Our tipster sees Shels and Shamrock Rovers struggling in Thursday’s Conference League action.
The Conference League is back on the agenda on Thursday night with a full stack of games ready to roll!
There’s plenty of UK and Irish interest on the cards too, as Crystal Palace host AZ, with Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne in action against AEK Athens and KF Drita respectively.
Ahead of Thursday’s matches, tipster Andrew Cunneen has four value picks that add up to a cracking Acca!
THursday’s Acca tips
5:45pm: AEK Athens v Shamrock Rovers
AEK Athens (-2)
8pm: Crystal Palace v AZ
Double Chance: AZ or draw
8pm: Lincoln Red Imps v Rijeka
Rijeka to win
8pm: Shelbourne v KF Drita
Double Chance: Drita or draw
An acca with these bets pays at approximately 17/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
AEK Athens v Shamrock Rovers
WHEN: Thursday 6th of November, 17:45
WHERE: OPAP Arena, Athens.
TV: TNT Sports 4
AEK Athens (-2)
So, let’s discuss the timing of this.
Rovers will travel to Athens and not get home until Friday morning. They then have a day of recovery and a quick session on Saturday to prepare for a domestic cup final against Cork City on Sunday in front of around 40,000 people.
Nah, write this off.
They’ll treat it one of two ways – either turn up totally disinterested, or play half a team to give themselves the best chance to secure a league and cup double.
Either way, there’s no hope they’re going to be good enough to serve even a remote challenge to AEK. Particularly as Rovers are now entering the end of their season, and those legs are starting to rattle. Counteract this with the Greek Super League approaching its apex for fitness.
Crystal Palace v AZ
WHEN: Thursday 6th of November, 20:00
WHERE: Selhurst Park, London.
TV: TNT Sports 1
Double Chance: AZ or draw
It’d be easy to say Palace will win this convincingly given they’ve followed up their disappointing loss to Larnaca with running Arsenal close, hammering Liverpool and comfortably seeing off Brentford last weekend.
Yes they’re in better head space, but this is their fifth game in fourteen days. And while Oliver Glasner has managed to rotate relatively well, Lacroix, Munoz and Guehi have played every minute of that run.
You’d expect changes. And when new faces also encounter a change in tempo, versus typical domestic games, the results tend to be quite poor.
AZ Alkmaar have also won five games on the spin, including a 2-0 win away to Ajax three weeks ago. This is a real trap game for Palace.
Lincoln Red Imps v Rijeka
WHEN: Thursday 6th of November, 20:00
WHERE: Europa Sports Complex, Gibraltar.
TV: Discovery+
Rijeka to win
The Red Imps are a tough nut to crack because you typically tend to underestimate them for silly coefficient reasons.
But there’s one domestic argument you can carry into European nights. Yes, they might be able to technically stick it to some teams, particularly at home – but they’re just not as fit as most professional sides on the continent, and that really comes out when they play games in quick succession.
You won’t encounter a more confusing first two results in Europe this season than being hammered 5-0 by Zrinjski and then going on to beat Lech Poznan three weeks later.
But Lech was only their third game in three weeks, while Zrinjski represented their fourth game in twelve days.
Rijeka will be the fourth time the home side will have laced up their boots in a fortnight – and I think that ultimately catches up with them.
Shelbourne v KF Drita
WHEN: Thursday 6th of November, 20:00
WHERE: Tallaght Stadium, Dublin
TV: TNT Sports 4
Double Chance: Drita or draw
Last week, Shels guaranteed Europe again for next year. Their home draw against Hacken may have been a step in the right direction, but a sucker punch against Shkendija has knocked their hopes of qualifying somewhat.
With the season now over bar the Conference League, it’s hard to know where the motivation comes from, especially with back-to-back glamour ties coming up against both AZ and Palace.
THursday’s Acca tips
5:45pm: AEK Athens v Shamrock Rovers
AEK Athens (-2)
8pm: Crystal Palace v AZ
Double Chance: AZ or draw
8pm: Lincoln Red Imps v Rijeka
Rijeka to win
8pm: Shelbourne v KF Drita
Double Chance: Drita or draw
An acca with these bets pays at approximately 17/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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