Football Bet of the Day: Back the Moles to tunnel their way to victory

Shakhtyor's Sergei Borovsky has a great bouffant, and a great team

Our betting odyssey takes us to Belarus today, and a dip into the Europa League. Shakhtyor Soligorsk have the upper hand against Zulte Waregem, and Kevin Hatchard expects it to stay that way.

The mighty Thor was beaten in his own backyard, as two late blows sent him sprawling. Fram's Gudmundur Steinn Hafsteinsson did the damage, scoring on 74 and 89 minutes to give the visitors a 2-0 win. We were able to share Fram's joy, as our decision to say No in the Both Teams To Score market secured us a 2.68/5 winner.

There's no time to rest on our laurels though - we must pack our bags and fly to Belarus for a Europa League qualifier between Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Belgian outfit Zulte Waregem.

I watched a fair bit of Zulte Waregem during last season's Europa League group stage, and they looked a decent side. However, they have lost the spine of the team since then. Creative spark Thorgan Hazard returned to Chelsea after his loan spell expired, all-action midfielder Junior Malanda is now at German side Wolfsburg, and stalwart defender Davy de Fauw has joined domestic rivals Club Brugge.

Those departures have clearly made a difference, as the Belgians were demolished 5-2 at home in the first leg by a rampant Shakhtyor Soligorsk side. Sergei Borovsky's boys were 2-0 up inside 12 minutes, and the sending off of Waregem's Glynor Plet before the break allowed the visitors the space to add three further goals and put one foot (and probably the toes of the other foot) into the playoff round.

So Zulte Waregem now need a least four goals to turn the tie around, and they must know their race is run. To make matters worse, Shakhtyor are in excellent form. The Moles have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, and they have lost just one of their 11 home games this term. They smashed Derry City 5-1 in their last Europa League home game, and although the opposition is stronger this time around, Shakhtyor are brimming with confidence and scoring plenty of goals.

Waregem are without the suspended Plet and concussed defender Steve Colpaert, and they have left behind a host of other players. The price of 2.526/4 on offer for the home win seems too big to me, so let's wrap ourselves in the flag of Belarus, and back the Moles.

Recommended Bet

Back Shakhtyor Soligorsk to win at 2.526/4

2014 P/L (1 pt per bet)

Points Staked: 3

Points Returned: 4.72

P/L: +1.72 points