Europa League
2012-11-08 - Copenhagen vs Stuttgart
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Europa League group E
Venue: Parken - Copenhagen
Thursday 8th November – Kickoff time: 19:00 GMT+1
Copenhagen
Copenhagen kicked off their Europa League campaign in group E with a 2-1 victory over Norwegian champions Molde, but two tough games on the road only allowed them to pick up one more point in the following two fixtures.
The Danes were not able to find the net in Bucharest and Stuttgart, but they’ve excelled in defense in both games, only a lucky deflection against Steaua could crack their defense.
They now return to the Danish capital, where they are yet to lose a game this season. Copenhagen beat both Brugge and Lille in the UCL qualifiers, before picking up three points at the Parken stadium against Molde on matchday one.
Copenhagen also holds an impressive 6-1-0 record in the domestic competition where they top the league with a 4 points advantage over Nordsjaelland.
The good news for the Danes is that they could have striker Nicola Jorgensen fit after missing the last month with a hamstring injury.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart lies on the bottom place of this group with only two points after three rounds, the Germans could only draw 0-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the reverse fixture against Copenhagen two weeks ago.
Coach Bruno Labbadia was disappointed with their performance from that game, they’ve controlled the match, but couldn’t find the right solutions in the final third against a well organized and stubborn defense.
There are not too many reasons to be optimistic before this match either, Stuttgart are without a win in four European fixtures and have not won on the road in continental competition in the same number of games.
The German side is doing way better in Bundesliga though, after a woeful start of the season they are now 10th and go into the match unbeaten in five matches, the last game of that run a goalless draw against champions Borussia Dortmund.
The Betting Verdict
I’m not sure how important this competition is for Stuttgart, but the fact is that they’ve been quite a disappointment so far especially for a team considered to be the favorite to progress from this group.
On the other hand, I find Copenhagen to be very solid especially at home, as I mentioned before they are yet to lose a game at the Parken Stadium this season and I think it’s unlikely to see a struggling a Stuttgart side breaking that record.
Copenhagen will have the possession, but they’ll have to remain tight in defense to get the desired result here, Stuttgart will probably play more counter-attacking football, which is one of their strengths.
I think the value is on Copenhagen here, Molde put two goals past Stuttgart on Matchday two and I find the Danes to be even stronger when playing at the Parken Stadium. The Germans were not able to beat Copenhagen at home, so picking up three points in Denmark should be even more difficult.
The Pick :
Copenhagen 2-1 Stuttgart
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
