Four fantastic UEFA Europa League quarterfinals set to play out Thursday
Mikel Arteta has turned around Arsenal.
He has the Gunners playing great football, and they are lighting up the world.
Except they aren’t: Arsenal sits ninth in the Premier League table, which could be 10th after Aston Villa plays its game in hand. So the Gunners, seven points behind sixth place Liverpool, probably have to win the UEFA Europa League to get back into Europe next season (and it would be in the Champions League).
The Gunners will face a tough Slavia Praha side that played them to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but are banged up, and now saw Ondrej Kudela get a 10-match UEFA ban for racist abuse.
I have to be honest: I think Prague will be raring to go in this contest, and I don’t think Arsenal is that good. It is really taking a lot for me to trust the Gunners in this spot, especially after seeing the teams Prague beat to get here. But there is no way Arsenal goes out here, right?
Manchester United comes home down a few men due to suspensions, but with a 2-0 lead over Granada. Roma comes home with a 2-1 lead, and with the Ajax injury crisis worsening. Finally, Villarreal has a 1-0 lead, and should see out Dinamo Zagreb.
Check Fubo.TV for channel listings
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL SECOND LEGS
(All games 3 p.m. EDT)
Roma (+175) vs. Ajax (+140), draw (+275), Paramount+, Galavision, and Fubo.TV (Roma leads 2-1 on aggregate)
Manchester United (-240) vs. Granada (+650), draw (+360), Paramount+, UniMas and Fubo.TV (United leads 2-0 on aggregate)
Slavia Praha (+360) vs. Arsenal (-125), draw (+265), Paramount+, TUDN, and Fubo.TV (tied 1-1 on aggregate)
Villarreal (-220) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (+700), draw (+320), Paramount+, TUDNXtra, and Fubo.TV (Villarreal leads 1-0 on aggregate)
THE PICKS:
Manchester United -1.25 AH (+100)
Roma +0.25 AH (-122)
Arsenal ML (-125)
Villarreal -1 AH (-125)
Dinamo Zagreb under 0.5 goals (-115)
CORRECT GOAL SCORER BETS:
Mason Greenwood, Manchester United (+185)
Donny Van de Beek (IF HE STARTS), Manchester United (+325)
Edin Dzeko, Roma (+150) or Borja Mayoral, Roma (+190)-Take whoever starts