Prediction and odds for the game: Porto (11/10) v Bayer Leverkusen (12/5)
We are backing the home win
When: Thursday 27th February 2020, Kick-off 5:55 PM
Where: Estadio Do Dragao
On Thursday evening, Porto host Bayer Leverkusen at the Estadio Do Dragao, in what could be one of the most interesting second leg ties in the last-32 of the Europa League. The first leg in Germany finished 2-1 to Bayer, so it is all to play for in this second leg.
Porto
The home side head into this match in good form. Sergio Conceicao’s team has won four of their last five games in all competitions. The only blip in that run of games was the 2-1 defeat at BayArena in the first leg.
Porto are currently in an epic title struggle for the Primeira Liga title, but will also want to progress into the last-16 of this competition.
The Portuguese team has a mixed recent record in the Europa League, having won just three of their last ten matches in the competition dating back to 2014.
Porto have been a difficult side to beat on home soil in Europe’s secondary competition, as they have lost just once in their previous seven matches at the Estadio Do Dragao. Although they have not been prolific on home soil, Porto have failed to score just once in 12 home matches in the Europa League.
Bayer Leverkusen
The visitors head to Portugal as one of the in-form teams in the Bundesliga. In fact, Peter Bosz’s team has been in good form in all competitions, having won eight of their last nine competitive matches. The German team have also been highly prolific of late, scoring at least two goals in seven of their last eight competitive matches.
However, the visitors have recently experienced a blow with the news that star striker Kevin Volland will miss the rest of the season through an ankle injury.
Bayer are unbeaten in the Europa League in six games, having also lost just one of their previous ten games in Europe’s secondary competition. Unusually for Bayer Leverkusen, their recent games in the Europa League have been low-scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in four of their last six matches in the competition.
The visitors have an inconsistent recent away record in this competition. However, a record of just three wins in their last eight away matches is not exactly impressive, though. Bayer’s recent away games in the Europa League have been relatively high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in three of their last four matches.
Conclusion
Both teams are in fine form heading into this clash. The visitors may well have a small lead heading into this clash. However, we are backing the home side to record a victory. We are also backing the over 2.5 goals to be scored, as the two teams tend to be involved in high-scoring matches.
Verdict: We are backing the home win at odds of 11/10 and/or the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 8/13. (All odds are taken from Bet365).
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