UEFA Europa League

Europa League Matchday 5 Predictions

3 weeks ago

| BY Sam McLoughlin

The UEFA Europa League is back for the 55th season of Europe’s secondary club football tournament, with thirty-six teams from across Europe battling it out with a dream of reaching the final in Istanbul.

@Footy_Tipster gives his best predictions ahead of this round of fixtures in the UEFA Europa League..

The UEFA Europa League returns this week with clubs from across Europe looking to fulfil their European dreams with the journey to Istanbul continuing here for two sides.

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This week, we turn our focus on sides from England and Scotland in the UEFA Europa League, starting at Villa Park where Aston Villa will face Swiss side Young Boys, whilst Celtic will make the trip to face Feyenoord with both games kicking off at 5.45pm.

Later on Thursday evening, Nottingham Forest will welcome Swedish side Malmo to the City Ground and Rangers will return to Ibrox to face Braga in an intriguing clash.

Now, let’s take a closer look at some Europa League odds and betting angles for Matchday five fixtures:

Aston Villa v Young Boys – Thursday, 5.45pm

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Aston Villa have well and truly made up for that awful start to the campaign having now lost just two of their last eleven games in all competitions (W9), whilst they’ve won fourteen of their last sixteen home games.
Aston Villa have won thirteen of their last fifteen European home games under Unai Emery (D1, L1), whilst they’ve seen just one of their last five games produce both teams to score.
These two sides have met just once before which occurred back in September 2024, a game in which Aston Villa won 3-0, more of the same here could see the Villans top the league after five games, depending on results elsewhere.
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Young Boys head to Villa Park in 22nd but only two points from the elimination zone having picked up six points from a possible twelve thus far.
It’s been an up-and-down kind of season so far for Young Boys but they travel to England off the back of two wins in their domestic campaign, scoring nine goals in the process.
This is a tough ask for the Swiss side given they’ve won just two of their last thirteen meetings against English clubs, whilst they are winless in their last six trips to England. (D2, L4), i’m back Unai Emery’s Aston Villa to get the job done.

Prediction: Aston Villa -1 Handicap, Aston Villa 3-0 Young Boys.

Feyenoord v Celtic – Thursday, 5.45pm

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Two sides that are in desperate need of three points in this competition go head-to-head on Thursday night, Feyenoord have won just one of their first four games in this Europa League campaign, sitting two points above the top twenty-four.
Having lost each of their last three games in all competitions, the pressure has started to mount on Robin van Persie and another defeat in this one would make it four defeats in a row for the first time since January 2016.
The good news for Feyenoord is that fact they’ve won five of their last seven European home games which include victories against both Bayern Munich and AC Milan last season, whilst none of their last eleven games have ended in a stalemate.
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Celtic left it late away at St Mirren on Saturday night but having eventually secured another three points, that’s now four wins in their five games so far under interim manager Martin O’Neill, who could be in charge for the final time in this one.
That sole defeat did come against Midtjylland in their last outing in this competition for the Bhoys, which extended their winless matches away from home in European competitions to sixteen games (D5, L11).
This is a repeat of the 1969/1970 European Cup final in which Feyenoord won and i think we’ll see another win for the Dutch side in this one, although we could also see both teams get themselves on the scoresheet.

Prediction: Both Teams To Score & Feyenoord To Win, Feyenoord 2-1 Celtic.

Nottingham Forest v Malmo – Thursday, 8pm

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Nottingham Forest picked up their first three points of the Premier League campaign under Sean Dyche before the international break and his side then upset the betting odds with a 3-0 victory away at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.
The Tricky Tree’s head into this matchday occupying twenty-third place in the Europa League having won just one of their four games so far, that win did come on home soil though against Porto as Sean Dyche will be hoping for more of the same.
Only three of Nottingham Forest’s last ten games have seen both teams find the back of the net, the Premier League side will be hoping to extend their domination to three games from four meetings on Thursday, one of which includes the 1979 European Cup final.
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With the Swedish Allsvenskan already concluding, this is the only competition that Malmo have to focus on now for the next couple of months, whilst it remains their only chance of securing European football for next season.
Malmo head to the City Ground as one of just five sides yet to win a game in their four Europa League outings so far, so it’s no surprise to see them as the underdogs in this one.
The Swedish side have conceded at least two goals in five of their last six UEFA Europa League ‘proper’ away games, whilst they’ve attempted the fewest shots in the competition, so this one should be straight forward for Nottingham Forest.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest To Win To Nil, Nottingham Forest 2-0 Malmo.

Rangers v Braga – Thursday, 8pm

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Rangers enter Matchday five of this UEFA Europa League campaign sat at the bottom of the league having failed to pick up a single point thus far which is very unusual, Danny Rohl is the man in charge now and will be hoping to get off the mark here in Europe.
The German has secured back-to-back wins for Rangers for just the second time this season but there some signs of improvement from the Gers, although time is running out in this competition and games are now becoming must-wins.
Rangers will be concerned going into this fixture as they’ve lost three European home games in a row, whilst they’ve never lost four in succession. The Scottish side have also won three of their last four meetings against Braga all in this competition, there’s still some hope.
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Braga travel to Glasgow having won six of their last eight matches in all competitions, whilst they occupy fifth place in the UEFA Europa League after three wins from their first four games, a strong start.
This is the second time already this season that Braga travel to Glasgow and after beating Celtic 2-0 back in October, they could become the first side to beat both Celtic and Rangers away from home in a single continental competition.
It’s always hard to write off Rangers on a European night under the lights at Ibrox but i’m going to back the Portuguese side to just edge this one, with both teams on the score sheet.

Prediction: Both Teams To Score & Braga To Win, Rangers 1-2 Braga.

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