Ladbrokes Free Bet and Europa League Thursday Betting Preview

The 2012 Europa League fixtures are getting underway with all of the big teams in action at this stage. As usual, there is an assortment of nearly unpronouncable Eastern European sides you've probably never heard of (Neftchi Baku anybody?) but there is also several very fascinating fixtures featuring some prominent European sides.

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England is well represented in the 2012 Europa League and, after Manchester City went on to win the competition last year, a second English winner in a row certainly isn't out of the question. The real variable is whether the extra campaign required, and the travel that comes with it, will be overwhelming for the English sides entered in the competition.

In the 12:05 kick-off slot, punters will find Newcastle facing off against Atromitos and a fascinating encounter between Liverpool and Hearts. Both sides go into their respective matches as the betting favourites and Liverpool carry a very slim 1/5 price tag to get the better of the Scottish side – who have been known to pull off upset victories, particularly in European competition.

Newcastle are an unknown quantity to a lot of European sides, in regards to their style of play and approach to the game, particularly in away fixtures. They're priced at a 1/3 margin and look likely to steamroller their competition this year.

There are several notable continental sides ready to roll here and virtually all of them are facing first round home draws. Inter Milan play host to Vaslui and they're trading at a 1/5 listing to get throughthis one. PSV Eindhoven are considered some of the biggest favourites of the day with a 1/10 price tag to get a result against FK Zeta Golubovci.

CSKA Moscow face off against AIK Solna and carry a slim 3/10 price to get the result.

There are a few competitive fixtures worth looking at between some of the bigger European sides. Sparta Prague vs Feyenoord sounds more like a first-round Champions League game and Sparta get the edge from the bookmakers with a 13/10 price tag while the Dutch side trade at 21/10.

Bordeaux play host to Red Star Belgrade and this one may have upset written all over it. Bordeaux deserve respect, but Red Star have proven their ability to get the result on the road. They trade at a hefty 10/1 price tag to get the away win while the hosts are priced at a slim 1/3.

A four-fold with Sporting Lisbon, Liverpool, Newcastle, Lazio and Inter Milan all to win trades at even money.