Hapoel Be’er Sheva v Southampton Betting Tips

When this group was announced, Hapoel Be’er Sheva were considered by many as the underdogs and all three of the others will have pinpointed the Israeli side as a team to collect points off. However, Hapoel dispelled such notions on match-day one as they walked away from the San Siro with all three points having beaten Internazionale (0-2). Although the Italian giants are not the side they once were, this was still a great result and it means that this group could be a lot closer than people thought.

Southampton also got things off to a winning start on match-day one as they claimed a 3-0 home victory over Sparta Prague. A win in this second fixture would give the English side a strong foothold at the top of Group K.

With betting in mind, goals look on the agenda in this fixture. At odds of 5/4 ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ is the first of two worthwhile punts here.

Not only did they score five goals between them in match-day one of this competition, neither of these two have been short of goals in general lately. The hosts have scored 11 in their last five, while Southampton have found the net ten times in their last five. Additionally, three or more match goals have been scored in four of the last five Hapoel matches, while an ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ outcome has been achieved in three of the last five Southampton fixtures.

Both teams also come into this fixture off the back of convincing 3-0 wins at the weekend and thus, realistically, we should see an attacking encounter between two sides with their tales up.

Secondly the combination bet of ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’, at 13/8, catches the eye here. While neither side has a relevant record that jumps off the page, given their recent attacking exploits, it’s hard to see an outcome where both teams haven’t found the net in a relatively high-scoring affair.

The hosts have only failed to score in two of their last 20 fixtures in front of a home crowd and against, what is likely to be a slightly weaker Saints side than normal, they are fancied to find the net again. Southampton have only failed to find the net once in the eight competitive games that they’ve played this season, while they’ve only been shut out twice in their last 10 away matches.

In a match where calling a winner looks much harder than it might first appear, it’s fancied that fans and punters alike will be treated to a decent number of goals at the Turner Stadium on Thursday evening.

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