Will the Stuttgart be celebrating tonight?
Jonno Turner explains why he believes Stuttgart to pick up a home win in the Europa League tonight. Meanwhile, Young Boys look set for more misery...
There's plenty of action to choose from this evening and we're focussing on the Europa League for our first tip, as Stuttgart welcome FC Copenhagen to the Mercedes-Benz Arena, looking to build on an excellent away win at Hamburg last time out.
Bruno Labbadia's side have been in mixed form domestically, and currently sit in 12th place in the Bundesliga - a far cry from their sixth placed finish of last year, which saw Die Roten qualify for this competition - and the hosts will be desperate to secure a confidence boosting win here.
Stuttgart have lost one of their last four on their own patch, and it's clear that they have the defensive nous to grind out results in front of their own fans - but Labbadia will be keen for his side to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal, and turn one point into three.
Four goals scored in their last three games at home shows that the hosts do have goals in them. They will be hoping that they can notch up a couple more as they welcome an out of sorts Copenhagen side to south west Germany this evening.
The visitors go into this tie having won just one of their last half a dozen away from the Parken Stadium, and boss Ariel Jacobs will be keen to cure that travel sickness in this encounter.
But eight without a win from their last nine on the road in this competition suggests that the Danes struggle to adjust when faced with higher quality opposition, and I think that the Loverne will do well to get a draw here.
A 1-0 loss away to Steaua Bucharest in their last European away tie won't have done much for Copenhagen's confidence, and I think that the home side's quality should pay dividends in this tie.
Labbadia will be keen for his charges to make the most of their home advantage in all of their group games. They are desperate for a victory if they are to keep their dreams of securing a place in the next round of this competition alive.
Bet 1: VfB Stuttgart (HOME) @ 1.625/8
Turning our attentions to Group A now - and Udinese travel to Bern to face Young Boys, aiming to continue the form which saw the Italians snatch a shock 3-2 win against Liverpool at Anfield earlier this month.
The Bianconeri showed their quality in that encounter and boss Francesco Guidolin will be desperate for his side to build on that result here. A win would see them put further space between themselves and third placed Liverpool.
Seven without a loss from their last eight shows that the visitors are in good form ahead of this tie, and they have lost just one of their last four away games in this competition - picking up some decent results in that time.
Young Boys prepare for this tie sitting in fifth place in the Swiss Super League, and they are on a miserable run of results, having won only one from seven.
Losses against Anzhi and Liverpool have left the Swiss side sitting bottom of this Europa League group, and Martin Rueda's sides continental experience looks to be all but over for this season.
Just one win from five outings at the Stade de Suisse will have the home faithful scratching their heads in dismay, and the hosts will need to be in top form to prevent a heavy defeat against their guests this evening.
But 10 goals conceded in their last four in front of their own fans points to major weaknesses in the home defence. Rueda will need to correct those ahead of this visit from Di Natale, Lazzari et al.
Bet 2: Udinese (AWAY) @ 2.77/4
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