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- Who will be the winner?
It's a tertiary competition, and it offers teams from smaller European nations a chance to compete in an important tournament.
Last season, 32 teams put out a great effort to qualify for the competition. However, Jose Mourinho's AS Roma won it all.
Lazio vs AZ Alkmaar
Lazio will be looking to continue their impressive run of form in the Conference League when they travel to Stadio Olimpico to face AZ Alkmaar on 7 March. Maurizio Sarri’s side were impressive in their 1-0 win away at Napoli last Friday, and they should have no problems keeping a clean sheet against a strong Eredivisie team who are looking to make some real inroads into the Dutch title race.
A slender 1-0 victory away at Vitesse Arnhem saw Pascal Jensen’s side top their Conference League group with five wins in a row and they’ll be keen to capitalise on Lazio’s struggles in front of goal as they attempt to progress through to the knockout rounds. However, another low-scoring game is likely to be the result here, especially when you consider the quality of this home team.
AZ have been strong in the Eredivisie this season, winning four and drawing one of their last five matches as they attempt to claim a place in the playoffs. They’ve also been impressive in the final third, scoring an average of two goals per game across their last five matches.
It will be a difficult task for Pascal Jansen’s side to keep their lead at home in this tie, but he can rest assured that his players are healthy and fit. Maxim Dekker, Zinho Vanheusden, Riechedly Bazoer, Dani de Wit, Sam Beukema and Bruno Martins Indi are all expected to miss out on this match, but they should be back in action by the time the second leg comes around.
The hosts have won all four of their Conference League games at home, with an average of 2.5 goals per game scored in those games. Their defensive record in recent games has been excellent, too, allowing just three goals on average at home this campaign.
AZ Alkmaar are unbeaten in their last five games across competitions, but they have struggled to score away from home this term. They’ve managed to score just twice in their last five matches on the road, with a total of six goals scored over those same matches.
West Ham vs AEK Larnaca
The UEFA Conference League is an exciting new competition that offers lesser known clubs an opportunity to progress to the next level of European soccer. This season’s first round of games features a host of exciting matches that are sure to bring excitement and surprises to fans across Europe.
West Ham vs AEK Larnaca is the first match of this round and it is one that you will not want to miss out on! These two sides are well positioned to make it to the quarter-finals and we believe they will both be able to do so.
David Moyes’ side have been very good in this season’s UEFA Conference League and have won all of their six group stage games. They will take on Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the first leg of this tie and are favourites to win it.
They will have to be a lot more than just good on the day though as they travel to a side that has only lost once in their last 12 home games and has won 10 of those. Despite this, West Ham are still the bookies’ favourites to win the match so you can expect them to come away with a comfortable victory.
Whether or not Moyes’ team can go on and win this game will depend entirely on how they play the second leg. This is a crucial game for the Hammers and they are going to have to prove themselves on the field if they want to get past AEK Larnaca.
Michail Antonio has been the star man for West Ham this season and he will be keen to continue his impressive form in Europe. He has scored four goals for the club this season and has also played in a number of important European games so he will be looking to impress on Thursday.
The Hammers have a solid core of players in their squad including Antonio, Lanzini, Scamacca and Paqueta. All of these players will be hoping to start the game and they should all give their all for the cause.
Luka Jovic vs Villarreal
After an eventful week in the international break, Real Madrid return to action with a tough game against Villarreal on Saturday. They face an uphill task in their quest for a fifth straight La Liga win, and will need to overcome the challenge of a Villarreal side who are still unbeaten in the league this season.
They may have to do this without Luka Jovic who has been out on international duty with Serbia and was a key player in their 5-0 victory over Russia on Wednesday. The Serbian is a threat up front but has struggled to get regular starts this term as he looks to find his form in Spain after arriving on a big-money deal in January.
It was a good start to the match and both sides tried their best to create chances. A Vinicius Junior shot was deflected over the bar, and a corner was cleared off the line by Marco Asensio.
Despite the clear lack of quality at the top of their line-ups, Real Madrid will need to do better than that against a Villarreal side that have not won in their last five games and are bottom of their league table on 36 points. Fortunately, Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Odriozola and Nacho Fernandez have all been back in training this week, and will hopefully make a comeback against their old club this weekend.
The Spanish champions will have to do this without Karim Benzema who is still recovering from a groin injury, so they could have their hands full. However, if they can get the win, they will be four points clear of second-placed Sevilla with four matches left to play.
