Europa League
2013-05-02 - Chelsea vs Basel
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Europa League
Thursday 2 May 2013 - Kick Off 8:05pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
The last month of the season is going to determine whether the decision to pick Rafa Benitez as Interim Head Coach was the correct one back in November. Chelsea have a chance to finish in the top four of the Premier League which will come with a place in the Champions League and also win the Europa League to make it back to back seasons with a European trophy to put in their cabinet at Stamford Bridge.
There is no guarantee that Chelsea are going to finish in the top four, but they can concentrate on this game as they are in the driving seat to do so with 4 Premier League games to play. Chelsea have knocked out Sparta Prague, Steaua Bucharest and Rubin Kazan to reach this Semi Final and the 1-2 win in Switzerland last week puts the Blues in command of this tie. They have won their last 2 home games in the Europa League by the same 3-1 scoreline.
Chelsea have won 3 of their last 4 games in all competitions following their FA Cup Semi Final loss to Manchester City. They have been particularly effective at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks as they have won 7 straight games here in all competitions and 10 of their last 12 in front of their fans since a 0-2 loss to Swansea in the Capital One Cup Semi Final First Leg.
Basel
After defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the Quarter Final of the Europa League and helping knock Manchester United out of the Champions League in the Group Stage last season, it was slightly disappointing to see Basel struggle to impose themselves on the first leg of this Semi Final. It looks really tough to see how Basel will turnaround that deficit in London on Thursday, especially after conceding the injury time winner to David Luiz last week.
It looks like Basel will be back in the Champions League next season having been knocked out of that competition at the qualifying stage earlier this season. They currently lead their domestic League by 3 points and are 7 clear in the race for at least one of the two Champions League places available.
However, turning around this tie is tough as Basel have failed to win any of their 6 away games in the competition this season, although they have only lost 2 of those games. The side have knocked out Dnipro, Zenit St Petersburg and Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League this season.
Basel have lost back to back games coming into this one and they have failed to win any of their last 3 games in all competitions. They have only lost 1 of their last 12 away games in all competitions.
Head to Head
This will be the first time these teams will meet in a competitive game in London.
Prediction
Chelsea have a couple of big games on deck as they face Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League in the next week, so the 2-1 lead from the first leg is likely going to lead some changes to the first team.
However, I think Chelsea are in a strong position in the League and they will want to book their place in the Europa League Final for later this month. They dominated the first leg and looked very comfortable and I think they can catch Basel out here when the away team has to push for at least 2 goals in this game.
The Pick :
Chelsea 3-1 Basel
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Chelsea - 1.5 Asian Handicap @ 2.40
