Zenit St. Petersburg v Maccabi Tel Aviv Betting Tips

16:00, 24 nov 2016
16:00, 24 nov 2016
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Whilst Zenit St. Petersburg have already qualified from Group D with a one hundred percent record, Maccabi Tel Aviv still have a decent chance of making the knockout rounds, despite having racked up just four points so far.

Of course Zenit’s main aim is to be successful in the Champions League but it is important to remember that this competition brings back a lot of good memories for the St. Petersburg side after they won it back in the UEFA Cup days of 2008.

They are certainly not treating this competition as sub-standard this season – the Russian side have won all four of their matches and are the competition’s joint-top scorers with 13 goals to their name. There is no doubt that the former Russian champions are looking to win this competition, which manager Mirceu Lucescu did with his Shakhtar Donetsk side in 2009.

Whilst they only recently lost their undefeated record in the Russian Premier League, Zenit’s title challenge is not going too well as they lie three points behind Spartak Moscow. On the plus side however, given the way the classification works, if the sides were to finish on equal points, Zenit’s head-to-head record would see them clinch the trophy. Additionally, with them being six points ahead of third place and unlikely to drop off, we should see them back in the Champions League next season.

Overall it will be interesting to see how Zenit approach this match. This is almost a repeat of their Champions League campaign last season where they had such a good run but then decided to rest several players which ultimately meant they lost their one hundred percent winning record. This season I doubt we will see this with experienced manager Mircea Lucescu in charge in comparison to his young predecessor Andre Villas Boas. With his side in decent form in all competitions, the wily Romanian boss will not want to disrupt his team’s momentum.

Maccabbi will no doubt be looking to exact revenge on their Russian opponents on Thursday who they really should have beaten during match-day one. The Israeli side were 3-0 up with 14 minutes to go but somehow managed to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory as they collapsed to a 4-3 defeat.

Shota Arveladze’s side are currently second in the Israeli top flight and five points behind last season’s surprise champions Hapoel Be’er Sheva who themselves are arguably ushering in a new era in Israeli football.

As previously mentioned, they do have a reasonable chance of getting through to the Round of 32 but are heavily reliant on Dundalk’s result against AZ Alkmaar whilst they also know they have to beat one of the best sides in the competition. Unlikely but possible.

If results go Tel Aviv’s way, it really is a win or bust situation on the final round of fixtures when Arveladze’s team host the Irish side. Overall though you cannot help but feel that Zenit will be too much for Maccabi.

The simple ‘Zenit St. Petersburg to Win‘ is not excellently priced but I feel we’re talking about a banker here and, at 10/11, is worth being on.

Another very likable bet here is ‘Zenit St. Petersburg to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’ at 6/5. With Zenit being the joint-top scorers in this season’s Europa League, I expect them to score twice themselves at home on Thursday. Perhaps the bookmakers have given decent odds because Maccabi have only conceded twice in their last three European matches but we must remember that this was against mediocre sides AZ Alkmaar and Dundalk. Additionally, Maccabi have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last four matches away from home. This Zenit attack should be scoring a few against this vulnerable side.

If you fancy something with more return then the bet to go for is ‘Artem Dzyuba & Giuliano to Score Anytime’ at the great price of 19/5. In my opinion, Giuliano was one of the best buys in European football this summer. The Brazilian was signed for a mere £5.95m and has had an excellent start to his Zenit career – scoring 12 goals in 18 games, whilst he is also the Europa League’s top goalscorer having found the back of the net five times in the competition – scoring in all four of his European matches.

Teammate Artem Dzyuba had an excellent campaign last year but started this season rather slowly, however, he now looks like he is quickly returning to his old self, as proved with his two goals against Krylia Sovetov on Saturday, currently sitting third in the Russian Premier League goal-scoring charts.

See more tips here.

Single: Won
Europa League
16:00/24 nov
Zenit St. Petersburg v Maccabi Tel Aviv
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Single: Won
Europa League
16:00/24 nov
Zenit St. Petersburg v Maccabi Tel Aviv
Will this bet win?
Voted 0 users
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No 50%
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Suggest your tip
Single: Lost
Europa League
16:00/24 nov
Zenit St. Petersburg v Maccabi Tel Aviv
Will this bet win?
Voted 0 users
Yes 50%
No 50%
Yes
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Suggest your tip
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