Author: AmritSantlani
UEFA Europa League action returns on Thursday evening with the quarter-final first leg matches across Europe. With 8 teams left and a place in the group stage of next season’s Champions League, it’s guaranteed to be a great game.
Leaders Feyenoord will host José Mourinho’s AS Roma in the first game, followed by the match between Juventus and Sporting Club de Portugal on Friday evening. Manchester United, the 2016-17 champions, will take on Sevilla, while Bayer Leverkusen will face Union Saint-Gilloise, the club that eliminated Union Berlin from the Bundesliga in the last round.
Feyenoord-AS Roma
Feyenoord beat Shakhtar Donetsk 8-2 on aggregate to book their place in the quarter-finals, and ahead of their clash with José Mourinho’s AS Roma, the Dutch club are in fine form. A 5-1 thrashing of RKC Waalwijk on Sunday was the perfect preparation for the Europa League qualifier and they are sitting pretty at the top of their domestic league standings, on their way to their first league title since 2017. Meanwhile, Roma won the inaugural UEFA Conference League title, beating Feyenoord 1-0 last season, the Italian club are currently third in Serie A and beat Torino 1-0 at the weekend.
Juventus-Sporting
Juventus are seventh in the Serie A standings, still in the hunt for the Italian Cup and can still salvage their campaign by winning two trophies, but it will be a big achievement given Max Allegri’s underperformance. A 2-1 defeat to Lazio didn’t improve the mood in Turin and against a spirited Sporting side that had knocked out Premier League leaders Arsenal in the previous round. The Old Lady will certainly be tested. The Portuguese club won 4-3 against Casa Pia on Sunday and are fourth in the Primeira Liga, meaning that the Europa League represents a good opportunity to win some trophies and a route into next season’s Champions League.
Manchester United-Sevilla
Erik TenHag led Manchester United to the Carabao Cup title earlier this year, the first major trophy since José Mourinho’s Red Devils won the Europa League in 2017. The Dutch tactician hopes to end his inaugural campaign with more trophies. Standing in their way will be Europa League royalty, six-time champions Sevilla, who have had an underwhelming campaign so far. The La Liga club somehow overcame Fenerbahce to reach the quarter-finals, and from what we’ve seen so far, Manchester will certainly have a chance of reaching the semi-finals, given Sevilla’s recent struggles.
Bayer Leverkusen-Union Saint-Gilloise
On paper, this looks like a David vs. Goliath affair, but Leverkusen won’t be seeing a Union Saint-Gilloise in a good mood. The Belgian club beat Union Berlin in the round of 16 and are living a fairytale. Union drew 1-1 with Gent on Sunday, hardly the ideal preparation for a game of this magnitude, while Xabi Alonso’s side beat Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend. Leverkusen have fallen to sixth place in the Bundesliga and the Europa League represents a glorious opportunity for them to progress to the group stage of next season’s Champions League.