After a two-day action packed fixture in the UEFA Champions League (Tuesday and Wednesday night) our focus is now on as the Europa League which everyone calls ‘Environmental Day Football’. There are some crunchy ties in this 2nd tier of European football and even though some seem settled, there could be a few surprises because anything can happen in football these days.
Many football pundits are pretty sure that Arsenal is through to the round of 16 after a 3-0 away win in the first leg against Ostersunds of Sweden and we can also say same for A.C Milan who take a 3-0 away win to the San Siro against Ludogorets of Bulgaria. If you asked me Atletico Madrid should be prepared for the next round as well. They would be hosting Copenhagen of Denmark at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid after winning the first leg 4-1 at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
Find below the games to focus on tonight with first leg results in bracket:
- Atalanta Vs Dortmund (2-3)
- Salzburg Vs Real Sociedad (2-2)
- Zenit Petersburg Vs Celtic (0-1)
- Plzen Vs Partizan (1-1)
- Lazio Vs FCSB (0-1)
- Lokomotiv Moscow Vs Nice (3-2)
- Dynamo Kiev Vs AEK Athens (1-1)
Smart money says you can place bets on all the home teams going through to the next round except Atalanta because Dortmund has everything it takes to turn the tie on its head. I would have given Napoli the nod to overturn a 3-1 defeat at home against RB Leipzig but I just foresee a 2-2 draw in this game with a high tempo transitional play expected from both sides.
Russia’s CSKA Moscow are the only team in the Europa League that have qualified for the round of 16. They beat FK Crvena Zvezda of Serbia 1-0 after a goalless draw in the first leg to qualify 1-0 on aggregate. It is in the Europa League you find teams with strange names.E
Dipo is a budding writer who is passionate about football. He also loves music and playing scrabble.
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