Already knocked out Hearts visit Istanbul to face a Basaksehir side who need a win to secure top spot. George Gamble selects his best bet.
Football betting tips: Europa Conference League
2pts Basaksehir -1.5 Asian Handicap at 17/20 (General)
Hearts deserve some credit as they managed to beat Rigas FS in their previous Europa Conference League (ECL) outing despite learning their fate not long before the start of that clash.
It also saw them put an end to a run of six games without a victory but whilst they can play without pressure here, manager Robbie Neilson has already pointed out that his side are down to “bare bones” due to injuries.
The Scottish outfit take a trip to Turkey to round off their ECL campaign and truth be told, they may be glad to see the back of this year's installment of the competition having failed to qualify for the next round and being on the end of some pretty heavy defeats.
One of the sides that inflicted one of those losses was hosts Istanbul Basaksehir who left Tynecastle Park as 4-0 victors in the reverse fixture.
Boz Baykuşlar were utterly dominant in that clash as they comfortably outplayed Hearts in all departments, seeing the lion's share of possession and registering more shots. Now, they need to repeat that feat to put their position at the top of the group beyond all doubt.
Emre Belözoğlu’s side will be confident of a positive result but their form has taken a bit of a wobble in recent weeks and have suffered defeat in three of their previous six outings. Prior to those six games, the visitors had gone undefeated for 24 successive matches across all competitions and they kept a clean sheet in 13 of those.
It’s clear to see that Basaksehir have the motivation heading into this encounter and a home win is certainly expected given they are a best price of just 3/10 to emerge victorious.
However, they are not a side to rest on their laurels when they go a goal up and they’ll want to put this game to bed and guarantee their victory.
ISTANBUL BASAKSEHIR have covered a -1.5 ASIAN HANICAP in six of their last eight matches at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium across all competitions and given they’re the only one of these two sides with something to play for, are comfortably the better side and will be facing a Hearts outfit with a number of injuries, the 17/20 available on the Turkish outfit covering that handicap once again seems a standout pick.
Istanbul Basaksehir v Hearts best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Basaksehir -1.5 Asian Handicap at 17/20 (General)
Score prediction: Istanbul Basaksehir 3-1 Hearts (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)
Odds correct at 1630 BST (01/11/22)
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