UEFA Europa League Anytime Goal Scoring Picks, Odds, Predictions for Thursday, May 7, 2026
The Europa League final will be decided on Thursday, with two Premier League teams that have been on decidedly different trajectories facing off in one semifinal match, while a German side and Portugeuse side face off in the other.
The only thing we know for sure is that England will be represented in the final.
Will it be by an Unai Emery-led Aston Villa? The coach has won four prior Europa League titles, and even if the Villans don’t get to the final, they’re playing well enough to challenge for Champions League football next season, and getting this far has been a success.
Or will it be Nottingham Forest? The Tricky Trees looked relegation bound at the start of 2026, before the February appointment of Vitor Pereira helped turn the team around with a 10-match unbeaten streak going in all campaigns, including a 1-0 win over Villa in the first leg of this tie. Remarkably, he’s Forest’s fourth manager of the campaign.
On the other side of the bracket are Braga and Freiburg, both having decent but not quite distinguished seasons in their respective leagues, with Braga fourth but well off the top three in Liga Portugal, and Freiburg seventh in the Bundesliga. Braga holds the advantage 2-1 from the first leg, with Thursday’s match played in Germany.
With glory on the line, here are three goalscorers to watch for in Thursday’s tests.
- Emiliano Buendia, Aston Villa
- Igor Jesus, Nottingham Forest
- Vincenzo Grifo, Freiburg
Emiliano Buendia, Aston Villa
The most obvious choice for a Villa scorer is Ollie Watkins, but consider Emiliano Buendia, who has six goals on the season, including a stoppage-time too-little-too-late goal in a loss to Spurs on Sunday.
While he’s been a sub in recent matches, look for him to start on Thursday and to make an impact in his home stadium. Given that Forest has only given up four goals in their last seven matches, including a 1-0 shutout win to get past Porto and a 5-0 pasting of Sunderland, Buendia’s creativity might be needed to unlock a defense difficult to score on of late.
Igor Jesus, Nottingham Forest
Only Morgan Gibbs-White has scored more goals than Igor Jesus for Forest this season, and due to a horrific collision with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez suffered in Sunday’s match against Chelsea, the best-case scenario for Forest is for Gibbs-White to play in a mask to protect the fresh stitches in his forehead. It’s unknown, should he play, how well he’ll be able to see and focus and deal with the literal and figurative bright lights.
Look for the Brazilian, who scored Sunday and then let the world know he was a new dad (with his partner having given birth the day before) via a goal celebration, to make an incredible week even better on Thursday.
Vincenzo Grifo, Freiburg
If you’re expecting Freiburg to score at least an opening goal to bring the aggregate score level and make the semifinal more interesting, Grifo is the type of experienced veteran with goalscoring ability you’d cast in the role. Perhaps the 33-year-old is a few years removed from his prime, but he’s already scored once in this tie — his team’s lone goal in Braga — and his team has performed well at home throughout the tournament, having yet to lose a match they’ve hosted, and racking up a 14-2 goal advantage in those contests.
Photo Credit: AP/Dave Shopland
