Attention turns to the Europa League on Thursday and, after four superb first legs, it could be yet another great evening of football, with the likes of Athletic Bilbao (15/8 favourites Europa League outright) and Atletico Madrid (11/4 outright) looking to seal their place in the semi-finals. Here we preview the return games (First leg scores in brackets).
Athletic Bilbao v Schalke (4-2)
The aforementioned Athletic are involved in what could turn out to be the most exciting game of the night when they take on Schalke at the San Mames (Bilbao 10/11, draw 11/4, Schalke 11/4).
The two sides played out one of the most entertaining games of the campaign last week, with Marcelo Bielsa’s men claiming a 4-2 victory in Gelsenkirchen. Bilbao are undoubtedly the favourites to go through and, with the likes of Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain likely to be in their line-up, they will be confident of their chances of continuing their run.
However, it won’t be easy and Schalke certainly come with European pedigree, having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. They also have European football’s highest scorer in Raul and he will be relishing the prospect of playing in his homeland again.
Despite this, Bilbao should have enough and expect them to win in another high-scoring match.
Hannover v Atletico Madrid (1-2)
The second of the three Spanish sides still left in the competition are Atletico, who travel to Germany to face Hannover 96 (Hannover 15/8, draw 13/5, Atletico 13/10).
Diego Simeone’s men grabbed a 2-1 win in the first leg at the Vicente Calderon but, with the German side scoring a crucial away goal, there’s still plenty to play for. Both teams are in good form in their respective domestic leagues and this promises to be an open and exciting game.
However, Madrid have previous experience of winning this competition, having defeated Fulham in the final in 2010, and this extra know-how should see them through by a single goal.
Valencia v AZ Alkmaar (1-2)
The third Spanish team still in the tournament are Valencia, who are currently 2-1 down to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after the first leg (Valencia 4/9, draw 10/3, AZ 13/2).
‘Los Che’ are currently on a poor run of form which has led to a number of fans calling for boss Unai Emery to be sacked from his job. However, with the likes of Roberto Soldado in their squad they are always dangerous and Alkmaar will need to be on their guard.
AZ have also slumped in the league recently and now sit second in the Eredivisie table behind Ajax. Despite this, they will not be afraid of going to the Mestalla and look out for Swedish international Rasmus Elm to make an impact.
With the tie so evenly balanced, it is hard to pick a winner in this one, but with Valencia’s current form they will not be confident and AZ could just nick it with an away draw.
Metalist v Sporting (1-2)
The final game sees another intriguing clash with Metalist Kharkiv hosting Sporting Lisbon in a tie which, like two of the other matches, is currently separated by a single goal following Sa Pinto’s men sneaking the first match at home (Metalist evens, draw 12/5, Sporting 11/4).
Kharkiv have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament but don’t be fooled by their lack of experience as, on home soil, they can beat anyone and their away goal in Portugal could make all the difference in this one.
Sporting overcame Man City in the last round and impressed with their stylish attacking play but it is their defending that seems to constantly cause them problems. They can be brilliant going forward and the combination of Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and Matias Fernandez could prove vital.
However, home advantage should end up proving to the difference in this one and the Ukrainian side will be confident of progressing to their first European semi-final.
Prediction: Bilbao, Athletico, AZ and Metalist all to go through to semis.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.
