After nearly a month since the round of 16 was played, the UEFA Europa League returns this Thursday for the first legs of this season’s quarter-finals.
Despite being Europe’s second-tier competition, some of the teams involved are certainly of the upper tier with the likes of Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma and Marseille all competing to be victorious come the end of the season.
With these sides and more all coming face to face in their respective quarter-finals, drama and tension are sure to take place, and we’ve picked out our top tips for the upcoming Europa League fixtures:
Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham United
Bayer Leverkusen come into this game having recorded the best season of any team across the top European leagues, remaining unbeaten across all of the 41 matches they have played as they are on course to win the Bundesliga and in the final of the DFB-Pokal.
Their sensational run was on the verge of being broken by Qarabag in a memorable last-16 tie, coming from two goals behind to draw 2-2 in the first leg before once again coming from two goals down at the BayArena to unbelievably win the game 3-2 with two stoppage time goals from hero Patrik Schick.
They come up against a West Ham team who completed a comeback of their own in the previous round, losing 1-0 in the first leg to Freiburg. They produced an outstanding performance as they battered the German side 5-0 at the London Stadium.
West Ham won the Europa Conference League last season and will be looking to make it back-to-back triumphs in European competitions, but we believe that the so-far-unstoppable Bayer Leverkusen will win this one.
Bayer Leverkusen to win, 1.38
Benfica vs Marseille
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been enjoying a phenomenal campaign in the Europa League with nine goals in his nine appearances, helping the striker to become the highest-ever scorer in the competition’s history between the group stages and final.
Aubameyang moved ahead of Radamel Falcao’s tally of 30 goals, currently sitting on 33 with the potential to extend his record even further in this upcoming game against Benfica.
The striker comes into this game with five goals in his last six, but the Portuguese side are sure to make it difficult for Aubameyang to get on the scoresheet. They have conceded just 23 goals in 28 league games but did concede a massive 11 in their six Champions League group games this season as they finished third and dropped into the Europe League.
With this, we believe Aubameyang will add to the misery that Benfica’s defence have had in Europe this season and get on the scoresheet.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score anytime, 2.75
Milan vs Roma
This game serves as the only match-up between two teams from the same league, with Serie A’s second-placed Milan side facing up against fifth-placed Roma.
Milan will undoubtedly be the favourites not only in this first leg, which takes place at their home stadium, but also in the tie because of their superior position in the league and their impressive run of victories ahead of this game. Stefano Pioli’s side have won all of their seven games heading into this tie, while they have only lost four times at the San Siro all season.
In comparison, Roma have seen a slight stumble in form under Daniele De Rossi, who had previously led his team to eight wins and one loss in his first 10 games in charge. However, they have only managed two victories in their last five, as well as a 1-0 defeat to Brighton in the second leg of their last-16 tie, albeit they did lead 4-0 from the first leg.
While Roma are sure to be a tough opponent for Milan, Piolo’s side have not lost to Roma since a 2-1 defeat in October 2019, and we believe they will continue this record with a win in this one.
Milan to win, 1.82
Liverpool vs Atalanta
Liverpool come into this tie against Atalanta as the clear favourites to progress through into the semi-finals, while they are also widely seen as the most likely candidate to meet Bayer Leverkusen in an eventual final between the two best sides remaining in the competition.
Despite being the favourites, Jurgen Klopp’s side have had a rocky couple of weeks compared to the way the majority of their season has gone so far. They have lost one and drawn one of their previous four games, while they had to come from behind to eventually beat Brighton in one of the victories.
Atalanta have had much bigger problems than this in recent weeks though, with their fortunes quickly turning from winning six games in a row to winning just two of their last nine, as well as losing both of their previous two games. They have conceded a large amount of goals in the four defeats they have endured in the last nine matches, most notably being battered 4-0 by Serie A champions-elect Inter Milan.
With Liverpool scoring a massive 72 goals in 31 league outings, this makes us believe the Reds will go on to win this one with lots of goals being scored.
Liverpool to win, 1.34
Booking Codes:
6GMX36D, 6GMX662
