Football Bet of the Day: Thursday’s 11/10 chance comes from Europa League contest

Porto and Roma will lock horns on Thursday evening (20:00, live on TNT Sports 2) in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie with both sides vying for a place in the last 16.

Read on for Thursday's football bet of the day, which comes from the Estadio do Dragao.

Football Odds

Porto vs Roma Odds

The hosts have been on a woeful run of form heading into this contest, and they could continue to struggle when they host Roma on Thursday night.

Porto are 11/8 to claim a first-leg victory, giving them an implied win probability of 42.1%, with the draw available at 12/5, while a Roma win can be backed at 2/1.

The Portuguese outfit have won just one of their last eight in all competitions - a 1-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv - and their recent downturn in form has dramatically reduced their chances of regaining the Liga Portugal title. In addition, that triumph over Maccabi Tel Aviv on matchday eight proved significant as a draw would have seen Porto eliminated by Braga.

Danny Namaso’s stoppage-time equaliser against Sporting CP last time out spared them another defeat, but Thursday's opponents will present another difficult challenge.

After a tough start to the season, Roma have found stability under Claudio Ranieri and are unbeaten in eight of their last 10 matches across all competitions. However, their next challenge lies in tightening a backline that has conceded in six of their last eight competitive matches.

However, a 1-0 defeat away to AZ Alkmaar is the Italian team’s only loss in their last six European contests, in which they've beaten Braga, Eintracht Frankfurt and Dynamo Kyiv.

One thing that Ranieri must improve is his record in knockout fixtures - the former Leicester City manager has lost nine of his last 11 knockout matches in continental competitions. After being dumped out of the Coppa Italia by AC Milan, Ranieri's primary focus will be delivering Europa League success before departing the club in the summer.

Since the defeat to AZ, Roma's away fortunes have improved, winning two of their next three road trips - a 2-1 triumph over Udinese and a 1-0 victory over Venezia.

Porto are still adjusting to their new manager's tactics - Martin Anselmi has not long arrived from Mexican side Cruz Azul - so I can see the visitors taking a lead back to Rome.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

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