Manchester United and AC Milan are European soccer behemoths vying for a spot in the UEFA Europa League final. Until the round-of-16 draw, the two powers seemed to have clear pathways to the competition’s final stage after a slew of unexpected results in the round of 32.
The Red Devils and Rossoneri begin a two-legged tie that might determine the competition’s favourite. Both teams are in good form in their respective domestic divisions, and they are the tournament’s two largest clubs.
With one of those two certain to be eliminated, the title road for Ajax, Roma, and other favourites with superior matches at this point in the elimination phase should become clearer.
Manchester United VS AC Milan
The first leg: It will take place at Manchester United on Thursday at 12:55 p.m. ET.
Second Leg: AC Milan, March 18, 4 p.m. ET
Manchester United upset English Premier League leader Manchester City to earn the greatest result of any remaining Europa League participant over the weekend. Since Jan. 27, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team has not lost a game in any tournament. During that time, it has six draws and five triumphs.
United has only surrendered one goal in the past six games of that run, which began on Feb. 21 against Newcastle United. The Red Devils made a tough matchup with Real Sociedad seem simple in the round of 32. They scored four goals in the opening leg to complete the tie in under 90 minutes.
United may have an advantage over Milan in the first leg since it will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the team appeared fragile in the previous round against Red Star Belgrade. The Italians drew both of their round-of-32 matches and advanced on the basis of away goals.
The Red Devils have their own injury worries, with Marcus Rashford set to miss Thursday’s match, but they still have plenty of forward firepower thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ excellent form.
Milan is coming off a Serie A clean sheet against Hellas Verona, but it was their first shutout in seven games. The Rossoneri may still rely on Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao to produce goals in the absence of Ibrahimovic, but it will be difficult against one of Europe’s best defensive groups.
Ajax VS Young Boys
First Leg: Thursday, 12:55 p.m. ET at Ajax
Second Leg: March 18, 4 p.m. at Young Boys
Young Boys stunned the Bundesliga by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 32, leaving the Bundesliga without a round-of-16 member. The Swiss team has an even tougher challenge in the last-16 round, as it faces Ajax, a club with a long history in Europe.
Although Young Boys’ European pedigree does not match Ajax’s, the team has been in similar form since the turn of the year in all competitions. Neither team has lost in that time, and they are now leading the Swiss Super League and the Eredivisie, respectively.
The main difference between the two teams is Ajax’s proclivity for finding the back of the goal. In league play, it is averaging 3.17 goals per game, compared to 1.75 for Young Boys. In the lead-up to this match, Young Boys had only drawn their past three league games.
The Swiss club held the Bayer Leverkusen assault scoreless in their round of 32 encounter at home, although the Germans haven’t been particularly prolific scorers this season. If Dusan Tadic, Davy Klaassen, and the rest of the Ajax attack stay in form, the Dutch team might take an early lead at home before scoring critical away goals to seal the tie in a week’s time.
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Villarreal
First Leg: Thursday, 12:55 p.m. ET at Dynamo Kyiv
Second Leg: March 18. 4 p.m. at Villarreal
Villarreal may be considered a dark horse to win the Europa League because it is led by the competition’s most successful manager. Unai Emery led Sevilla to three trophies and led Arsenal to the 2019 Europa League final, where they were defeated by Chelsea.
Emery may have to use some of his European tactical wizardry to get his team back on track for the opening leg against Dynamo Kyiv.
Villarreal’s only two wins in their past nine matches in all competitions came against Red Bull Salzburg in the round of 32.
Paco Alcacer, who has scored five of his ten goals this season in the Europa League, might be the X-factor for Villarreal.
Villarreal might progress if Alcacer or another player, such as club top scorer Gerard Moreno, scores an away goal in the first leg.
Kyiv has struggled in Europe this season when playing away from home. It lost two games and drew one in the Champions League group stage on the road against Juventus and Barcelona, and scored two goals in the round of 32 on neutral grounds against Club Brugge.
Villarreal may be vulnerable to a setback at home after losing its past two La Liga matches at Estadio de la Cerámica, but they were the only two losses the team had all season. Those results might be more of a fluke than anything else considering Atletico Madrid, the league leader, was defeated.
Slavia Prague vs. Rangers
First Leg: Thursday, 12:55 p.m. ET at Slavia Prague
Second Leg: March 18. 4 p.m. ET at Rangers
Rangers’ main aim for the remainder of the season should be the Europa League. Over the weekend, Steven Gerrard’s side won the Scottish Premiership.
