Who will win in the final European group games?
The final group games take place in the three European competitions this week. Some top clubs are yet to confirm their place in the knockout stages and we may well see some shock eliminations, especially in England.
United In Deep Trouble
Manchester United begin their final match in Champions League Group A bottom of the table. They have the tough task of hosting Bayern Munich who have already won the group.
United had another poor day on Saturday, losing 3-0 at home to Bournemouth. They are a point adrift at the bottom and even a win (8/5 at William Hill) will see them eliminated if the Copenhagen v Galatasaray game produces a positive result.
Bayern Munich may rest some players seeing they’ve already qualified and lost 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. They are 11/8 at bet365 to win with Harry Kane to score 11/10 at the same bookmaker to score.
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Arsenal travel to PSV having already won their group. Expect them to rotate their squad as they take on a PSV side that has won all 15 of their league games this season and also already qualified. It’s 11/8 at William Hill that they can beat Arsenal at home.
Manchester City are already safely in the last 16. They will also rotate their squad and will be missing Erling Haaland. The cup holders travel to Red Star Belgrade who have just one point and will finish bottom. City are 3/10 at bet365 to win.
Massive Night for Newcastle
The pressure is on Newcastle United at home to Milan on Wednesday. United have a terrible injury list at present but could yet still qualify for the knockout stages. With this final game to come, they are third in the group and that would take them into the Europa League knockout play-off round.
They will want more than that though and are only two points behind second-placed PSG. A win for Newcastle (4/5 at BetVictor) is the only way they can possibly stay in the Champions League. They’d qualify if winning and PSG fail to win at already qualified group leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Milan were held to a goalless draw at home by Newcastle. They are only behind United on goal difference. A score draw on Wednesday would see them take that third place from their opponents. They only have one away point so far and are yet to score on their travels in this group. They are 3/1 at bet365 to win this game. A bet on under 2.5 goals has odds of 21/20 at the same online operator.
In the Europa League, West Ham have qualified and end the group with a home game against Freiburg. The Germans are level on points but behind on head-to-head results. West Ham were hammered 5-0 at Fulham on Sunday. They tend to show better form at home in Europe and are 7/10 at William Hill to win on Thursday.
Brighton and Hove Albion are through to the Europa League knockout stages. They need to beat Marseille at home on Thursday to finish top of the group and go into the last 16. A bet on both teams to score is always handy for Brighton games and it’s 4/7 at bet365 for that market.
Liverpool have won their Europa League group and travel to Union-Saint Gilloise. Klopp is likely to make a fair few changes but they can be backed at 6/5 at BetVictor to beat the Belgians.
Aston Villa are going great guns at present and have also already qualified. Their final game is at eliminated Zrinjski Mostar and can justify odds of 4/9 at bet365 to win and top the group.
Rangers could yet make the last 16 of the Europa League. They are currently second and travel to leaders Real Betis on Thursday. A win (3/1 at William Hill) will see them through but if third placed Sparta Prague beat Limassol, failure to win in Spain would take them into the Europa Conference League.
