Thursday’s football tips: Asensio 31/20 to dazzle for Fenerbahce against Nottingham Forest

Fahad Umar
February 18, 2026
1:44 pm

Vitor Pereira is in at the deep end for his dugout debut at Nottingham Forest as he takes his side to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce in the Europa League play-offs.

The Portuguese has been drafted in to save Forest from relegation but he also has the chance to plot a path to the Champions League by winning Europe’s second-tier competition.

This is a daunting play-off tie for Pereira though with Fenerbache on a run that has seen them lose just twice in all competitions since October.

Fenerbahce vs Nottingham Forest top betting tips

Pereira managed to get a tune out of a dispirited Wolves side pretty quickly last season but it’s asking a lot to win away in Europe in such a tough venue.

Nottingham Forest are 11/5 outsiders with Bet365, who price the Turks at 13/10, which looks decent value based on their recent form.

However, Fenerbahce have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight games so Forest could get some joy, provided Perreira doesn’t park the bus and play for a draw.

BTTS pays just 31/40 with Betway but over 2.5 goals is better at 19/20 with Unibet. Combining those bets together boosts the odds to to 5/4 at Ladbrokes.

Marco Asensio has been in fine form for Fenerbahce, netting 10 times this season, and he’s 31/20 at BetMGM to score or assist.

Celtic vs Stuttgart

Celtic also have a tough Europa League play-off tie against Stuttgart and probably need a home win in tonight’s first leg to stand a chance of going through.

It looked like the Hoops would miss out on the knockout stages after Wilfried Nancy’s ill-fated reign but wily old campaigner Martin O’Neill got them through by following up a 2-2 draw in Bologna with a 4-2 home win over Utrecht.

O’Neill has also been delivering wins domestically but a habit of scoring dramatic late winners has been masking patchy performances.

So Stuttgart could be worth a punt tonight at 6/5 with Unibet while backing the Germans to score over 1.5 goals pays 21/20 at BetGoodwin.

Celtic’s defence will face a stiff test and combining fouls for Julian Araujo and Liam Scales pays 159/100 at Bet365, which looks good value.

Think you’ve found odds that look too good to be true? Explore our Value Betting guide and learn when a price is genuinely favourable.

Zrinjski vs Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace’s season has been a massive anti-climax but they could still finish it on a high by going all the way in the Conference League.

The FA Cup winners were favourites for the silverware before a ball was kicked but now find themselves in a play-off with Zrinjski Mostar after finishing outside the top eight.

The Eagles have already lost star men Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi while manager Oliver Glasner will also be checking out at the end of the season.

But they’ve been lifted a little by some overdue reinforcements in the January window and are 4/11 favourites with Bet365 for a win in Bosnia.

Zrinjski lost 6-0 away to Dyanmo Kiev in the league phase but have been much more competitive in their home games. So I fancy a Palace win with under 3.5 goals at evens with Bet365.

New boy Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in Palace’s weekend loss to Burnley and is evens with Bet365 for another goal tonight. Backing him to score a header pays 13/2, which is a decent long-odds option.