Having earned a very respectable draw away in the first-leg of this play-off tie, it’s easy to see how Videoton come into this second-leg with the upper-hand. The Hungarian outfit acquitted themselves well away from home and, having limited their opposition to very few chances last week, should feel confident of progressing to the group stages.
Although Partizan, as the hosts, did cut out much of the running in last week’s fixture, they failed to really create anything clear-cut and it was indeed the visitors who missed the best chance of the game. With this in mind, it would be no surprise if the Serbian visitors were to falter in this away leg. Videoton looked comfortable last week and, despite not scoring an away-goal, are fancied to build on the solid foundations which were carved out in the first-leg. At the prices, the hosts look a really good bet ahead of this match.
Considering that they played well away from home, it really is hard not to fancy the hosts ahead of this fixture. After keeping Partizan quiet away from home, Marko Nikolić, who interestingly enough managed Partizan until earlier this year, should certainly feel that his men are capable of doing so in front of a home crowd. After all, the Hungarian side have a pleasing record at Sóstói Stadion, winning ten of their last 15 and losing just once during that time. What’s more, they boast an impressive home record in this competition too. Not only did they beat a strong Bordeaux side in the last round, keeping a clean sheet in the process, but they’ve also won six of their last ten home Europa League matches, as well as 11 of 19 historically, losing just three of those. Just one goal conceded (and four scored) in three home qualifying matches this season also bodes well.
In contrast to Videoton’s impressive home record in this competition, Partizan come here having often struggled when playing away on the continent. Since 2008, the visitors have won just four of their 19 away matches in the Europa League. They also emerged victorious from just three of their last ten. During last week’s first-leg, despite enjoying a majority share of possession, Miroslav Đukić’s side looked somewhat toothless in the final third. Such a lack of firepower on their own patch is indeed worrying and, with this in mind, it’s hard to see them causing a Videoton side who defended well last week too many problems in this match. Serbian striker Uroš Đurđević is a threat; however, as was the case in the first-leg, it’s easy to see his side failing to get him on the ball in key areas and so the young forward may struggle to make much headway.
All in all, this appears to be a good opportunity for Videoton on their own patch; having laid the foundations by keeping themselves in the tie away from home, the Hungarian side are expected to put their home advantage to good use. A price of 31/20 seems somewhat generous and so backing the hosts to come out on top makes plenty of sense.
More Europa League tips can be found here.