Europa League Matchday 1 Preview – Thursday, 17 September 2026
The second night of the Europa League league phase gives us nine very different matches. Juventus and Crystal Palace are strong home favourites, Salzburg travel to Sofia with one of the best attacking runs on the card, while Beşiktaş–Marseille and Celtic–Ferencváros look far less predictable. Real Sociedad–Bournemouth is another game where reputation alone probably tells us very little.
The fixtures shown for 17 September are confirmed in UEFA’s league-phase schedule, including Levski–Salzburg, Beşiktaş–Marseille, Celtic–Ferencváros, Juventus–NEC and Real Sociedad–Bournemouth.
OFI Crete vs Hoffenheim
OFI have earned the right to be taken seriously. They eliminated CSKA Sofia 5-0 on aggregate, winning 3-0 at home and 2-0 away, and followed that European run with a 2-0 league victory over Kifisia.
Hoffenheim offer more attacking quality, but their Bundesliga start has been messy. They lost 3-2 at Köln and then threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 against Borussia Dortmund.
That defensive instability makes the short away price difficult to love. OFI are much stronger at home than many casual bettors will assume.
Prediction: OFI Crete 1-1 Hoffenheim
Best Pick: OFI +1 Asian Handicap
Alternative: Goal/Goal-Yes
Levski Sofia vs Salzburg
This is one of Thursday’s more interesting early games.
Levski are coming off a 1-0 win over CSKA 1948, and their European campaign earlier in the summer showed how difficult they are to break down in Sofia.
Salzburg, however, are arriving in frightening scoring form. They beat Austria Vienna 4-1 and then destroyed Rapid Vienna 5-1, with Haris Tabaković scoring twice in the first 21 minutes of the Rapid match.
The early market has Salzburg only around 2.25, with Levski around 2.95, which tells us bookmakers are giving the Bulgarian home advantage real respect.
I still favour Salzburg’s attacking quality, but I would rather protect the away side than take an aggressive handicap.
Prediction: Levski Sofia 1-2 Salzburg
Best Pick: Salzburg Draw No Bet
Alternative: Salzburg Over 1.5 Team Goals
Beşiktaş vs Marseille
This match could become chaotic very quickly.
Beşiktaş arrive after an excellent 2-1 away win over Fenerbahçe, having already scored six against Çorum earlier in the season.
Marseille’s weekend was far worse. They lost 3-2 at home to Paris FC, with Lassine Sinayoko scoring a hat-trick for the visitors. Marseille have now already shown both sides of themselves: they opened the campaign with a 4-0 win over Strasbourg, but defensive mistakes have followed.
Istanbul is exactly the wrong place for a team carrying defensive uncertainty.
Marseille may have more individual quality, but Beşiktaş are playing with confidence and the atmosphere should be intense.
Prediction: Beşiktaş 2-2 Marseille
Best Pick: Over 2.5 Goals
Alternative: Goal/Goal-Yes
Real Sociedad vs Bournemouth
Neither team inspires huge confidence at the moment.
Real Sociedad started La Liga with defeats to Betis and Real Madrid before beating Espanyol 2-1 and drawing 0-0 with Celta.
Bournemouth have produced one of the strangest Premier League starts. They scored first in each of their opening three matches but failed to win any of them, dropping seven points from winning positions. Their latest match ended 2-2 against Newcastle after another late collapse.
This is the kind of match where Europa League double chance tips make more sense than trying to force a confident 1X2 selection.
Sociedad should control more of the ball at home, but Bournemouth’s pace in transition is exactly the sort of threat that can hurt them.
Prediction: Real Sociedad 1-1 Bournemouth
Best Pick: Bournemouth +1 Asian Handicap
Alternative: Under 3.5 Goals
Celtic vs Ferencváros
Celtic are perfect domestically so far. Their latest league match was a 2-1 comeback win at St Mirren, making it five wins from five in the Premiership.
Ferencváros are in excellent form themselves. Before Sunday’s 2-2 derby draw with Újpest, they had won five consecutive competitive matches, including a 4-0 victory over Trabzonspor and a 3-0 win at Győr.
This is not a normal Celtic home banker.
Ferencváros are comfortable without dominating possession and have already shown that they can play efficiently away from Budapest.
Celtic Park still matters, but I expect both teams to have chances.
