Europa League Preview: Two tales of form for the two English sides

It’s the final round of fixtures of the group stages of the Europa League and both English sides have a chance to progress through to the knockout stages, but one club is in a lot better form than the other, and one will find this an uphill battle,

Check out our preview below.

Napoli v Leicester City

After a brilliant start to the season, going unbeaten in their first 12 Serie A matches, Napoli have had a knock in form of late and have won just one of their last four. They have slipped down to third in the league and are two points behind leaders AC Milan.

As far as the Europa League is concerned, they have been inconsistent so far losing twice to Spartak Moscow while also convincingly beating Legia Warsaw twice, and a 2-2 draw against Leicester also in there. It would be considered a disappointment should Luciano Spalletti’s side not progress out of this group.

As far as Leicester are concerned, their season seems to be going from bad to worse. Their most recent result, a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa has put them in the bottom half of the Premier League and eight points off the Champions League places. They do however at least hold their Europa League destiny in their own hands as a win for Brendan Rodgers’ side will be enough to secure top spot and see them progress into the round of 16, avoiding a play off with a third placed Champions League team.

Group C is clearly the most competitive group this season and just two points separates the four sides. Napoli are just one point behind Leicester and sit in third, they too can guarantee passage to the next stage with a victory. The Italians do have home advantage and at Evens they are the favourites against Leicester’s 12/5 price, while a draw is 27/10.

West Ham v Dinamo Zagreb

West Ham will look to wrap up the group stage of the Europa League in style on Thursday when they host Dinamo Zagreb where they have the chance to finish undefeated.

The Hammers have already secured qualification to the next round, while a defeat for the visitors will seem them knocked out of the competition. West Ham have relished playing in Europe this season, having gone undefeated from their first five games which has seen them wrap up qualification in the process. The Hammers have only dropped points once in the competition away at Genk when they shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw. David Moyes’ side have been in fine flavour this season both in Europe and the Premier League, most recently when defeating Chelsea in their last outing.

On the other hand, Dinamo Zagreb have only won once in their last six fixtures across all competitions, which will make this match a lot harder with such a poor run of form in the build-up. Zejiko Kopic’s have lost consecutive games as they prepare for this crucial European fixture, and while they currently sit second in Group H, they still need results to go their way. If Genk are able to secure victory then Dinamo will need at least a draw to hold on to their place.

These two sides last met on Matchday one of the Europa League where the Hammers were able to secure a comfortable 2-0 victory with goals from Michali Antonio and Declan Rice. Therefore, all things considered, you would have to suspect that Dinamo Zagreb will be up against it when they visit the capital. For that reason, West Ham look a generous price at a shade of odds on at 19/20 while Dinamo can be backed for a surprise victory at 11/4.

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