Europa League acca: Home advantage key as Athletic lead the way

The Group stage for the Europa League may only be at the half-way point but already some teams in Europe’s second-most celebrated competition are desperate for three points.

Home advantage could be key, with many sides across the continent struggling on their travels.

That theme provides the back-bone of our Thursday night acca as we look to round off the European action in style.

This near-26/1 fivefold will certainly leave you smiling if it delivers the goods.

And if you are let down by one side, you are covered by Ladbrokes’ money back offer that sees your stake returned as a free bet (up to £25) if your 5+ team Europa League acca falls at the final hurdle (Full T&Cs here).

Here’s our money-maker…

Krasnodar to beat PAOK @ 3/4

It’s been over three months since Krasnodar tasted defeat on their own patch, that loss their only competitive defeat at Stadion Kuban in over a year.

The Russians have won their last three fixtures and should have more than enough to see off a PAOK side that have been hit with an injury crisis, with a whole host of players, including Dimitar Berbatov, set to miss out for Igor Tudor’s side.

Groningen to beat Slovan Liberec @ 23/20

There wasn’t a lot to choose between the sides when they met two weeks ago, as they shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Groningen are bottom of the group and need to win here, but having won six of their last seven competitive matches at Euroborg, their home advantage could be key against a Czech side that have won once in their last four away ties.

Sion to beat Bordeaux @ 6/4

Bordeaux have been playing like a team that have sampled one too many of their glasses of their local produce lately, winning just one in six – that success against Ligue 1 basement club Troyes – and scoring one goal in their last four games.

Sion have been the surprise package in this group, securing a draw in the reverse fixture against the French side and versus Liverpool, as well as bagging three points against Rubin Kazan.

Sparta Prague to beat Schalke @ 6/5

The Generali Arena has been a fortress for Sparta of late, winning their last seven at home, conceding just a solitary goal. In Europe, their record is pretty strong there as well, with Chelsea the only team securing a Europa League success in 19 matches.

Schalke on the other hand are without a win in four games and had to come from behind to bag a draw in Gelsenkirchen. The hosts look a good price to triumph.

Athletic Bilbao to beat FK Partizan @ 3/10

Hopefully this shorty should be a straightforward-enough end to our acca. Only Real Madrid and Barcelona have left the San Mamés with so much as a draw since May, as the Basque club dominate on their own turf. They’ve been pretty strong on the road too, winning four of their last five games.

Partizan aren’t ones to avoid defeat much on the road in the Europa League either, losing 10 of their last 14 European adventures.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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