Prediction: Celtic 2-1 Ferencváros
Best Pick: Goal/Goal-Yes
Alternative: Celtic Draw No Bet
Crystal Palace vs Lech Poznań
Palace finally got their first Premier League win on Saturday, producing a dramatic 3-2 comeback at Fulham. Ben Chilwell scored the late winner after Tyrick Mitchell had equalised twice.
But Lech arrive in outstanding form.
They have beaten Widzew Łódź 3-2, Jagiellonia 2-1 and Raków 1-0 in their last three domestic games, while their European qualification included a 7-0 home win over Thun.
Palace deserve favouritism, but Lech are far more dangerous than a typical underdog at this level.
I would avoid Palace -1.5.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Lech Poznań
Best Pick: Crystal Palace to Win
Alternative: Lech +1.5 Asian Handicap
Juventus vs NEC Nijmegen
This looks like one of the clearer home-win positions.
Juventus drew 1-1 with Milan on Sunday, with Federico Gatti scoring a stoppage-time equaliser. They remain unbeaten through their opening three Serie A matches with seven points.
NEC have just lost 3-1 at home to Feyenoord, and now travel to Turin four days after another Eredivisie match against Utrecht.
Juventus should dominate territory, possession and chances.
The only question is whether the price on the straight home win is worth taking. For a single bet, the handicap gives more interest.
Prediction: Juventus 3-0 NEC Nijmegen
Best Pick: Juventus AH -1.5
Alternative: Juventus Over 2.5 Team Goals
Lillestrøm vs Torreense
This is a genuinely unusual Europa League fixture.
Lillestrøm have struggled domestically but produced a useful 2-1 away win over Brann in their latest completed match. They previously eliminated Egnatia to reach the league phase.
Torreense are also inconsistent. They lost 3-0 to Vizela before responding with a 2-0 away victory against Benfica B.
The Norwegian side should benefit from the home environment and artificial-surface familiarity, but this is not a game I would use as the foundation of an accumulator.
Prediction: Lillestrøm 2-1 Torreense
Best Pick: Lillestrøm Draw No Bet
Alternative: Over 1.5 Goals
Viktoria Plzeň vs Union Saint-Gilloise
Plzeň had one of the wildest qualifying ties of the summer. After losing 3-0 to Red Star Belgrade, they somehow won the return 5-1 after extra time to reach the league phase. Their latest league result was also impressive, a 3-0 away win at Artis Brno.
Union SG are arguably in even better form.
They beat Anderlecht 3-0, St Truiden 3-0 and Charleroi 3-2, giving them three consecutive league wins and nine goals scored.
That makes this one of my favourite games for both teams scoring.
Neither side looks naturally suited to protecting a 0-0.
Prediction: Viktoria Plzeň 2-2 Union SG
Best Pick: Goal/Goal-Yes
Alternative: Over 2.5 Goals
Best Bets and Correct Score Picks
Anyone searching for sure odds Europa League today should be careful with this card. Juventus are the strongest favourite, but several of the other matches are much closer than the club names suggest.
My strongest selections are:
- Juventus -1.5
- Beşiktaş–Marseille Over 2.5 Goals
- Celtic–Ferencváros BTTS Yes
- Plzeň–Union SG BTTS Yes
- Salzburg Draw No Bet
- Crystal Palace to Win
For the higher-risk Europa League jackpot predictions, my scoreline card would be:
OFI 1-1 Hoffenheim
Levski 1-2 Salzburg
Beşiktaş 2-2 Marseille
Real Sociedad 1-1 Bournemouth
Celtic 2-1 Ferencváros
Crystal Palace 2-1 Lech Poznań
Juventus 3-0 NEC
Lillestrøm 2-1 Torreense
Viktoria Plzeň 2-2 Union SG
If I had to choose one Europa League correct score prediction today, Juventus 3-0 NEC would be my first choice. The quality gap is clear, Juve are unbeaten domestically, and NEC have just conceded three at home to Feyenoord.
The matches I would trust most for goals are Beşiktaş–Marseille and Plzeň–Union SG. Celtic–Ferencváros is another strong BTTS candidate. Real Sociedad–Bournemouth is the one I would treat most cautiously, while Levski–Salzburg could be much closer than a casual look at the two club names suggests.