[Mario]

UEFA Europa League
12/12/2014

Legia Warszawa vs Trabzonspur

Home - Legia Warszawa
Last away matches - W-L-W-L-W-W

Legia Warsaw need 1 point to finish the group L on first place. Bad news is that after recent Europa League match against Lokeren, club have been punished by UEFA due to misbehavior from their fans. Legia got 100k euro fine, but the worst news is that Pepsi Arena will be closed for two next home matches in Europe. So, hosts will have to play without support from the fans not only against Tranbzonspor, but also in the home game in round of 32. “Everyone would prefer to play with full hosue, but we cannot do anything with it. As a club, we must avoid similar situations in the future. Tomorrow we need to do as much as possible to play well. If we lose then we won’t be making any excuses,” said coach Henning Berg. He also spoke about their nearest rivals: “It was a balanced group. Trabzonspor have a new coach and their results are good, recently they defeated Galatasaray. They lost just 1 game with new coach, against leaders, Besiktas. It’s a very good team with great players such as Cardozo, Constant, Erdogan or Yilmaz. We are gaining experience which should help us in the future.

Away - Trabzonspur
Last away matches - L-D-W-D-D-L

Trabzonspor had a tough beginning to this season, as a result coach Vahid Halihodzic has been sacked. He’s been replaced by Ersun Yanal, who is an experienced coach (he worked with the Turkish national team in the past). Yanal did a very good job with the team and Trabzonspor are much stronger under his management. Not only the results have greatly improved, but they also play much more attractive football. Halihodzic preferred defensive football, whereas Yanal decided to play very attacking football. He uses offensive 4-3-3 formation, with Cardozo, Yatabare and Majeed up front. A couple of important players, like Cardozo or Ekici, are in very good form now.

Asian Handicap
Home - (-0.50)
Away - (+0.50)
Pick - Legia Warszawa (-0.50)
Odds - 2.13
Stakes - 10/10
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UEFA Europa League
12/12/2014

Besiktas vs Tottenham Hotspur

Home - Besiktas
Last away matches - W-W-D-W-L-W

Besiktas are doing very well this season, both in domestic and European competitions. Team is on top of Turkish Super Liga, whereas they are now second in group C of Europa League (already sure of going further). Besiktas will come on top of group C in case of victory in the last game, against Tottenham. “We will do everything in order to win the game. There is a good team spirit. We are gradually achieving our aims. Team is focused on the game, we need to approach this match cautiously, it’s the best way. Our aim is to come on top of this group,” said coach Slaven Bilic. He doesn’t like the fact that his team will have to play league game on Sunday: “I don’t get why we cannot play on Monday, just like Trabzonspor do. This situation repeats again. There must be ups and downs. We are playing with the same players for a long time. Our aim is to keep the same level in every game.”

Away - Tottenham Hotspur
Last away matches - L-W-W-W-L-D

Tottenham are struggling in the English Premier League (now 10th place) and that’s their biggest problem. Recently they only get 1 point from home goalless draw against Crystal Palace. “I’m disappointed and frustrated but at the end I think the result is fair. We always want to get the three points. This was a good chance for us to get three points but it was difficult,” said coach Mauricio Pochettino. Just like Bilic, Pochettino is also unhappy with the calendar: “We’ve played four games in nine games, had one day less to prepare after Chelsea. This is the schedule and we have to accept it but it’s reality”. Now comes a tough game in Turkey. “I think it’s a good challenge for us to go to Besiktas and to play for first place. The Europa League is a very good competition, we play against good teams and you know it’s always going to be a tough game. We have the possibility to show what Tottenham are able to do, but we know we have to be solid. It’s always a pleasure to play in these games and we are looking forward to playing away to Besiktas,” said Benji Stambouli.

Asian Handicap
Home - (-0.25)
Away - (+0.25)
Pick - Tottenham Hotspur (+0.25)
Odds - 1.93
Stakes - 8/10
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UEFA Europa League
12/12/2014

Everton vs FC Krasnodar

Home - Everton
Last away matches - L-L-W-D-W-D

Everton are struggling in the English Premier League (they are on 12th place now), but in Europa League they have been performing much better and they are already sure of topping group H (whereas Krasnodar is already out). As a result, there will be many changes in the squad and many youngsters will get their chance. “It's a game that is a celebration. With one game to go we are top of the group and Krasnodar have no opportunity to go through. That allows us to experiment with the line-up without devaluing the competition. Joel Robles will play in goal and we're going to have Christian Atsu, Steven Pienaar, Arouna Kone, Bryan Oviedo, Conor McAleny, Antolin Alcaraz, Tyias Browning and Luke Garbutt playing because they have been working extremely well. And then we're going to have a couple of youngsters that are really, really exciting.

Away - FC Krasnodar
Last away matches - L-D-W-L-L-W

Krasnodar, unlike Everton, is doing well in their domestic league, but they are struggling in Europe. However, it should be noted that qualifying to the group stage of Europa League at the expense of Real Sociedad was a pretty good achievement

Asian Handicap
Home - (-0.75)
Away - (+0.75)
Pick - Everton (-0.75)
Odds - 2.06
Stakes - 9/10