Odds Boosts and Betting Tips on Arsenal v Napoli, Benfica v Frankfurt & Villareal vs Valencia

With The Champions League first legs complete attention now moves to the Europa League. We are boosting odds on 2 of the home teams to take an early advantage in these ties with a draw in the remaining game looking like a good bet.

Arsenal v Napoli

Having lost to Everton at the weekend, Arsenal perhaps need to ensure that they keep as many options as possible open in order to qualify for next seasons Champions League and as such a victory in the Europa League, beyond being a timely trophy for Unai Emery, would also see a return to that elite competition. Napoli on the other hand are almost certain to finish 2nd in Serie A with Juventus all but mathematical winners in Italy. They sit 7 points clear of Inter Milan in 3rd but a couple of poor results in their last 2 matches has seen that lead erode a little. That being said you would have thought that Napoli will be putting all their efforts and resources into winning their first European trophy for 30 years and trying to emulate a side that included Argentine legend Diego Maradona.

Arsenal’s performances at home this year in all competitions have been very good with the Gunners generally starting quickly and scoring goals for fun at the Emirates. However, a side with Napoli’s class and experience is likely to pose a stern test for the Gunners who will need to improve on their lacklustre performance at Everton in order to take the kind of lead necessary to defend away from home in the 2nd leg. The Gunner’s chances of doing that would be boosted if captain Lauren Koscielny passes a late fitness test but in terms of attack, the home side look likely to be at full strength with Aubameyang and Lacazette reunited upfront with the former left out of the starting 11 at the weekend.

With the Gunners strong home form and Napoli's recent wobble in Serie A, I can see Arsenal getting a win in this leg but whether or not it will be enough for them to defend in Naples remains to be seen.

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Benfica v Eintracht Frankfurt

Benfica have overcome a bit of a rocky patch earlier in the spring and had to hold off a spirited display from Dinamo Zagreb in the last round eventually going through after extra time. In general they have struggled to score goals at home in Europe this season but where they have excelled is at the back as is demonstrated by the fact that they haven’t conceded a goal in home Europa league matches this season, limiting the opposition to just 4 attempts in that time.

Free scoring Eintracht Frankfurt will certainly test that defensive resolve although it is arguable that they will also leave a little bit more room for Benfica to play in themselves and while the home side may have been struggling for fluency in Europe they have been banging them away in the Portuguese League. Die Adler are one of the form teams in Europe at the moment having won 8 of their last 9 fixtures in all competitions, a run that has them on course for Champions League football next year. They also overcame more prestigious opposition in the last round by eliminating Inter Milan.

I can see this being a tight encounter with Benfica edging it by a single goal.

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Villareal v Valencia

Neither side is in particularly great form going into this match with both teams losing in La Liga at the weekend. For hosts Villareal that defeat against Betis means that the Yellow Submarine have failed to win any of their last 3 matches, a run that has seen them slip into the relegation zone. However, as with much of their season to date it has been a case of fine margins and questions of what could have been over the last couple of weeks. They have recently contrived to allow a late Celta winner, for Barcelona to score 2 late goals to salvage a 4-4 draw and then miss a late penalty to get a point themselves against Betis. The general performances are there but the ability to secure the results are not.

Their opponents Valencia have recovered from a poor start to the season to go on a 17 match unbeaten run that was only ended at the weekend by Rayo Vallecano who beat them 2-0. These 2 teams met earlier here in La Liga back in August and contrived to draw 0-0. Between the pair of them they have drawn 28 of the 62 domestic league games that they have played this season. As such the boosted odds on this match ending in yet another stalemate look pretty appealing.

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