UEFA Conference League Round 2 Parlay

FC Koln vs Slovacko

Despite opening the campaign with a DFB-Pokal defeat, Koln should be very happy with their start to the season, taking nine points from six league games and progressing to the Europa Conference League group stage. They earned their first group stage points since 1997 last week in the 1-1 draw against Nice in a game that was overshadowed by crowd trouble, which forced the kickoff to be delayed by an hour.

They failed to replicate that result last weekend when they lost 1-0 to Union Berlin in their domestic league and they will now turn their attention to Thursday’s encounter against group underdogs Slovacko. They finished seventh in the German top flight the previous season, pulling off many upsets. They are once again sitting seventh with last weekend’s match being their only defeat so far.

On the other side, Slovacko is currently placed eighth in a table of 16 in the Czech top division, and they currently have a negative goal difference. They are also going through a rather poor stretch of performances away from home, allowing goals in huge numbers on the road. They are a team to fade in this group so if you’re betting online, you should start betting against them. They also had to settle for a point in their opening game last week as they played out a 3-3 draw against 10-man Partizan.

Pick: FC Koln -1½( -130)

FCSB vs Anderlecht

After failing to spoil West Ham’s party in London, FCSB will look to grab their first points in Group B when they face Anderlecht in Bucharest. The Romanians did suffer the 3-1 loss to David Moyes’ troops, but their display in the London Stadium clash was anything but poor, at least in the first half. They are struggling badly in their domestic league with just one win and eight points to their name in eight rounds.

FCSB transferred too many players in the summer transfer window and they also sacked their manager, replacing him with one of their former players in Nicolae Dica. They are winless in four games, losing two and allowing nine goals in the process. Despite being in front of their fans, they enter this clash as underdogs at +255 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds while the goal line is set at 2½.

On the other side, Anderlecht managed to beat Silkeborg 1-0 last week in their Conference League opener, but they returned home empty-handed last weekend, losing 2-1 away to Westerlo. The poor performance led club CEO Wouter Vandenhaute to enter the dressing room and discuss the match with the players, with Anderlecht now sitting ninth in the league table on 10 points. This has led to increased calls from fans to fire manager Felice Mazzu, who joined the side from city rivals Royale Union SG this summer, despite him winning Belgian football manager of the year.

Pick: Anderlecht (+110)

Hapoel Beer Sheva vs Villarreal

Villarreal followed up their comfortable 4-0 La Liga win over Elche by scoring four more goals in their entertaining 4-3 victory over Lech Poznan in the Europa League last week. Unfortunately, their winning run came to an end last weekend when they lost 1-0 away to Betis. Villarreal has won only one of their previous four European matches against Israeli opposition and drew their only two away visits, in 2017 and 2020, against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Still, they are two classes above their opponents and we will include them in our soccer picks and parlays.

They should have enough to easily win their group, being possibly one of the favorites to go all the way and lift the Conference League trophy. Unai Emery took the Yellow Submarine to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2006. However, a seventh-place La Liga finish means it’s a less glamorous debut in the Conference League for Emery’s men this season.

Beer Sheva is part of the rather inferior Israeli top flight, and currently is struggling to maintain even a mid-table position there. They are allowing goals for fun, and even so in front of their fans. Moreover, they are also on a two-game losing streak at their home. Villarreal is unbeaten in 14 of their past 15 overall matches, and in the process, they registered 12 impressive wins.

Pick: Villarreal -1 at -110