Europa League
2012-08-23 - Motherwell vs Levante
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Europa League play-offs
Venue: Fir Park, Motherwell
Thursday 23th August – Kickoff time: 21:45 GMT+2
Motherwell (Scotland)
Motherwell never managed to trouble Panathinaikos in the third qualifying round of the Uefa Champions League being eliminated with 5-0 on aggregate.
It was no surprise since Motherwell never managed to qualify for the group stages of a European competition. I don’t want to comment about the level of Scottish football, but at the moment there is no team excluding Celtic or Rangers that could represent them decently in Europe.
Motherwell’s boss declared that he doesn’t know much about Levante, but he’ll be happy to to settle for the same performance at home against Panathinaikos.
I don’t know if that is the right kind of attitude before a game, it’s well known that they’ve lost that game against a Panathinaikos side that was playing its first competitive game this season.
Levante (Spain)
Levante enter the Europa League at the play-off stage following their club-best finish of sixth in the previous La Liga season. They’ve actually threatened occupying the top four for much of the campaign.
The European debutants have made six signings in the summer transfer period, striker Arouna Kone, defender David Navarro, goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Pedro Rios, Michel and Senegalese international Papa Kouli Diop joining the squad.
The most important departure was Aruna Kone’s who completed a move to Wigan. The 28 year old scored 15 times in 34 games last season for Levante.
The Betting Verdict
I’m not sure about Motherwell’s European ambitions after hearing what Stuart McCall declared, he said that he is happy for another opportunity to play against top-class opposition – and another attractive trip for the Motherwell fans.
It doesn’t strike me as someone too confident about their chances of actually eliminating the opposition.
I remember a tie between Steaua Bucuresti and Motherwell in 2009, the Scottish side losing with 6-1 on aggregate against a Steaua side that was far from their best. After all even the minnows Llanelli AFC won here in 2009.
I think I’d take any of the 20 teams from La Liga to win both legs in a tie against Motherwell especially at these prices, all Spanish sides are technically gifted, it’s a pleasure for me to watch games from La Liga which is in my opinion the best league in the world followed closely by the Premier League.
The Pick :
Motherwell 0-2 Levante
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Levante to win at 2.05 at PaddyPowerConfidence: 8/10
