talkSPORT tips – Best football bets and expert advice on Thursday 12 March

Mar 12, 2026 - 07:30

Thursday night’s football action centres on the round of 16 of both the Europa League and Conference League with eight first-leg ties in each competition taking place.

Here are our Bet of the Day, Bet Builder and Acca suggestions for Thursday’s matches.

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Thursday football tips

Panathinaikos vs Real Betis Over 2.5 Goals @ 13/10

Look forward to a clash of styles when Panathinaikos take on Real Betis in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 showdown in Athens.

Panathinaikos, a distant fourth in the Greek Super League, can chuck all their eggs into this basket and will think they need some sort of an edge heading to Seville for next week’s return leg.

Rafa Benitez’s side have not lost at home since the end of November and come into this test off the back of 4-1 hammerings of OFI Crete and Levadiakos.

In the last round, they got away with a 2-2 home draw against Viktoria Plzen in the first leg before drawing the return and winning on penalties.

Benitez will presume they need to beat the fifth-placed side in La Liga, with Betis coming into the game off the back of a 2-0 loss at Getafe.

Pana are the top home scorers in Greece and there could be some value in going over 2.5 goals against Betis, half of whose games in the league phase yielded three or more goals.

Bet builder

Nottingham Forest vs Midtjylland – 13/5

Draw or Midtjylland Double Chance
Midtjylland 4+ Shots on Target
Over 5.5 Forest Corners

Five months after Midtjylland visited the City Ground in the league phase of the Europa League and beat Nottingham Forest 3-2, the sides meet again.

And on the evidence of that result and everything that has happened to both clubs since, there is no doubt the Danes are being chronically under-rated for this round of 16 first-leg tussle.

Midtjylland have played 14 games in Europe this season and lost once – 2-1 at Roma – and finished third in the league phase. Forest needed a play-off win over Fenerbahce – losing the home leg 2-1 – to make it to this stage.

Don’t be seduced by Forest’s 2-2 draw at a wasteful Manchester City last time out. They have won one of their last eight and the disciplined Danes can shut them out.

Go for the Draw/Midtjylland Double Chance as the cornerstone of the bet builder, along with the visitors to have at least three shots on target; they had 47 shots on target across their eight league-stage games.

Forest will need to be positive and look for the lead so back them to clock up at least six corners.

Acca

Stuttgart to beat Porto
Draw or Sparta Prague Double Chance vs AZ Alkmaar
Sigma Olomouc or Draw Double Chance vs Mainz
Acca pays @ 11/2

Stuttgart have won four of their five home Europa League ties this season and boast one of the best home records in the Bundesliga, in which they sit in fourth.

They will make it an uncomfortable night for Porto, who have flown into Germany after back-to-back trips to Sporting and Benfica (winning neither) and they could be a little weary as a result.

Make Stuttgart the platform of an acca alongside a pair of Double Chance lines from the Conference League.

First, a modest AZ side are being over-rated at home to Czech outfit Sparta Prague, who qualified for the last 16 in fourth and have to fancy their chances.

And their Czech Liga stablemates, Sigma Olomouc, who boast the best home defence by a country mile in their league, should have no doubts they can stifle Bundesliga relegation candidates Mainz.

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