted 18 in 27 games last season.

The main focus may be on Taxiarchis Fountas for the hosts given his scoring record but the better value comes in backing Kara to strike. The best odds available on Fountas at the time of writing is 2/1 and both players have as good of a chance of scoring.

Arsenal are short odds, and while they are a strong side who may well win the competition, I wouldn't be rushing to back them at a price of just 4/7. Rapid have shown they can compete at home and have a decent run of results, if you ignore the slight blip across a couple of days in June.

The double chance price of 11/8 in their favour is the best outright option but with goals fancied, the best bet comes in backing Kara to strike at 10/3.

Score prediction: Rapid Vienna 2-2 Arsenal ()

Best bet:

Opta facts

  • This will be the first meeting between Rapid Vienna and Arsenal; Rapid Vienna won their last match against English opponents beating Aston Villa 3-2 at Villa Park in a Europa League qualifying match in 2010-11.
  • Arsenal’s last Austrian opponents were Austria Wien in the 1991-92 European Cup – they beat them 6-1 at home before losing 0-1 in Austria.
  • This is Rapid Vienna’s eighth Europa League campaign, reaching the knockout stages on two occasions previously – 2015-16 and 2018-19.
  • This is Arsenal’s fourth consecutive season in the Europa League, reaching the semi-final in 2017-18, the final in 2018-19 and the Last 32 in 2019-20.

Standard Liege v Rangers

  • 17:55 BST on BT Sport 3
  • Match odds:
)

Best bet:

Opta facts

  • These sides have met in Europe in one previous campaign, with Standard Liege eliminating Rangers in the European Cup quarter-finals in 1961-62.
  • Rangers’ last game in Belgium was a 1-1 draw with Club Brugge in the group stages of the 1992-93 Champions League.
  • Standard Liege have failed to successfully navigate the Europa League group stages with each of their last five attempts since reaching the Last 16 in 2011-12.
  • Rangers reached the Last 16 of the Europa League last season before Bayer Leverkusen eliminated them – it was the furthest they had gotten in the competition since 2010-11 (also Last 16).
  • Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has scored eight goals in 14 games for the club in the Europa League, although he has failed to score in his last three.

Leicester v Zorya

  • 20:00 BST on BT Sport ESPN
  • Match odds:
)

Best bet:

Opta facts

  • This will be the first competitive meeting between Leicester and Zorya Luhansk.
  • Leicester will be facing Ukrainian opposition for the first time in Europe, whilst no English team has ever lost to a side from Ukraine on home soil (P32 W25 D7).
  • Leicester will become just the second English side Zorya Luhansk have faced in European competition having lost home (0-2) and away (0-1) to Manchester United during the 2016-17 Europa League group stages.
  • Leicester remain winless in the UEFA Cup/Europa League (P4 D1 L3), though this is their first appearance in the competition since 2000-01 – the Foxes are one of 77 sides to have played 4+ games in the competition without ever winning.

Tottenham v LASK

  • 20:00 BST on BT Sport 2
  • Match odds:
)

Best bet:

Opta facts

  • This will be Spurs’ very first match against LASK; they have faced Austrian opposition on four previous occasions, beating SV Stockerau twice and FK Austria Wien once (D1).
  • Spurs were eliminated by KAA Gent at the Last 32 stage in their most recent Europa League participation (2016-17). They have successfully navigated the group stages with each of their last four attempts since failing in 2011-12.
  • LASK’s only previous meeting with English opposition was a 7-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Man Utd in the Last 16 of this competition last season.
  • LASK finished top of a group containing Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven and Rosenborg last season, earning 13 points.
  • Spurs striker Harry Kane has scored 28 goals in 50 appearances in major European competition, though he has failed to score in his last four matches in the Europa League.

Odds correct on 1145 BST (20/10/20)

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