Europa League tips: Davy Klaasen a class act

Recommended bets: Europa League

1pt no goalscorer in Rostov v Man Utd at 15/2

1pt Davy Klaasen to score v Copenhagen at 7/2

1pt Monchengladbach to beat Schalke at 12/5

While Jose Mourinho should by no means always be taken at his word, the concerns raised by the Manchester United manager over the pitch his side will play on against Rostov appear to be justified.

Mourinho said 'it is hard for me to believe we are going to play on that field - if you can call it a field' as he pondered changes to his line-up in Russia, where UEFA have confirmed that Thursday's game will go ahead despite their own admissions over the quality of the pitch.

We've been here before - and in the very recent past - with United, who won at both Zorya and St Etienne in this competition despite their manager's public criticism of the pitches in both instances. But this time it's a little different because they appear to face a genuine test on a pitch which really is questionable, and not just in one man's mind.

Clearly, United's current run of form is of a level Rostov cannot match. Their only defeat in four months came in the second-leg of their EFL Cup semi-final clash with Hull, one which was famously denied by Mourinho at his most playful.

Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth was of course a blip but for large periods they looked like a very good side and had Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted a second-half penalty, it's easy to argue that United would've surely gone on to win comfortably and extend their run of victories to seven.

Yet all that being said, Rostov won 6-0 on Friday and are exceptionally hard to score against, let alone beat, at home. In the Russian Premier League they've conceded just twice all season, haven't lost, and have kept clean sheets in their two toughest matches to date.

This record extends back into last season, too, as they went an entire campaign unbeaten, conceding a league-low seven, and all of a sudden it makes more sense that this side somehow beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the group stage, having previously lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid where their display was one of organised aggression throughout.

Rostov are capable of denying United if the visitors are either below strength or unable to produce their best on a very poor playing surface. And while Zlatan will surely play given his domestic suspension, Mourinho has already suggested that the influential Henrikh Mkhitaryan may sit out, especially given that a trip to Chelsea on Monday looms large.

With all of this in mind, the best bet looks to be no goalscorer. Rostov's aim will be to deny United a tie-killing away goal and 0-0 would be a genuine triumph. It's also a result they're familiar with, having drawn 0-0 on four occasions since that Atletico defeat 13 games ago.

This doesn't appear to be a random statistic which will shift markedly over time - it's a product of Rostov understanding their key strength and being good at executing a game plan based upon it. At the prices, it's worth backing them to produce the goods again.

It's always worth noting market movers in the Europa League and there's been a good deal of support for APOEL, who play host to Anderlecht.

This is surely down to the Cypriot side's outstanding home record, their last defeat coming in this competition back in December 2015, and more recently an impressive 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao.

Anderlecht, it's fair to say, would struggle to see off Bilbao in such an efficient manner but they are the free-scoring leaders of the Jupiler League, in which they have a 1/7 penalty-kick on Sunday and are therefore going to be fully focused on this.

Given that APOEL's star striker Pieros Sotiriou is suspended for this, there's little temptation to follow the money on this occasion and a better bet comes in Denmark, where FC Copenhagen host Ajax.

Again, we're dealing with a strong home record here as Copenhagen's only defeat in 40 games this season came away at Leicester in the group stage of the Champions League, where they were beaten 1-0.

Such a run of form deserves massive respect but it also needs context. Copenhagen are 12 points clear in a Danish Superliga which is decidedly weak; second-placed Brondby were dumped out of the Europa League by Panathinaikos, a side Ajax beat twice earlier this season and both times with a degree of comfort.

Collateral form lines and common sense suggests that Copenhagen's form isn't quite as strong as it looks and I'm keen to side with the visitors, who are flying right now and still have title ambitions in the Netherlands, with their trip to leaders PSV in late-April likely to prove decisive.

Here in Europe, they should advance over two legs and a goal from Davy Klaasen can help them to do so.

Klaasen has caught the eye of Everton boss Ronald Koeman and so much of his impressive work has been away from home, where 10 of his 12 goals have been scored.

