The [Europa League](https://m.betking.com/sports/events/prematch/football/uefa/europa-league) and the [UEFA Europa conference league](https://m.betking.com/sports/events/prematch/football/uefa/europa-conference-league) group stages are back this week, and the race to qualify for the knockout rounds heats up on matchday 5. Thursday promises huge excitement across Europe as tournament favourites Liverpool look to bounce back from last month’s defeat to Toulouse when they take on Austrian side LASK. As Nigeria’s number 1 online sports betting platform, Betking provides you the best betting tips and bet predictions to help you become a winner. **Liverpool v LASK** Liverpool welcome LASK to Anfield, and the Reds will be aiming to get back to winning ways after their matchday 4 defeat to Toulouse. Jürgen Klopp’s men come into this game in high spirits, after snatching a late draw away at Manchester City at the weekend. The Reds are still two points clear of Toulouse in Group E despite their loss in France, but Jürgen Klopp would want to secure qualification to the next round quickly. They could reach that goal with a draw here but would need a victory to make absolutely certain of qualification. Facing a LASK side with just one win in 4 group games, the Reds should absolutely run riot. We expect them to take the Austrain club apart, especially at Anfield where they have lost just once in 2023. Klopp’s men have also scored 24 goals in their last 8 games and won 3-1 when these two sides met in the first leg. Diogo Jota who is Liverpool’s top goalscorer in the Europa League, is unavailable for this match after picking up an injury against Manchester City, which means Luis Diaz should be handed a well-deserved chance from the start. The Merseyside club are averaging 3 goals per match in the Europa League and our bet of the day is a comfortable win for the home side and with Mohamed Salah expected to be rested, bet on Diaz to score anytime.
**Marseille vs Ajax** Marseille sit top of Group B with two wins and two draws from their 4 games so far, but are only a solitary point above [Premier League](https://m.betking.com/sports/events/prematch/football/england/premier-league) side Brighton and Hove Albion. Les Phocéens beat AEK Athens home and away, after drawing their first two matches, in stark contrast to their Ligue 1 form, where they sit 12th after 12 matches. Ajax on the other hand, have had a famously underwhelming season but things have started to look up again, in the wake of the club's decision to sack Maurice Steijn. After going 10 games without a win, the Eredivise side have bounced back to win 3 of their last 5, including last weekend’s 5-0 home win over Vitesse. Nigerian striker Chuba Akpom continues to impress with 5 goals in his last 5 games, a real breath of fresh air for the Ajax support. That being said, it might be too late to salvage a knockout stage spot for the Dutch side, with 3rd place and a UEFA Conference League spot looking like the more realistic target. Marseille have managed to score at least 2 goals in each of the Europa League matches this season, with the likes of Chancel Mbemba, Aubameyang, and Jordan Veretout providing the goals for the French side. Ajax are conceding goals at that same rate, and that suggests there will be goals in this tie. For the best odds, take the over 2.5 pick for this game. After all, these two teams played out a 3–3 thriller two months ago.
**Servette vs Roma** Roma travel to Switzerland to face Servette, needing only a draw to book their spot in the next round of this season’s Europa League. Servette have been in fantastic form of late (W4,D1), especially domestically, but they have not been convincing in Europe. The Swiss side won their first match in the competition last time out against Sherrif Tiraspol thanks to a last minute penalty converted by, the Ivorian forward, Chris Bedia. Jose Mourinho’s men are in shaky form at best, 2 wins from their last 4 Serie A games leaves them 5th in the standings, 3 points off the top 4 but are still comfortable favourites in this clash, having already spanked Servette 4-0 this season. The visitors also got a hugely impressive 3-1 win over Udinese at the weekend, with Paulo Dybala putting in an excellent performance in that game, earning himself a likely start here. There have been a total of 21 yellow cards in Roma’s last 5 games which makes the cards market an excellent place to get some value with defender Evan Ndicka picking up 4 yellows in his last 7 games. To add to that, 15 of those 21 bookings have come in the second half. All things being equal, Roma should have no issues dispatching off their hosts and taking a spot in the next round. Take advantage of Betking’s professional betting tips and high odds by betting on Roma to defeat Servette and Dybala to score anytime.
