Our prediction for this Europa League match:
Thursday’s Europa League game at Merkur-Arena pits together Sturm Graz and PSV, the two teams who meet for the first time ever in European competitions. Sturm Graz failed to spoil Monaco’s party at Stade Louis II in their opener, and they face yet another uphill task in their second group game. All Ingolitsch, Mwepu, and Trummer are likely to miss the game with injuries for the hosts.
PSV, on the other hand, aim to bounce back from a shocking Eredivisie loss to Willem II where they failed to turn their dominance into victory. The Dutch outfit have been producing fine displays in the national championship this season, and given their attacking potential, we believe that punters from all around the globe can find value in betting on the visitors. A man to watch in the away team will be Israel international Zahavi, who is not getting any older, while all Fofana, Seelt, Sambo, Saibari, Delanghe and Kreekels could miss the game through injuries.
Highlighted Player (Mario Gotze):
Mario Gotze is a German midfielder, who played for Ronsberg and Eintrach Hombruch during his youth career before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2001. He made a great progress during his spell at the Borussia Dortmund’s youth academy and on 21 November, 2009 he made his Bundesliga debut for the Millionaires.
Gotze scored 22 goals in 83 league appearances for the club between 2009 and 2013 and he joined Borussia Dortmund’s bitterest rivals Bayern Munich on April, 2013. The German midfielder, who is capable of playing as a striker as well, failed to impress in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga campaign, but it has to be noted that he was struggling with injury at the start of the season.
Gotze won three Bundesliga trophies with Bayern Munich, but at the end of the 2015/2016 season he returned to Borussia Dortmund. In 2014 he represented Germany at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and he scored the winner in the final against Argentina. Mario Gotze was born in Memmingen on 3 June, 1992.
Highlighted Team (PSV):
Based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, PSV is a professional football club competing the top flight of the Dutch football, Eredivisie. PSV play their home games at the Phillips Stadium which can accommodate 35,000 people. Over the course of its 100-year-old history, PSV has become one of the country’s Big Three clubs that has dominated Eredivisie along with Ajax and Feyenoord.
Known as a stepping stone for future world-class stars, PSV propelled the likes of Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Romario, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and most recently Arjen Robben. The Boeren (Peasants) as they call themselves take pride in Eindhoven’s status of being a provincial city and never hide their Brabantian heritage which allow them to enjoy their uniqueness in the company of more prominent clubs from Dutch big cities.
The Peasants boast 23 domestic league titles and 9 KNVB Cup trophies. They have also managed two major European titles – European Cup in 1987-88 and UEFA Cup in 1977-78.