Europa League Double

FC Twente and Stoke City are both dominating their respective groups with 10 points apiece; on Thursday they should book their places in the knockout stages with a game to spare. Backing both sides to maintain their 100% home records is great value at 19/5 with VictorChandler.

Stoke had a bit of a wobble in the Premier League but they appeared to get back on track with an emphatic 3-1 win over Blackburn on Saturday. The Brittania Stadium has remained a fortress in continental competition with Macc Tel-Aviv dismissed easily with three first half goals. Admittedly, those were the weakest opponents in the group, but Besiktas left with nothing as well following a 2-1 defeat in September. The Portuguese side appear to be closely matched to Dynamo Kiev who come to England in need of a result.

The Ukranians were fortunate to escape with a 1-1 draw even at home to the Potters, relying on a 91st minute equaliser from Vukojevic. If it wasn’t for that, Tony Pulis’ side would have 12 points from a possible 12. The boss will be adamant that his troops go full throttle tonight to allow him to send a reserve team to Besiktas in a fortnight’s time.

Twente entertain a Fulham side who still have every chance of progression themselves. It just looks like the 2009-10 Dutch champions are a cut above their English opponents however. Currently sat above Ajax and Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, Co Adriaanse has a team that have only lost once in 14 domestic league games this campaign.

In Europe, results have been even better. Steve McLaren’s old side have beaten Wisla Krakow`and Odense BK twice, scoring 11 goals in those three matches. The only blotch on the copybook, if you can call it that, was a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage. But that was always going to be their toughest fixture and a point was highly satisfactory.

But in the Netherlands you would expect Twente to make their class count. Everybody knows that Fulham aren’t the best travellers; the 1-0 defeat to Wisla Krakow last month provided a stark reminder of that. It’s surprising to see the Dutch side at a best price of evens to beat Fulham with such an impressive home record in 2011-12; they are unbeaten in the Europa League and the Eredivisie on their own patch. With Stoke 7/5 to beat Dynamo Kiev, VictorChandler are providing the best value on the market for both matches; the double is well worth contemplating at 19/5 with the same firm.