Villarreal will need to get a result here to keep their hopes of a Europa League spot alive. They have won their past two European Cup games but this one will be a lot more difficult. They will need to put in a performance that sees them take the lead, and they will need a late winner from either Gareth Bale or Luka Jovic to make it 1-0.
West Ham vs Fiorentina
The UEFA Conference League is a new competition and it's the third tier of European football. It's a chance for clubs who haven't quite made it into the Champions League or Europa League to get a taste of Europe's big stage.
There are 32 teams in this year's competition, split into eight groups of four. The top two teams in each group go straight into the knockout phase of the competition and the bottom two teams in each group go through a play-off round. The winners of the play-off round are then joined by the 8 group winners and will face each other in the last 16 of the competition.
It's a competitive league and there are plenty of interesting matches taking place in this year's edition. It's also a great opportunity to try out some new betting strategies.
Using a bet builder is one of the best ways to maximise your returns in this kind of tournament. It allows you to make larger wagers from smaller stakes, which means you'll be able to take advantage of more winnings than usual with certain bookmakers.
West Ham have won all eight games in this season's UEFA Conference League and are 7/2 second favourites to advance to the quarter-finals. They will face Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the first leg of their tie and are likely to be strong favorites to progress, while Lazio have won all six Group C games and beat Romania's CFR Cluj in their play-off tie.
Fiorentina are 6/1 fourth favourites to make it through to the finals of the competition after comfortably beating Sporting Braga 7-2 on aggregate in their play-off tie. They will have a tough two-legged clash with Real Sociedad in the round of 16.
It's worth bearing in mind that Fiorentina have won their last three home games in this competition and have netted at least twice in all of their previous four matches on the road. That could give them a slight edge against an Irons team who have lost all of their away games this season in the competition.
Hearts
Robbie Neilson’s Hearts face a tough UEFA Conference League group stage as they look to make progress. They must win both of their remaining games if they are to advance in this competition, but they will be confident of finishing third after hammering Fiorentina 5-1 at home in their last outing.
They’ll be without Nathaniel Atkinson, Kye Rowles and Beni Baningime due to injury as they travel to Rigas Futbola Skola for this Group A match. The visitors have been on a stuttering run as well, but they are not as bad as the Scottish side and could prove to be a difficult team to beat at Tynecastle Park.
Riga Futbola Skola have been no mugs in this competition, having stunned Fiorentina and Basaksehir in their opening two games. However, they’ll still be wary of Hearts after their poor start to this campaign.
As for Hearts, they’ll want to make amends after losing to Istanbul Basaksehir 4-0 in their opener. They were also unfortunate not to get a goal against the Turkish side in their 2-1 reverse fixture, with Craig Gordon making an outstanding save at the end.
The game could be a real thriller as both sides try to find a winner. Getting goals will be vital, as both teams have struggled to score recently.
The hosts are likely to go all out for this tie and are backed at 2/1 with LiveScore Bet for the victory. They haven’t beaten Istanbul Basaksehir in Europe since 2004 but they do have experience of winning against them and will take this game seriously. They will be without Nathaniel Atkinson, Beni Baningime and Kye Rowles but they are still in good shape to face this challenge.
RFS
A victory over Molde will give RFS United a strong chance of progressing in this year's UEFA Conference League. They have already beaten Fiorentina and Istanbul Basaksehir in the group and could easily qualify if they pick up two more wins.
They're still a long way off the top of the Latvian Virsliga but they've shown their potential in Europe so far and they should take advantage of this match. Their away record in Europe is good and they have a strong home record too, so they will be favourites here.
Their defence is a little shaky though and they have conceded seven goals in three outings, which can be tough to overcome if Molde are in the mood for a win. But this is an opportunity for them to put that right and a home win with over 2.5 goals can be backed at 8/15.
The Europa Conference League is not a long-established competition but it is gaining in popularity and a number of top teams will be competing this season. The winners of this competition will gain direct entry into the 2023/24 Europa League group stages, unless they are already in the Champions League.
With an average of 3.33 goals scored per game, the Europa Conference League is one of the highest scoring competitions in the world. It is therefore important to remember the key statistics of this competition before making any betting decisions.
A number of games over 2.5 goals and a number of home victories are common in this competition, so it is important to make sure you place your bets on the correct score. This will help you to make the most of your money and increase your chances of success.
