Arsenal were the first team to reach the Europa League final on the 29th of this month after another dazzling attacking display and their two star strikers Lacazette and Aubemeyang have definitely been doing the business in this competition and they scored all four goals tonight, beating Valencia 4-2 on their own patch and 7-3 on aggregate with Aubemeyang bagging the game ball with a classy hattrick. At the time of writing Chelsea’s second leg, home game had headed in to extra time as the 90 minutes ended 1-1 and the tie 2-2 on aggregate and hopefully by the time you are reading this article Chelsea will be facing Arsenal in another all English final
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After an unbelievable and spectacular week of top-flight Champions League and Europa League action that witnessed Liverpool and Spurs overcoming seemingly unsurmountable odds when they both came back from 3-0 down to both qualify for the Champions League Final at the expense of hot favourites Barcelona and Ajax 4-3 on aggregate, it’s back to the domestic football scene again and the high stakes and prssure continues over the next week with the EFL play-offs.
The 2018/2019 Premier League season comes to an end on Sunday at 3pm and the small matter of who is going to win the title will be decided between Manchester City and Liverpool and with only one point separating them Manchester City just need to beat Brighton at the Amex stadium and they will be crowned champions again.
There’s also the small matter of the EFL play-offs taking place over the next week and the action kicked off last night with the first leg League Two first leg play-off between Notts County and Mansfield at the Newport Stadium and Mansfield failed to capitalize on taking an early lead and Notts Country took advantage and equalized in the second half to leave the tie finally balanced.The other play-off between Tranmere and Forest Green is played tomorrow night at Prenton Park. The second leg play-offs are played on the nights of Sunday 12th and Monday 13th.
The League One first leg play-offs kick off on Sunday night when former Premier League teams Sunderland and Portsmouth are in action at the Stadium Light and the other play-off kicks-off Sunday lunchtime between Doncaster and Charlton at the Keepmoat Stadium. The return legs take place next Thursday and Friday night.
The EFL Championship play-offs which are by far the highest profile because of the prize at stake get underway on Saturday lunchtime and the first leg mmatch should be a classic as it’s a West Midlands derby between two former Premier League teams Aston Villa and West Brom at Villa Park. The other play-off is also on Saturday at teatime between Derby County and Leeds at Pride Park. The return leg play-offs take place next Tuesday and Wednesday night.
From a betting perspective from there’s a couple of matches I think are worth betting on and the first is the Champioship first leg play-off between Derby and Leeds at Pride Park tomorrow and I think there’ll be goals so backing BTTS & Over 2.5 Goals (Price tbc) is worth considering and/or if you’re searching for a higher return you can consider Leeds striker Harry Wilson To be Carded (3/1) as he’s already picked up nine yellows this season and will no doubt go close to picking up another in a high pressure game like this.
The other bet I like is Mansfield to beat Tranmere at Fieldmill on Sunday as they’ve won eight of the last ten corresponding meetings in all competitions and/or if you’e looking for a higher return you can consider backing Mansfiled Win & Over 2.5 Goals (Price tbc) as this result occurred in seven of the last ten corresponding encounters.
Selections:
None.
