Hopes are high that we could have a British winner of the Europa League this year as Liverpool, Manchester City and Rangers gear up for their respective last-16 clashes. At least two out of three will fancy their chances of getting through to the next round – given the opposition – and should they reach the quarter-finals they will start to believe their name could be on the cup.
Braga v Liverpool
The Reds are coming into form just at the right time and will be confident of achieving a positive result in Portugal after Sunday’s win over Manchester United. While Liverpool didn’t have to be at their very best to get the better of their arch-rivals, manager Kenny Dalglish will have taken a lot of pride in the way they went about their job.
While the Europa League might be seen as a distraction in the early stages it is starting to get serious now and with the Reds desperate for silverware expect a professional performance from the Merseysiders.
Braga are 15/8 to win the first leg and that might be seen as a good bet when you consider their home form this season.
The Portuguese team have lost just three times at home and took the scalp of Arsenal in the Champions League group stages.
However, Liverpool proved against Sparta Prague and Napoli they can be resilient and that could be the order of the night before going for it in the second leg at Anfield.
Match Bet – Liverpool and Braga to draw @ 11/5
PSV v Rangers
Not many expected Walter Smith’s men to get through the last round after being paired with Sporting Lisbon but they deserve their place in the last 16 after a good display in Portugal.
Just as it looked like it would be heartbreak for the Gers, Maurice Edu popped up to send them through on the away-goal rule. While Sporting was a tough mountain to climb the challenge of conquering PSV will be even harder.
The Eindhoven outfit are currently top of the Eredivisie and have only lost three league games all season.
They are also unbeaten in the Europa League and Rangers will have to be at their best to avoid losing this tie in the first leg. Rangers made a habit of frustrating teams on their way to the 2008 final and will have to employ those tactics again if they want to survive.
Match Bet – PSV to win @ 6/5 with a minus one handicap.
Dynamo Kiev v Manchester City
Manchester City can count themselves lucky they were given such an easy route through the last 32 of the Europa League, taking just 12 minutes in the second leg to end the tie after drawing 0-0 in the first leg in Greece against Aris.
While they enjoyed an easy trip in the last round a game in Kiev is going to be a very different proposition. Dynamo are traditionally very strong at home and with City boasting a team of players who don’t always show much passion for the game they might not fancy potentially -7 conditions.
City, who are the 19/5 Europa League favourites, will probably come through the tie but they might have to come from behind in the second leg. While Kiev are traditionally good at home they are also fairly ropey on the road, although they did win 4-1 in Turkey against Besiktas in the last round. An upset could be on the cards in this tie.
Match Bet – Dynamo Kiev to win @ 6/4
Elsewhere, arguably the tie of the round gets underway in Germany when Bayer Leverkusen host an out-of-sorts Villarreal.
The Spaniards were well beaten on Saturday by Atletico Madrid and could be on the end of another sound beating at the Bay Arena, with Leverkusen 21/20 to win what should be a close game.
It should also be a good night for Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, despite their travel sickness. They take on FC Twente in Holland and can be backed at 9/5 to win the first leg of that contest.
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