The Europa League has reached the last-16 stage and there are plenty of top clubs scrapping for a place in the quarter-finals of the continent’s second-string competition this week.
Among the eight first-leg ties on Thursday, troubled Manchester United face another tough test against La Liga side Real Sociedad, while the Red Devils’ domestic rivals, Tottenham, take on Eredivisie hopefuls AZ Alkmaar.
Scottish giants Rangers face what looks like a difficult trip to Turkey to take on Fenerbahce, while
there’s also big games between the likes of Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt and Roma and Athletic Bilbao.
Here are four selections to consider on Thursday ahead of what is set to be another big night in the Europa League.
- REAL SOCIEDAD TO BEAT MANCHESTER UNITED
- TOTTENHAM TO BEAT AZ ALKMAAR
- FENERBAHCE TO BEAT RANGERS
- DRAW / AJAX IN HALF-TIME / FULL-TIME IN AJAX VS EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
Manchester United’s dismal season took another torrid turn when they were knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Fulham on Sunday and they look set for more pain in Europe when they go to Real Sociedad.
United are clearly struggling under Ruben Amorim and the Portuguese coach has worryingly admitted they have “bigger things to think about” at the moment rather than Thursday’s clash in the Basque region.
While that may be the boss cleverly trying to deflect attention away from his underperforming side ahead of a difficult first leg, it suggests confidence in the Red Devils’ ranks is fragile at best for the trip to San Sebastian.
And Sociedad can take advantage and secure a win at home as they look to take charge of the tie.
The La Liga side come into the clash on the back of consecutive defeats - but they were against the big two in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Imanol Alguacil‘s side have been impressive at home in the competition this season, winning four of their five games.
Those results suggest La Real can exploit the Premier League side’s weaknesses and ongoing inability to exert themselves properly in games with the hosts predicted to carve out an important early lead in the tie on Thursday.
REAL SOCIEDAD TO WIN
AZ vs Tottenham
Tottenham’s quest to deliver a trophy in Ange Postecoglou’s second season - something the Aussie coach has promised - rests with the Europa League and Spurs should be able to at least stay on course and progress past Dutch side AZ in the last 16.
Spurs, who finished fourth in the table - 15 places higher than Thursday’s opponents - look good enough to claim an away win in the Netherlands, following on from their 1-0 home win over the same opponents in the first stage.
AZ only won three matches in the League phase and lost at the weekend, too, going down 3-1 domestically to Heerenveen in what is hardly good preparation for this tie.
The Eredivisie side did catch the eye when overcoming Galatasaray 6-3 on aggregate in the play-off round, but up against Spurs they look set to struggle again.
AZ were found wanting when going to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October as Richarlison’s penalty settled that clash 1-0 and, once again coping with the step up in quality that Postecoglou’s side clearly possess, looks set to be a difficult ask for the hosts.
TOTTENHAM TO WIN
Fenerbahce vs Rangers
Fenerbahce can come out on top against Scottish giants Rangers, who have a very tricky trip to Turkey to contend with.
Rangers did well to finish eighth in the table to avoid a play-off and even though they are meeting the side that finished 24th, this looks set to be an uncomfortable evening for Barry Ferguson’s side.
Since succeeding Philippe Clement, Ferguson has seen his team battle back well to beat Kilmarnock 4-2, before the disappointing weekend setback against Motherwell, the Gers going down 2-1 at home to leave them a huge 16 points adrift of leaders Celtic in the Premiership.
Rangers’ problems were laid bare in that game and up against opponents who are on a fine 18-game unbeaten run in all competitions, the visitors do not look good enough to secure what would be an important away win at the Ulker Stadyumu.
Fener overcame Anderlecht 5-2 in the play-offs, a result sealed largely due to a 3-0 home win in the first leg and they will be after more of the same on Thursday.
Rangers’ foray into Europe this season has brought some highs, but the overall picture at Ibrox remains of a side in transition and their involvement in Europe may well be set to end at the hands of Fener.
FENERBAHCE TO WIN
Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Ajax may have underwhelmed in the league phase, finishing down in 12th place, but the Dutch giants are enjoying a dominant season in the Netherlands as they sit eight points clear at the top of the Eredivisie.
The hosts come into this last-16 first leg on the back of two wins to nil domestically and their only defeat in their last eight games came in the play-off round second leg against Union Saint-Gilloise, when they lost 2-1 at home after already decisively winning 2-0 away.
This is unlikely to be straightforward for the Amsterdam outfit, as they face a Frankfurt side who finished fifth in the table and who will have designs on going far again in a competition they won as recently as 2022.
However, recent form is a worry for the Bundesliga team. They have suffered heavy back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Bayer Levekusen in their past two outings and a daunting trip to the Johan Cruyff ArenA is hardly a welcome draw in the last-16.
Expect Ajax to secure a first-leg advantage, although it could be the second half before they truly press home their superiority on Thursday.
DRAW/AJAX IN HALF-TIME/FULL-TIME
