Europa League Treble

The English clubs are continuing to make steady progress in the group stages of the Europa League and there’s no reason to think that’ll end any time soon. The main problem is finding odds long enough to be worth taking; but Coral are allowing us to back Spurs, Stoke and Fulham to win at combined odds of around 9/2.

Let’s start with Tottenham. As much as Harry Redknapp regards this competition as a ‘nuisance,’ his team selections remain plenty competitive enough to see the north Londoners into the knockout stages.

Talk of fielding the reserves may sound worrying, but when you see Cudicini, Lennon, Pavlyuchenko and Defoe in the starting line-up you remember how much quality and depth this squad actually has. These big names all featured in the 3-1 win over Shamrock Rovers, with Bale and Modric on the bench in case of an emergency. Redknapp may not want his star assets traipsing across Europe, but he’s more inclined to ask them to make an appearance at White Hart Lane.

It woud be fair to describe Rubin Kazan as the main competition for top spot in Group A. Indeed, the Russians are currently top, ahead of Spurs on goal difference. But we shouldn’t get carried away about the strength of Thursday’s visitors. Sat sixth in the Russian Premier League, they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Salonika last month. Tottenham will want to get qualification wrapped up as soon as possible and winning the home games is the most obvious way to do that. At 4/5 Coral offer surprising value on the hosts winning.

The individual odds on Stoke beating Maccabi Tel Aviv are less tempting but that shouldn’t concern us for the ‘banker’ in the treble. The visitors drew at home to Dynamo Kiev but were blown away by Besiktas 5-1 - a side that the Potters have already dispatched at the Brittania Stadium. Tony Pulis’ side are unbeaten on their own patch, and that despite facing Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool already. They will simply have too much for their Israeli guests.

We can hold similarly high hopes for Fulham who travel to Poland to face a side struggling to compete in this tournament. Wisla Krakow lost 3-1 at home to Odense before FC Twente cruised to a 4-1 win over them in Holland. Martin Jol’s side have taken four points off those two opponents so it’s hard not to see Krakow as the weak link in Group K. The Cottagers have even starting to find their feet in the Premier League - a 6-0 demolition of QPR in the last home game proves that. With Andy Johnson the top scorer in the competition with six to his name already, another English win should be anticipated.

Back the treble at best market odds of around 9/2 with Coral. Just click on the bookie link, sign up, and claim your free £30 bet.