FC Utrecht v Zenit St. Petersburg Betting Tips: Goals likely in Holland

Aug 15 2017
Aug 15 2017
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This tie might have been more competitive last season, however, Mancini’s arrival at Zenit has reinvigorated the club, making the tie look a little more one-sided. However, Utrecht will take hope from Israeli side Bnei Yehuda who managed to secure a 1-0 victory in the second leg of their qualifying tie against Zenit – although it obviously was not enough to take them through in the end.

Utrecht won their opening Eredivisie match 3-0 on Friday which places them second in the division. However, they have only secured victory in one of their four Europa League games this season, scraping past Lech Poznan on away goals in the previous qualifying round. In fact, that aforementioned win, which came against Maltese side Valletta, was their first one in the Europa League since August 2010.

Erik ten Hag’s men have been fairly decent at the back so far this campaign with three clean sheets in their opening five outings. Additionally, if you look at their average Goals Per Game statistic of 1.6, it makes for good reading. However, it is worth mentioning that that statistic is boosted by the fact Utrecht have scored three times in two of their matches this season so finding the back of the net on a consistent basis is possibly a bit of a problem.

The main factor that will give Utrecht hope here is their home form. The Dutch side have been excellent on home soil in the last few months and have not lost a competitive match at Stadion Galgenwaard since 25th January.

As mentioned earlier, Roberto Mancini has completely changed the dynamic at Zenit and, after failing in all competitions for the last couple of seasons, the team are now back where they belong – at the top of the Russian Premier League table.

Much of this brilliant start has been down to the Zenit forward line which has scored a fantastic 15 goals in the league so far this campaign. The fact they have put five past champions Spartak Moscow and scored four against the usually reliable Akhmat Grozny in the last ten days just shows what Zenit’s attack is capable of at the moment. Defensively though, there are still a few issues – shown by the fact they have kept just one clean sheet in their last four games. However, performances at the back have been better in recent times so there are signs of encouragement there.

The Blue, White and Navys could only draw their last away match at Ural but, before then, they had won their last seven away from the Zenit Arena – including under Mircea Lucescu last term. Generally though, away form in the Europa League has been a mixed bag for Zenit in the last couple of seasons with five wins and four losses since 2013.

Despite the fact that Zenit are favourites here, I find this one quite tough to call as Utrecht’s home form cannot be ignored whilst the Russian side’s Europa League form, particularly on their travels, can be a bit dodgy. Having said that, with both forward lines doing well at the moment, I expect a couple of goals here. However, these playoff games are usually tight affairs so do not expect too many. With this in mind, I have gone for 2-3 Goals Exact at Evens.

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