Football Bet of the Day: Arda to make life harder for Ilves

On Thursday, the second leg of the first round of Europa League qualifying matches takes place, with a whole host of action for us to get stuck into. 

Our focus for today’s Football Bet of the Day takes us to Finland, where Ilves host Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk (17:00 BST). 

Now this tie is all but over after Shakhtar Donetsk thumped Ilves 6-0 in the first leg, but I still believe that there is value to be had in backing them in this second leg. They are a European giant and they’ve featured relatively frequently in the group stages of the Champions League over the past decade, so to see them in the first qualifying round of the Europa League is somewhat of a surprise. 

Ilves - please Google their club badge before we go any further -  finished second in Finland last year after the play-off stage, just two points behind the eventual champions KuPS. However, the difference in quality between the Veikkausliiga (didn’t have to look up how to spell that one, promise) and the Ukranian Premier League is absolutely vast. 

Ukraine is ranked 28th according to Uefa’s country coefficient, while Finland are 37th - two places below Armenia for comparison. The top teams in Ukraine have been able to compete in the major European competitions in recent years and although the league has lost some of its star players due to the Russian invasion. 

Ilves vs Shakhtar Donetsk Odds

Having said that, Shakhtar remain more than competitive at this level, and the first-leg display was magnificent. They absolutely hammered Ilves in the first leg, dominating from start to finish as the gap between the two became obvious. The hosts had 19 shots, 12 shots on target and 61% possession as they efficiently picked apart their opponents.

I’m not expecting another 6-0 victory from Shakhtar, but they should be able to find another comfortable victory given the clear difference between these two squads. The Ukranian side are now managed by former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan, who is in his second managerial job having got Eyupspor promoted in 2023/24. 

With their cast of Brazilian stars, including Kevin, Newerton, Alisson and Pedrinho - Shakhtar should have more than enough to win this second leg by a couple of goals, even if they rotate. That means our Football Bet of the Day for Thursday is Shakhtar Donetsk to beat Ilves with a -1 handicap, at a price of 11/10. 

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