Chelsea may have already qualified for next season’s Champions League, but it’s Europa League success that the Blues and Maurizio Sarri firmly have their eye on.
Thursday’s opponents Eintracht Frankfurt are however no pushovers, but the German side were limited to just one shot on target in the 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Chelsea
A win over Watford may have guaranteed the Blues Champions League football for next season, but it’s a shot at bringing home silverware in the Europa League that may ultimately validate whether this has been a successful campaign or not for Maurizio Sarri’s side.
Chelsea’s run in the competition has been met with a more favourable list of opponents. PAOK, Malmo and Vidi have all been comfortably bypassed, but it’s Frankfurt who has provided the sternest test for The Blues so far.
Talisman Eden Hazard will again be the biggest threat and given the low odds in the WDW market on the home side, it’s perhaps the Belgian forward who could provide the most value.
Taking a look at some of the betting offers on https://www.liveesportsbetting.com currently gives a great opportunity to take advantage of betting on Hazard to score anytime (1.83), but it’s target men Olivier Giroud (2.05) and Gonzalo Higuain (1.95) who could take advantage of a cavalier visiting side.
Frankfurt
Frankfurt’s preparations to overturn Pedro’s away goal have been somewhat less than ideal. Frankfurt suffered a morale-damaging blow over the weekend, losing 6-1 to Bayer Leverkusen, with all six goals coming in the first half.
True Frankfurt rang the changes in that match, with hopes of progressing against Chelsea in London on Thursday, but that defeat adds to a crumbling level of form with Frankfurt having won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions.
Top scorer Luka Jovic will again be key after grabbing the goal in the first leg and the German side will do well to keep hold of their prized striker over the summer, with reports of a move to European giants Real Madrid currently denied.
Frankfurt’s route to the semi-finals has however been impressive. Wins over Lazio, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Benfica has showed class and a run of form in this competition, but Frankfurt appear to be coming out of form at the wrong time after a long and arduous season.
Verdict
A lack of value on the home side (it’s 1.36 on the home win), leaves the WDW market particularly undesirable, but goals again maybe the option to look at especially given the visitors need to chase the game and rested key personnel over the weekend.
Chelsea looked resolute in the first leg, but the odds on both teams to score at a shade under evens (1.90) look too good to refuse on Thursday night.