**Hacken vs Bayer Leverkusen** When Leverkusen play, it’s a guaranteed goal-fest. The Bundesliga leaders are arguably the most entertaining teams in Europe at the moment, scoring at will, powered by Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface. They have already sealed qualification for the next round, so this is just a formality. However, they will love to finish top of their group for bragging rights and a potentially easier draw moving forward. They have the most goals in this season’s Europa League (12) alongside Liverpool and Freiburg and are the only side in the competition with a 100% record (P4, W4, Xabi Alonso’s men will be facing arguably the worst team in this year’s Europa League so far in Hacken. 2 goals scored, 13 goals conceded, 0 points, the Swedish club are already out of the competition. Honestly, this has all the signs of a rout, we could be looking at 4 or 5 goals here. Our bet of the day is Leverkusen to win and score over 2.5 goals. Does the player market interest you? Then take a look at Victor Boniface – With 3.1 shots per game and 3 goals so far in the Europa League, the Leverkusen attacker is one of the most dangerous strikers in the competition this season and we expect him to find the net again.
**Topola vs West Ham** West Ham sit top of Group A with 9 points, and travel to Serbia knowing that a draw will be enough to take them to the next round of the Europa League. Topola have been awful in Europe this season, with only 4 goals scored and 1 point after 4 games – their solitary point coming against Olympiacos. They lost 3-1 in the reverse fixture and it really should have been a far greater deficit as the Hammers failed to take their chances on the night. David Moyes’s men have been impressive this season, solid and efficient in attack and defence, and showing why they won the UEFA Conference League last season. Last year’s star man Declan Rice may have departed the cub (joining Arsenal over the summer for £105m) but others have stepped up in his absence. The likes of Lucas Paqueta (5G, 2A) and Jarrod Bowen (9G, 2A) have carried the brunt of creating and scoring, along with the excellent Kurt Zouma in central defence, the Hammers have the tools to go deep in this competition. We just cant see a way out for the Serbians and we expect West Ham to prevail and by a wide margin, too. Our bet of the day is a West Ham win and over 2.5 goals.
**AEK Athens vs Brighton & Hove Albion** Brighton have taken to life in Europe like a Seagull on a beach. The Premier League side defeated Ajax home and away to set themselves up for a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League in their first ever season playing continental football. They have been a source of excitement domestically too. Roberto De Zerbi’s men have discord 28 goals in just 13 games this season, but have also conceded a high number (23). They were at their thrilling best last weekend, defeating Nottingham Forest 3-2, making it 2 clean sheets in their last 17 games across all competitions. AEK Athens need to beat Brighton again to have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. The Greek side stunned Brighton at home on matchday 1 in a thrilling game that ended 3-2. AEK have only lost one of their last 5 matches in all competitions, and the loss was in the Europa League against Marseille. Joao Pedro who scored twice against AEK on matchday 1 is joint top goalscorer in the Europa League this season. The Brazilian is in fine form, and he got a brace from the bench against Nottingham Forest during the weekend. Averaging 2.0 shots on target per game, Joao Pedro is a valid threat, and we are backing the Brazilian to score against AEK Athens.
**Aston Villa vs Legia Warszawa** A top of the table clash in Group E. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa already look like one of the favourites to win the UEFA Europa Conference League this season. The Villans opened their conference league campaign with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Legia Warszawa, but they bounced right back to pick up 3 straight wins, and are now primed for a spot in the next round if they can get a point or 3 at the Villa park against Legia Warszawa. Legia come into this on the back of two straight draws on the domestic front but will meet a totally different Villa side than the one they defeated 3-2 back in September. Villa have been imperious at home this season, with just 1 defeat in their last 10. In fact, Unai Emery’s men have won their last 6 home games scoring 19 goals and conceding just 5. After a fantastic 2-1 victory over Tottenham over the weekend, Emery’s side have all the confidence they need to snatch top spot from their Polish opposition. Our bet of the day is for Aston Villa to avoid defeat against Legia Warszawa.
Learn how to bet on football and win while getting unlimited access to the best betting tips, best odds and betting offers in Nigeria. [Sign up](https://m.betking.com/account/registration) today and start winning.