The most interesting clash of the UEFA Europa League Play-Offs will take place at the Olympic Stadium in Turin, where Serie A side Torino host Premier League surprise package Wolverhampton Wanderers for the first leg of their tie. The two teams have never met before as both have been absent from European competitions in most of the recent seasons. Wolverhampton were successful in their only previous meeting against an Italian side, they defeated Juventus 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 1971-1972 UEFA Cup.
Torino have played two qualifying rounds in the UEFA Europa League, they defeated Debrecen 7-1 on aggregate and then grabbed a 5-1 aggregate victory over Ukrainian side Shakhtyor Soligorsk. The Serie A season will start next weekend, and Torino face Sassuolo at home in their inaugural match. Iago Falque is the only injury concern for head coach Walter Mazzarri, the Spaniard missed the two matches against Shakhtyor Soligorsk due to an ankle problem.
Wolverhampton have been the surprise of last season's Premier League, they finished seventh and earned their first European participation since 1981. They had to go through two qualifying rounds and brushed aside both Crusaders and Pyunik Yerevan. Moreover, they had a solid start in the Premier League, earning a goalless draw at Leicester and a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Monday. Matt Doherty is suffering from illness and might sit this one out.
Probable line-ups:
Torino: Sirigu - Izzo, Bremer, Nkoulou - Silvestri, Rincon, Baselli, Meite, Aina - Zaza, Belotti
Wolves: Patricio - Bennett, Coady, Boly - Doherty, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny - Jimenez, Jota
My prediction:
Wolverhampton have the advantage of having played more competitive matches this season, and I think they can snatch a 1-1 draw which would give them a slight advantage ahead of the second leg.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Torino win - 2.30
Draw - 3.20
Wolves win - 3.10
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Comments (1)
sharpe 08/27/19, 06:08:37 PM
I think Wolves are quite well manged team and in fact wasn't surprised they've managed to win the first leg even playing away from home. No doubt it's always tough...
I think Wolves are quite well manged team and in fact wasn't surprised they've managed to win the first leg even playing away from home. No doubt it's always tough for a mid table team in England to manage the European participation with a PL duties but I still think Wolves can do relatively good in both competitions having a large enough squad and a manager who's willing to take some risks in rotating the side in the name of everyone being fresh and kept in form on both fronts.
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