Basel have found their form over the last month and should beat Sporting Lisbon on Thursday.
The Swiss club dropped into the Europa League this season having found CFR Cluj too good over two legs in the final qualifying round of the Champions League but Basel have plenty of recent European pedigree and a decent run in this competition is not beyond them.
Defeats of Manchester United and Bayern Munich last season showed what they are capable of and, while not quite as strong this time around, coach Murat Yakin still has plenty of talent at his disposal.
Veteran striker Alexander Frei still leads the line excellently for Thursday’s hosts and he is likely to team up with Marco Streller in attack against the Portuguese.
That pair have combined for 13 Super League goals this season and both were on target in the weekend’s impressive 4-0 demolition of leaders Grasshopper.
That win moved Basel within three points of the summit and it is now five wins in a row in all competitions, scoring 13 and conceding just twice in that period.
These two sides played out a goalless draw in Lisbon in their opening Group G fixture but Basel have improved since that stalemate in September and Sporting are really up against it to qualify.
Without a win in the Europa League this term, Sporting are also struggling domestically under Belgian coach Franky Vercauteren and a 1-0 win over Braga 11 days ago snapped a run of eight matches without a win.
Sporting’s away form over the last calendar year has been dreadful, just three victories and 15 defeats in 26 matches, and quite how Basel are slightly odds against is bemusing.
Sporting have been soundly beaten on away trips to Videoton (3-0) and Genk (2-1) in this competition already and I recommended a hefty wager in what looks the bet of the week by some distance.
5pts Back Basel (vs. Sporting) @ 2.05 (Paddy Power)