Trabzonspor v AEK Athens Betting Tip Trabzonspor – 29 August 2019

Trabzonspor to finish the job in style

Europa League Tips

TurkeyTrabzonspor v AEK AthensGreece
Thursday 29th August 1830hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League
Pick Trabzonspor
Bookmaker Marathon Bet
Odds: 4/5 (odds taken 21.00 GMT, Wednesday 28 August)

1 X 2
77/100 51/20 73/20

* (Betting Odds were taken from 22Bet on August 28, 2019 at 20.00)

Trabzonspor took a massive step towards the Europa League group stages with a 3-1 win in Athens last week. Can AEK muster a response or will the Turks prove too good once again?

Europa League Playoff Betting at Marathon Bet

Trabzonspor Preview – Can Trabzonspor complete the job and make the Europa League group stages?

This is the first time in four years that Trabzonspor are competing in the Europa League but they are on the cusp of reaching the group stages. The Turkish outfit were given a very difficult tie against Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round, when they entered the competition. A very entertaining but hard fought 4-3 win on aggregate seen them past that opponent and into another challenging tie against AEK. The first leg started badly losing an early goal but it was a terrific response from Unal Karaman’s men. A hat-trick from Caleb Ekuban has now put them within touching distance of playing European football at least until the end of the year.

That was Ekuban’s fourth goal in qualifying and it’s something of a surprise considering he has not been prolific during his spell at the club. The Ghanaian will be hoping to continue his rich vein of form into the second leg.

Trabzonspor last played in the group stages back in 2014/15 when they were eliminated at that stage. This playoff round already represents the furthest they have gotten since but having earned such a good result in the away leg it would be a huge disappointment of they were unable to go further. They have also started the league campaign relatively well – picking up four points from their first two games.

Both teams to score
10/11

AEK Athens Preview – Are AEK good enough to score at least three times and mount an unlikely comeback?

Having won the Greek title in 2017/18, AEK surprised many by reaching the groups stages of the Champions League last season. It was a pretty humbling experience from them, however, as they failed to win any of their group matches and ended up bottom of their section with zero points. It’s further illustration of just how much of a jump it is from qualification to the group stages themselves. They return to Europa League action this season following a third place finish in their domestic championship. It could be a much shorter European campaign this time around as well following their struggles in the first leg.

A 3-1 aggregate win over Craiova from Romania in the previous round was comfortable enough but there’s no getting away from how well beaten they were last Thursday. Marko Livaja’s goal was the only positive on the night and they have a lot of work to do if they are to progress. Having lost three goals at home, they must now score the same number on their travels to have any chance of overturning the deficit. To put that into some sort of context, AEK have managed that just once in their last 11 attempts in the Europa League.

Key-Facts – Trabzonspor v AEK Athens

  • Trabzonspor came back from losing a goal early on to win 3-1 and at the same time take a big step towards playing group stage football for the first time in five years
  • AEK have work to do if they are to make it to the group stages, needing to score at least three to have any chance
  • This game could see a swift return to St James’ for Ayoze Perez who switched clubs in the summer

Trabzonpsor v AEK Athens Betting Advice

This had the feeling of a close game when the draw was made but it was a dominant performance from Trabzonspor and they are now massively fancied to progress. AEK have some decent European pedigree of late following their excellent run to the Champions League group stages 12 months ago. The biggest challenge for them here, however, is playing a more offensive game and doing it on their travels. The Greeks are a team built on good organisation, counter attacking and strong at set pieces. They are likely to need more than that to get past their hosts.
Trabzonspor lost just three times at home last season and will be confident of finishing the job off and hoping to do so with a victory. The situation and circumstances do not appear to suit the visitors and they are likely to struggle in Turkey tomorrow. Take the home home.