MY ACCOUNT
West Ham will be guaranteed a spot in at least the knockout play-off phase if they beat Anderlecht in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
Scottish Premiership outfit Hearts are also back in action on Thursday when they head to Fiorentina.
Revenge will be on their agenda after a 3-0 loss on home soil in Group A, while Shamrock Rovers look set for another tough night in Group F when they face Molde.
Fiorentina vs Hearts (Thursday, 5.45pm)
The stats
Fiorentina picked up their first win in the Europa Conference League at the expense of Hearts last week, earning a 3-0 victory at Tynecastle.
That triumph ended a run of nine away games without a victory across all competitions – a streak that dated back to April 2022.
They have been much tougher to beat at home with Monday’s 4-0 loss to Lazio their first at the Stadio Artemio Franchi since April 2022.
Hearts’ only points in the Europa Conference League have come on the road, beating RFS 2-0 on Matchday 2, but they have lost both of their home fixtures in the competition.
The Viola are yet to concede a first-half goal in any of their appearances in the Europa Conference League this season.
Winger Christian Kouame registered a goal and an assist for Fiorentina at Hearts last week and could be influential once again.
Prediction
Victory for Fiorentina will not mathematically end Hearts’ hopes of getting out of the group but it would put them in a very precarious position.
They would likely need two wins from their final two fixtures at home to rock-bottom RFS and away at table-toppers Istanbul Basaksehir.
Hearts possess the worst defensive record in the group, conceding seven times in three outings, and that could prove to be their undoing in Italy.
A home win and over 2.5 goals, which can be backed at 8/15 looks the way to go.
Shamrock Rovers vs Molde (Thursday, 8pm)
The stats
Shamrock Rovers are in the group stage of a European competition for the first time since they made their maiden appearance in 2011-12 when they lost all six of their fixtures in the Europa League.
They do have a point to their name this time around, drawing their opening match 0-0 at home to Djurgarden, but have since lost successive games and are yet to score a single goal.
Molde are slightly more experienced in Europe, having enjoyed four previous campaigns in the Europa League, making it to the last-16 of that competition in 2020-21.
The Norwegian side have been enjoying themselves in front of goal lately and they have scored in both halves in five of their last six outings across all competitions.
Prediction
Rovers do not appear to have the quality to cause any problems in the Europa Conference League and Molde should be able to coast to victory as they look to strengthen their claim for knockout football.
The Hoops’ struggles in front of goal cannot be ignored and another Molde win to zero at 13/8 appeals.
Regarding where the goals might come from, look no further than Molde striker Ola Brynhildsen, who is 9/5 to score anytime.
Brynhildsen struck twice in the reverse fixture and has found the back of the net five times in his last four appearances across all competitions.
West Ham vs Anderlecht (Thursday, 8pm)
The stats
West Ham have been inconsistent in the Premier League this season, losing five, winning three and drawing one. However, they have won all three of their group stage encounters in the Europa Conference League.
A 1-0 victory at Anderlecht last time out has the Hammers in the driving seat in Group B and a fourth successive win will guarantee them a play-off knockout spot.
Anderlecht sit second in the group but have only scored once and conceded once en route to picking up four points from their three outings.
West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca appears to be finding his feet after a summer switch and has netted in four of his last five outings across all competitions.
Prediction
West Ham eased to a 3-1 win over FCSB in their only home outing in the competition and they are unbeaten in four across all competitions at the London Stadium – winning three in a row.
The Hammers can be backed at 5/12 to earn victory but it could be worth exploring the goals markets to try and squeeze out further value.
David Moyes has plenty of squad depth and has utilised his options well in the competition, allowing West Ham to finish games strongly.
Of the seven goals scored so far, six have come in the second half so backing +2 goals to be scored in the second half at 10/13 offers interest.
