Thursday Football Tips: Rinse and repeat with 9/1 cards Bet Builder | OneFootball

Bet of the Day

Zeki Celik: Booked in three of his last five starts

Last week's first leg in Portugal was a card-fest and our football props column is targeting the card markets when Roma and Porto meet again in the Europa League on Thursday.

Roma v PortoThursday 20 February, 17:45Live on TNT Sports 3

Things could be feisty on and off the pitch in Rome on Thursday evening.

There were 11 cards when these sides met in Oporto last week, including a red for Bryan Cristante. With the game ending 1-1, there's still everything to play for in the Stadio Olimpico.

With Porto having forged links with Lazio over the years, police have openly admitted are concerned about trouble in the city and in the stands.

Leg 1: Red card in the match

In short, there could be a tense atmosphere during this contest and I'm keen to look at the card markets.

Last week's first leg was a niggly, stop-start affair in which the referee got involved a lot.

The man in charge this week is Frenchman Francois Letexier, whose card record is decent, particular in terms of dismissals.

In his five UEFA club appointments this season, three have seen a red card. There's also been a penalty in four of them.

Admittedly, five matches isn't a huge sample but if we go back to include the past three seasons too, you see that Letexier has sent a player off in 11 of his last 32 UEFA games.

Throw in last week's spite, and backing another red card in this one looks worthwhile.

Leg 2: Zeki Celik to be shown a card

To create a 9/1 Bet Builder, I'm also going to add Roma's Zeki Celik to be shown a card.

The Turk is a player who has long been known for his poor discipline - we've seen it during his spell at Lille and also for his national team.

Recently, he's been booked in three of his last five starts, including in last week's first leg. Notably, his card numbers have risen since his move into a back three - he's mainly played at right-back in a four during his career.

This bet landed seven days ago and conditions look nicely set up for a repeat.

Recommended bets

Back red card in the match and Zeki Celik to be shown a card @ 9/1

Column P/L 2024/25

Staked: 218pts Returned: 252.71pts 2024/25 P/L: +34.71pts

2023/24 P/L: +16.78pts 2022/23 P/L: +68.69pts