Thursday's Europa League Tips: Back 6/1 Villa special and rare win for Rangers | OneFootball

UEFA Europa League

Thursday's Europa League tips include 6/1 Villa special and rare win for Rangers

Paul Higham has a 6/1 special for Aston Villa's trip to Turkey and is backing Forest to win in Portugal and Rangers to grab a rare win...

Bologna v Celtic

17:45 kick-offLive on TNT Sports 2 & Discovery+

Three wins and two draws in Bologna's last five has put them in 13th in the table and made them 4/9 favourites against Celtic. They've only won once at home though after draws against Brann and Freiburg.

So some hope for Celtic then, who have won three on the spin without conceding since the return of Martin O'Neill - who was in charge for their impressive Europa League win at Feyenoord. The Bhoys are still 11/2 outsiders though so three points might be beyond them, but with Bologna going through a sticky patch at home I fancy the Hoops can pinch a point.

Fenerbahce v Aston Villa

17:45 kick-offLive on TNT Sports 1 & Discovery+

This is a tough one for Aston Villa with Fenerbahce unbeaten at home in the Europa League so far and having lost just one in 21 at home in all competitions, winning seven of the past eight.

Unai Emery's side are level on points at the top of the standings, but only three points from the play-off spots below - which is the last thing he needs - so he should go full throttle. Still, I fancy the hosts are good enough to get a point - and with the most yellow cards (26) in the competition so far we'll back them here in a nice double.

Feyenoord v Sturm Graz

17:45 kick-offLive on Discovery+

Feyenoord are big 4/11 favourites despite 6/1 underdogs Sturn Graz sitting one place and one point above them in the table. They're both in rotten form in Europe and domestically so I don't think the visitors are without a chance here, but it's hard to trust either of them enough to back them.

The score draw comes in at 9/2 and is worth a look as Feyenoord have had two in the past three games, but I'd rather just looks at goals here in case the hosts finally find some form. There's been 47 goals in the Dutch side's last 10 outings.

Roma v Stuttgart

20:00 kick-offLive on Discovery+ & TNT Sports 3

Another good game this one - they've both won the last three in the Europa League and sit locked together on 12 points. They'd both rather this fixture was reversed as Roma have won three out of three on the road and Stuttgart are 100% at home, so it's a tough one to untangle.

Stuttgart have scored four goals in three of their past five away games so they'll be tough to handle, but despite losing twice already at Stadio Olimpico in the group stage they look to have turned a corner on that front. Score draw for me.

Braga v Nottingham Forest

20:00 kick-offLive on Discovery+ & TNT Sports 1

Forest are unbeaten in the Europa League since Sean Dyche took charge with three wins a draw and just one goal conceded - but they're still two points behind Braga whose one defeat in the group came at home in a 4-3 epic against Genk.

Dyche's side haven't been at their best recently, but Braga haven't started the year in great touch either and a typical Forest performance of being solid and playing on the break should be too good for the Portuguese.

Celta Vigo v Lille

20:00 kick-offLive on Discovery+ & TNT Sports 4

Another well-matched fixture with these two having identical records and both just clinging on at the bottom end of the play-off spots, so this is crucial to their chances - a win for either should be enough.

Over 2.5 goals is 4/5 which isn't a bad price as it's landed in all six of Celta's games so far, and neither side would really want to settle for a draw here so we should see two teams going for the victory.

Rangers v Ludogorets

20:00 kick-offLive on Discovery+ & TNT Sports 2

Rangers have strung six straight wins together domestically so will hope to finally get a first win of their Europa League campaign - but Ludogorets are unbeaten in eight in all competitions and bring a significant goal threat with them to Ibrox.

They've scored 11 themselves and their matches have contained the most in the competition (25) but they haven't played a competitive match in over a month so this looks a decent chance for Rangers to ride the wave of their current run and grab a much-needed win.

Salzburg v Basel

20:00 kick-offLive on TNT Sports Extra & Discovery+

Salzburg have lost five of six in the competition so far, but they're slight favourites over a Basel side who have lost three of the past four to sit a point outside the play-off places.

The Red Bulls have scored at least twice in their last eight games at home while six of Basel's last seven have seen both teams score so there's an attacking threat from both and both really need a win - so expect something of a shootout here.

Now read the rest of our football match previews & best bets from our experts

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