Europa League round of 16 preview

World Soccer Talk
Europa League round of 16 preview
Europa League round of 16 preview

There is a strong British representation in this season’s Europa League, with the country boasting five teams in the round of 32.

Manchester United are favourites with BetEasy to win the tournament after drawing Club Brugge and they should easily progress to the next round.

United claimed top spot in Group L ahead of AZ Alkmaar and remain the team to beat in this season’s competition.

Arsenal will fancy their chances of beating Olympiakos as they continue their bid to enjoy another productive Europa League campaign.

The Gunners were eventually demolished by Chelsea in last season’s final and will be eager to go one better this time around.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers were the first team out of the pot in the draw and will face La Liga side Espanyol.

Wolves comfortably progressed through the opening phase and should have enough about them to see off the Spanish outfit.

The Group H winners are currently battling to avoid relegation from La Liga and don’t appear to possess the necessary quality to trouble Wolves.

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Rangers’ reward for progressing from Group G is a winnable looking tie against Braga, while Celtic are more than capable of seeing off FC Copenhagen.

The two Scottish clubs performed well during the opening phase and look good bets to make it through to the next round.

Inter Milan have dropped into UEFA’s second tier competition after finishing third in their Champions League group and could be a big threat to the British teams.

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The Serie A side have drawn Ludogorets in the first knockout round and are strongly fancied to make it through to the last 16.

Ajax also dropped out of the Champions League after the group phase and should possess too much quality for Spanish side Getafe.

Roma will be big favourites to beat Gent after qualifying ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach in Group J, while Sevilla are expected to prove far too classy for CFR Cluj.

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Bayer Leverkusen versus Porto could be one of the ties of the round, while Eintracht Frankfurt against Red Bull Salzburg is also likely to be fiercely fought.

Sporting Lisbon should ease past Istanbul Basaksehir, while Swiss side Basel may possess too much firepower for APOEL Nicosia.

Alkmaar, Benfica and Wolfsburg are also fancied to reach the last 16 as they face LASK, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo respectively.

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Europa League round of 32 draw

Wolves v Espanyol

Sporting Lisbon v Istanbul Basaksehir

Getafe v Ajax

Bayer Leverkusen v Porto

FC Copenhagen v Celtic

APOEL Nicosia v Basel

CFR Cluj v Sevilla

Olympiakos v Arsenal

AZ Alkmaar v LASK

Club Brugge v Manchester United

Ludogorets v Inter Milan

Eintracht Frankfurt v Red Bull Salzburg

Shakhtar Donetsk v Benfica

Wolfsburg v Malmo

Roma v Gent

Rangers v Braga

The first legs of these ties are scheduled to be played on February 20, with the reverse fixtures taking place on February 27.

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