If it keeps scoring at the rate it did against Antwerp, the Scottish champion might be in line for a deep run in Europe. Over the two legs, Rangers scored nine goals. It did, however, give up five goals against the Belgians.
Rangers must improve their defence against the Czech league’s top in order to feel more confident about their prospects. Slavia Prague has only allowed seven goals in their past eight games and has kept Leicester City scoreless in both rounds of 32 legs.
Slavia’s defence, which has allowed 0.68 goals per game in league play, will be crucial if the team is to proceed far in the competition.
Rangers, on the other hand, should be able to round out the tie at Ibrox if they can break down the Czech defence and score an away goal or two.
Roma vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
First Leg: Thursday, 3 p.m. ET at Roma
Second Leg: March 18, 1:55 p.m. ET at Shakhtar
If AC Milan loses to Manchester United, Roma would be Italy’s best chance of winning the Europa League. Roma’s only defeat in the past seven games came against Milan in all competitions. During that time, it has four clean sheets.
Roma’s defensive domination over Braga resulted in a 5-1 win in the round of 32, and if that level of defence is maintained against Shakhtar Donetsk, we might see a similar result.Shakhtar’s defence is likewise in excellent shape. Since returning from its midseason break on February 14, it has only conceded two goals in seven games.
The difference between the two teams, though, is the rate at which Roma has scored goals in recent weeks. Roma has scored multiple goals in four of its previous seven games, including both of its Europa League matches against Braga, and has scored two or more goals in six of its eight Europa League matches.
Olympiakos vs. Arsenal
Arsenal just made it to the round of 16 thanks to a late goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Arsenal had beaten an injury-plagued Leicester City side and drawn with Burnley after their spectacular victory against Benfica.
The poor outcome against the Clarets does not instil much confidence in the Gunners heading into Greece, but nothing this season has been easy for the club. The good news for Mikel Arteta’s team is that they have been scoring on the road in recent weeks. Arsenal has scored away from the Emirates Stadium in seven of its past eight games, including in the round of 32 against Benfica.
Once in Greece, the Gunners might be in an excellent position to progress if they can find the back of the goal. Olympiacos has surrendered at least one goal in seven of its past eight games, including both of its round-of-32 matches against PSV Eindhoven.
If Arsenal takes advantage of Olympiacos’ weak defence, it might advance to the last eight, which could be dominated by English clubs. If the Gunners achieve that, they will have a considerably better outcome than the two goals they scored in last season’s Europa League round-of-32 loss to Olympiacos.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Dinamo Zagreb
First Leg: Thursday, 3 p.m. at Tottenham
Second Leg: March 18, 1:55 p.m. at Dinamo Zagreb
Tottenham has scored 13 goals in its past four games, regaining its form. Spurs’ attacking line-up of Harry Kane, Gareth Bale, Heung-Min Son, and Dele Alli has the potential to carry them deep into the Europa League and salvage them from a poor league season.
Jose Mourinho’s side will have to break through Dinamo Zagreb’s defence, which has kept clean sheets against six of its past seven opponents in all competitions. However, the Croatian club conceded two goals in the first leg of the round of 32 against Russian side Krasnodar, which might indicate it could be vulnerable to Spurs’ world-class group’s offensive power.
However, the Croatian club conceded two goals in the first leg of the round of 32 against Russian side Krasnodar, which might indicate it could be vulnerable to Spurs’ world-class group’s offensive power.
While the focus has been on the Spurs attack, which is understandable, their defence has been solid of late, allowing only one goal in their past four games and keeping a clean sheet in the second leg against Wolfsberger AC. Spurs might seal a spot in the quarterfinals if they take care of business at home in the opening leg and build a dominating lead.
Granada vs. Molde
First Leg: Thursday, 3 p.m. at Granada
Second Leg: March 18, 1:55 p.m. at Molde
The round-of-16 tie between Granada and Molde is a fight of underdogs. In the round of 32, Molde startled Hoffenheim, while Granada stunned Napoli to advance. Because it plays in La Liga, Granada has a better reputation, although it does not have a long history on the continent. Furthermore, their triumph over Napoli was unexpected given the Spanish team’s recent record.
Granada has won only two of its past eight games in all competitions, and it was eliminated in the round of 32 after losing the second leg against Napoli. Molde may believe that the tie is his to take based on this set of results. Because the league season does not start until April 5, the Norwegian champion has had weeks to focus completely on Granada.
Molde will need to score goals away from home, like it did twice against Hoffenheim. Granada has surrendered in four of its previous six home games in La Liga, averaging 1.69 goals per game.
