The Estadio Benito Villamarín is the venue for this eagerly anticipated fixture between Real Betis and Rangers.

Despite losing 1-0 away to Sparta Prague on matchday five, the hosts are in pole position to qualify from this group as they sit top on nine points with the visitors (eight points) and the Czech side (seven points) closely behind. Therefore, the equation for Real Betis is simple, a win will see them qualify for the last 16 as group winners, avoiding an additional play-off game as a result.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side should have every reason to be confident ahead of this clash, as a draw with Real Madrid here at the weekend stretched their unbeaten run in La Liga to 11 matches, while a 2-1 win against Villanovense also secured their place in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey.

Isco runs the midfield engine for the hosts and his experience and craft is likely to create issues in the centre of the park, while Willian Jose and former Leicester man Ayoze Perez will certainly be a handful for the visitors’ defence.

Rangers have performed well on home soil in the Europa League, drawing with Aris Limassol and beating both Sparta Prague and their opponents here in the reverse fixture. However, it’s away from Ibrox where they have struggled, losing in Greece and playing out a drab 0-0 in the Czech Republic, and this represents arguably their most difficult fixture on the road.

The visitors will have to be switched on to collect anything from the game, but there is a sense that Philippe Clement is starting to make his mark at the club and Rangers are not without a chance here. In particular, they have solid domestic form to draw on as they have won eight of the last nine games in the Scottish Premiership, scoring 23 goals during that run. However, with due respect, the gulf between the respective domestic leagues is huge and this is an altogether more difficult proposition, it would be a surprise to see the Gers win the game.

With plenty on the line in this group, both sides are likely to be going for the win, but Real Betis have been very good this season and should have too much for their opponents, so we are taking draw no bet for insurance on our selection. The acca would stay alive if this game ends in a draw.

The Alphamega Stadium will host this intriguing game between Aris Limassol and Sparta Prague.

The hosts already know that their Europa League adventure is over for this season, and even a win here will not guarantee they are playing in the Europa Conference League in the New Year. However, the Cypriots are a proud side and there is no doubt that they’ll give this everything they’ve got to get a positive result.

In terms of their strengths, the attacking aspect of their game is to be admired as the home side have scored an impressive 27 goals in their 14 games in the Cyta Championship, and the goals are shared among the team. In fact, the home side have scored in their last eight consecutive fixtures and it’s more than likely they’ll get opportunities to extend that run in this one, especially with how the reverse fixture played out as Sparta Prague won an end to end thriller 3-2 with chances galore.

For Sparta Prague, the permutations are wide-ranging, as they could realistically finish in any place in the group table following the conclusion of the last round of matches. They are, therefore, likely to set up in an attacking way, looking to win the game and take care of the own objectives, and there is every reason to suggest they prevail given current form.

Brian Priske’s side have won their last five matches in all competitions, four of which came without the opposition scoring. While being solid at the back, they’ve also been very good offensively, netting 45 times in their 18 domestic league games and they are sure to be on the front foot in this one. This game could be end to end and the visitors should create plenty of chances for their goalscoring midfielders Lukas Haraslin and Veljko Birmancevic, who have scored a combined 18 goals this campaign, and that duo are likely to be involved again here.

The home side will look to be aggressive from the start in this one and are fancied to grab a goal, but Sparta Prague are a classy outfit and they could collect all three points. Both teams to score looks good value here.

West Ham will welcome Freiburg to the London Stadium to determine which side tops Group A.

David Moyes will certainly be looking for a reaction from his side after they were humiliated at the weekend, losing 5-0 away at Fulham, which was a surprise given their good form of late. Before that defeat, the Hammers had otherwise been on an excellent run, winning five of their previous six games including an impressive victory at high-flying Tottenham Hotspur.

The home side are enjoying another strong European adventure, having won the Europa Conference League last season, and they’ll certainly want to qualify as group winners to avoid the extra play-off match, which would be an unwelcome distraction with a busy festive period on the horizon. West Ham have been both brilliant up front and shaky at the back this season with their 16 Premier League games seeing a staggering 56 goals (that’s an average of 3.5 goals per game).

Freiburg arrive on the back of consecutive 1-0 wins in the Bundesliga against Mainz and Wolfsburg and will be confident of competing in this game. While they’ve not exactly been pulling up trees offensively on the domestic front, scoring just 17 goals in their 14 league matches, it’s been a different story in Europe for Christian Streich’s side.

The visitors had netted an outstanding tally of 17 goals in just five outings in the competition, which included back to back 5-0 victories over Olympiakos and FK Backa Topola. Ritsu Doan, Vincenzo Grifo and Michael Gregoritsch have all been in fantastic form in front of goal, and they can cause all sorts of of problems for a West Ham defence that will still be reeling from shipping five. A repeat of the 2-1 win in the reverse fixture is a likely outcome and goals are the order of the day.

With both sides already qualified, we could see an open contest here with goals aplenty, especially as both will want to avoid the additional play-off fixture. Therefore, over 2.5 goals looks a realistic outcome.

The final game in Group A sees Olympiacos take on FK Backa Topola as the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium plays host.

The home side currently occupy third place in the group and a draw here against the minnows from Serbia will be good enough to see them compete in the Europa Conference League, ahead of their opponents who sit bottom of the table.

The Greek side have been scoring goals for fun this season, amassing a total of 33 in 13 games in the Greek Super League (an average of 2.54 per game), whilst also scoring six in this competition, including two in the reverse fixture as these sides played out a 2-2 draw.

However, Olympiacos are heavy favourites this time around, and with good reason. With attacking options such as Ayoub El Kaabi, Georgios Masouras and former Wolverhampton Wanders forward Daniel Podence, we can see a few goals flying in and why they are favoured by the bookies. There are certainly goals expected in this game and the home side can be lethal.

FK Backa Topola have virtually nothing but pride to play for in this one. In order to ensure European football in January, they’ll need to win this game by four goals or more, and if they do approach the match with an attacking mindset, it’s conceivable that they will simply be picked off and lose the game heavily.

In truth, they were probably lucky to secure their only point of this Europa League campaign against their Greek counterparts in the reverse fixture, as Olympiacos were reduced to ten for most of the second half and it took a last minute equaliser to salvage a draw. They probably won’t be afforded the kind of possession they enjoyed previously this time around, especially away from home and it’s likely they’ll be dominated throughout the game. Domestically, they have been solid and sit third in the league behind Belgrade giants Red Star and Partizan, but this certainly represents a sterner test.

This should be a routine win for the Greek side and it’s difficult to see the visitors upsetting the odds here. Therefore, taking Olympiacos to win the game, and win it comfortably, makes plenty of sense.