Dundalk v Zenit St. Petersburg Betting Tips

Whilst many expected Zenit to be topping this group with relative ease after two games, part-time Irish side Dundalk are continuing their European fairytale – they currently sit second and are undefeated.

European debutants Dundalk have hatched the perfect game plan in their two previous Europa League fixtures where they have achieved a draw and a victory. The Lilywhites know that they are not going to go and blitz teams like they do in the Irish League so instead they look to sit back and wait for their opportunities to come – making the most of them.

It is no surprise that Stephen Kenny’s men are currently top of their domestic league by a distance of seven points after 30 games. The confidence will only grow if they carry on doing well in Europe. Their form has been so good that even Republic of Ireland national team manager Martin O’Neill is casting his eye over a few of Dundalk’s part-timers.

This is undoubtedly Dundalk’s biggest test in the Europa League so far, and probably in their entire European campaign if we include Champions League qualifiers.

After a bit of a stuttering start to the season, Mircea Lucescu’s Zenit side are now back on track in the Russian Premier League and are level on points with table-toppers Spartak Moscow.

Attack is no doubt Zenit’s main strength with 24 league goals scored in just 10 league matches so far this season. We have also seen their goal-scoring prowess come to the fore in this season’s Europa League as they are currently the competitions top scorers with nine goals in two games.

They produced one of the best comebacks you will see in a long time by overturning a 3-0 score line to defeat Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-3 before trouncing Dutch opponents AZ Alkmaar 5-0.

The 2008 UEFA Cup winners put in the perfect display as the goals were shared around in the last round of Europa League matches. However, it was once against Brazilian Giuliano who caught the eye – just as he has in almost every league match so far this season. There is no doubt that the former Dnipro man will be the main threat to Dundalk on Thursday night.

Zenit are very strong both at their home stadium of the Petrovsky as well as on the road and thus I can’t see them struggling too much in Dublin on Thursday. The Blue, White and Navy’s last lost a competitive away game towards the end of April – although it must be said they have played quite weak opposition since then.

Goals are probably the way to go in this fixture. Firstly I would go with ‘Zenit to Score Over 2.5 Goals’ at 13/10. Although Dundalk will be resolute, I am not sure they will be able to keep out the Russian Super Cup champions for the entire 90 minutes and Zenit are expected to showcase their full attacking strength.

Another similar bet to go for here is ‘Zenit to Win & Over 3.5 Goals’. The value at 19/10 is hard to resist and, with Zenit so good going forward, I think they will find the back of the net a few times in Dublin. However, I have a sneaky suspicion that Dundalk could score against a Zenit defence that is prone to lapses in concentration and mistakes.

Finally, at 6/1, ‘Domenico Criscito to Score Anytime’ s definitely worth a go. A left back is hardly the first position you would pick out to be a likely goalscorer, however, Italian Criscito is Zenit’s designated penalty taker and is likely to spend plenty of time getting forward in this match.

Zenit like to play very intricately in-and-around the opposition penalty area – often drawing clumsy fouls and winning penalties. I can imagine this happening against Dundalk as the Irish side start to tire out towards the end of the second half with Criscito taking advantage from the spot.

Whatever you do, make sure you do not get tempted by the bookies’ good value offer on Mikhail Kerzhakov to score anytime. For some reason all of the major bookmakers have managed to get themselves in a bit of a muddle.

Whilst there is a Kerzhakov who could end up on the score-sheet, Aleksandr, the bookies have offered goal-scoring odds on his brother – the above-mentioned Mikhail – who is one of Zenit’s goalkeepers.

See more Europa League tips here.