The way he plays the game - linking midfield and attack, capitalising on space - lends itself to being dangerous on the road and 7/2 to find the net here looks a very fair price after he secured an important point for his side on Sunday.

Copenhagen haven't conceded at home in Europe but once again, this is a record which needs context and the run can end against a dangerous Ajax side who are lively outsiders to go all the way - an ambition which will largely depend on the impressive Klaasen.

Another player to watch here is Andreas Cornelius, Cardiff flop whose confidence will have been boosted by a first goal since November last Sunday.

Still only 23, Cornelius remains a striker with some potential and he's particularly dangerous in the air, a route which has paved the way to success for several sides against Ajax this season

What's more, Cornelius has scored in batches before - even this season he's managed three in four and four in five in two separate bursts. That being said, Cornelius is only a shade bigger than 2/1 and I much prefer Klaasen at the prices.

If there is a banker on this trappy coupon it's surely Celta Vigo, who host FK Krasnodar and should be good enough to oblige despite a 5-0 thumping at the Nou Camp last weekend.

Celta are a solid LaLiga side, best known for their dangerous attack led by Iago Aspas, whose 14 LaLiga goals put him third in the charts and best-of-the-rest behind Messi, Suarez and Ronaldo.

Krasnodar have their own star striker in Fedor Smolov, who caught the eye of Dortmund earlier this season and has since taken his record to an impressive 16 goals in 20 appearances.

He's tricky, versatile and hard working, so don't expect Celta to have this all their own way - but they should be good enough to win and 19/5 that they do so despite conceding looks reasonable.

Again, I can just about avoid temptation to get stuck in because in the back of my mind is the fact that Celta will know that a clean sheet might be the best route to the next round, given that they'll fancy themselves to get on the scoresheet in Russia.

No doubt the most appealing tie for the neutral is in France, where Lyon welcome Roma at what appears to be a good time - that's unless they meet a wounded animal.

Roma's slender title hopes received what could prove to be a fatal blow when they lost 2-1 to Napoli on Sunday, and given that they trail Lazio 2-0 in the Coppa Italia their silverware prospects are disappearing.

Clearly, they're good enough to win this trophy but first they have to overcome a Lyon side which is averaging almost four goals per game for the best part of three months, and more recently has won 4-2, 7-1 and 5-0 at home.

Alexandre Lacazette remains for my money the best attacker in Ligue 1 and with 14 goals in his last 14 games, 9/4 that he bags another in a home win seems a reasonable way of getting with the in-form French side.

Certainly, they'd shade the vote against opponents whose away record isn't particularly impressive but better value can be found in the all-German affair between Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach.

A strange thing happened to the latter two months ago, just when an abysmal away record spanning more than two seasons appeared set to be extended.

Trailing 2-0 at Leverkusen, they somehow won 3-2, thanks in no small part to Lars Stindl's brace, and since that day they've extended their away winning run to six games.

Even more astonishing was what happened at Fiorentina, where they were 2-0 down having also lost the first leg 1-0. Again led by Stindl, who this time scored a hat-trick, they scored four unanswered goals in 16 minutes to win 4-2 and progress to this clash with Schalke.

It's a phenomenal turnaround and so much credit must go to Dieter Hecking, who took over in December and can guide his side to another win here at what appears a decent price of 12/5.

Gladbach beat Schalke 4-2 in a rehearsal for this on Saturday and all the recent evidence we have says they're equally if not more effective on the road, so given that they're also ahead of Schalke in the league, on a phenomenal winning run away from home and must feel invincible, they should surely be closer to the 13/8 mark.

With little to say about Olympiacos v Besiktas, I can't finish without at least a passing reference to the all-Belgian affair between Gent and Genk.

Again, the home side appear short enough as odds-on favourites - this is sixth v seventh in Jupiler League terms and too much stock has been placed on Gent's dismissal of Tottenham in the last round.

I expect this to be tight, as most meetings between these two have been. Six of the last seven have in fact produced two or fewer goals and under 2.5 at 4/5 looks very fair.

Where to watch on TV: BT Sport

Posted at 1700 GMT on 08/03/17