Skip to main content

Dnipro v Club Brugge: Visitors can repeat heroics of Istanbul

By
Thursday April 23, 20:05
Live on ESPN
This quarter-final tie is on a knife-edge after a goalless draw in Belgium last week. Club Brugge boss Michel Preud'homme (one of my favourite keepers when I was a kid) has described the second leg as a game of poker, and the fact the Belgian league leaders will see their goals count double could prove to be a winning hand.
Club Brugge have set a new record by going 11 Europa League games unbeaten from the start of the competition, and they have won six of their seven away games in the tournament, including a stunning 3-1 comeback victory at Besiktas in the previous round. The Blauw-Zwart are also on a high after a battling 2-1 home win over fierce rivals Anderlecht at the weekend.
Dnipro have won their last three Europa League home games, including knockout successes against Olympiakos and Ajax, so they certainly won't have any fear of facing Club Brugge. However, it's worth noting they also lost at home to both Inter and Qarabag in the group stage, and they have suffered four defeats over the course of the tournament.
Dnipro's biggest attacking weapon will once again be Ukraine international Yevhen Konoplyanka, who had five goal attempts in the first leg, but the hosts will be without suspended midfielder Valeriy Fedorchuk. Brugge will welcome back right-back Thomas Meunier from suspension, although he isn't fully fit. Preudhomme has a choice to make in attack between youngster Mamadou Oulare and the more streetwise Tom De Sutter.
This will be tight, and I like the look of backing the draw at HT at 2.14. Neither team will want to take too many risks early on with so much at stake, and both Preud'homme and his opposite number Myron Markevych have been extolling the virtues of patience and composure.
It's a close one, but I'm leaning towards backing Brugge to qualify. Dnipro's home record is impressive but not stellar, with a couple of defeats blotting the copybook. Brugge have a long unbeaten record in the books, and they were hugely impressive in Istanbul in the previous round. They won't go missing when the going gets tough, and if they weren't intimidated in Turkey, they shouldn't falter in Ukraine.

Recommended Bets

Back the draw in the Half Time market at 2.14
Back Club Brugge to qualify at 2.10

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Goals in Confederations Cup : Spain vs Uruguay 2-1

By
Post a Comment
Read more

Tottenham’s Dele Alli eyes Premier League debut at Manchester United

By
It was quite the opening statement. Dele Alli, 24 minutes into his first start in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt, suckered in Luka Modric of Real Madrid, nutmegged him and accelerated away. The 70,000 sell-out crowd at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena roared at the 19-year-old’s sheer impudence. "We had a laugh about it in the tunnel afterwards; he was very good about it,” Alli said. "He shook my hand and said to me: ‘You little bugger’ – or something like that. I didn’t shout ‘nuts’ when I did it. I used to do that when I was young and get told off for it." As Alli spoke at the Allianz after Tuesday’s 2-0 Audi Cup victory, some of Real’s galácticos filed past. This time last year the midfielder was preparing for MK Dons’ League One season opener against Gillingham. His previous competitive game was for MK against Yeovil in May. Alli says “unreal” and “surreal” on a number of occasions and it is little wonder. This is a young player of conviction. If the nutmeg on one of...
Read more

Biggest ever UEFA international qualifying scorelines in history

By
In light of UEFA footballing minnows Andorra, Gibraltar, Malta and San Marino all taking on much higher-ranked opponents Portugal, Belgium, England and Northern Ireland respectively this international break, that got Coral writers thinking. Goals galore are expected in each of those fixtures, so we find out some of the biggest scorelines in the history of World Cup and Euro qualifying from European nations. England 8-0 Turkey (1987) We start off with England and, although their 8-0 win is not the biggest scoreline on the list, it was against one of the most high profile – Turkey. Ahead of Euro 1988, the Three Lions battered the Turkish outfit, thanks to a hat-trick from Gary Lineker and a brace from John Barnes, while Bryan Robson, Peter Beardsley and Neil Webb also chipped in. Spain 8-0 Liechtenstein (2016) Most recently, Spain hammered tiny territory Liechtenstein 8-0 too this current World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign, thanks to braces from Diego Costa, David S...
Read more