Europa League round-up: Barcelona at risk of crashing out, while Rangers look to hold off Dortmund
- Sean Fisher
- 23 February 2022
With the Europa League second legs around the corner, we look at which teams are likely to make it to the round of 16, and who could be sent crashing out.
Five of the eight Europa League fixtures taking place on Thursday see the teams separated by just one goal or less, setting up some thrilling second leg clashes.
Rangers sprung the biggest surprise last week after building a 4-2 lead away to Borussia Dortmund. With home advantage roaring them on, can the Scottish side hold out?
Elsewhere, Barcelona's flurry of missed chances leaves them with an aggregate score of 1-1 as they head to Italy to face Napoli, and RB Leipzig and Real Sociedad look set to go toe-to-toe in Spain after their first leg ended 2-2.
Rangers vs Borussia Dortmund (4-2)
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Most eyes on Thursday evening will be cast to the Ibrox, where Rangers are looking to defend their two-goal lead against Borussia Dortmund.
James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos and John Lundstram gave Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side a 3-0 lead, before Jude Bellingham quickly replied for Dortmund.
However, Dan-Axel Zagadou's own goal just three minutes later capped off a frantic 10 minutes of action, and Raphael Guerreiro's late goal means it's all to play for in Scotland.
Rangers' Europa League campaign last year saw another goal fest in the round of 32, with the Gers seeing off Royal Antwerp with an aggregate score of 9-5.
Expect another goal-filled match tomorrow, and with a packed out Ibrox in attendance, it's no doubt the headline clash of tomorrow's schedule.
Napoli vs Barcelona (1-1)
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Despite dominating the first leg at Camp Nou, Barcelona only came away with an aggregate score of 1-1, with Ferran Torres' second half penalty drawing the hosts level after Piotr Zielinski's opener.
Barca's 21 shots on goal to Napoli's five demonstrates just how dominant Xavi's side were, but having missed a number of huge opportunities, they now must travel to Naples looking to win.
Of course on paper Barcelona have a far superior squad, but Luciano Spalletti's side will be banking on home advantage carrying them across the line.
With Barcelona already embarrassed to be playing in Europe's second-tier competition, the Catalonian side will be desperate to avoid an upset in Italy.
Real Betis vs Zenit (3-2)
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Betis take a one-goal lead from the first leg back to Spain, after an action-packed first half at the Krestovsky Stadium.
All five goals came before the break, with Guido Rodriguez and Willian Jose giving Betis the lead before Artem Dzyuba and Malcom drew the hosts level.
Andres Guardado scored the winner just four minutes before halftime, and it could end up being a crucial goal, with Thursday's visitors now needing to push for an equaliser.
However, Zenit have enjoyed a superb season so far, and currently find themselves top of their domestic league. Full of confidence and aware of what they have to do, the Russian outfit could yet spring a surprise.
Expect them to create an open game early on, which could see plenty of goals fly in.
Braga vs Sheriff Tiraspol (0-2)
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
In their debut Champions League season, Sheriff almost upset the odds to escape out of a group consisting of Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.
But having narrowly missed out and dropped to the Europa League, they continued to impress in their first leg, taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of Sebastian Thill and Adama Traore.
The Moldovan side now travel to Portugal, where they face an in-form Braga side. With just one loss in their last five fixtures, Braga will enter the clash full of confidence, and an early goal could unsettle the visitors.
However, Sheriff will look to sit back and counter, and will know that if they score first the tie is all-but over.
Real Sociedad vs RB Leipzig (2-2)
Kick-off: 17:45 GMT
Perhaps the most exciting early kick-off clash comes in Spain, where Sociedad find themselves level with RB Leipzig after an exciting first leg.
The German side narrowly missed out on progressing from their Champions League group, but will take confidence from their 15 goals scored in Group A - two more than PSG managed.
However, their weakness tends to be at the back, and their 14 goals conceded will be a worry for Domenico Tedesco.
With that said, there's no surprise that the first leg saw four goals scored, and more can be expected on Thursday afternoon.
However, the German side dominated the first leg in terms of possession (70%) and shots (20-3), so they can consider themselves unlucky to be level. I expect Leipzig's quality to shine through on Thursday despite being away from home.
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sevilla (1-3)
Kick-off: 17:45 GMT
Anthony Martial's goal on the brink of halftime was his first in a Sevilla shirt, and it gave his new side a two-goal advantage for the second leg.
The Spanish side currently sit second in La Liga and boast the best defence in the league having only conceded 17 goals in 25 games.
With a lead to defend, Sevilla will likely see out the game fairly comfortably, and I don't expect Zagreb to trouble them much at all.
Lazio vs Porto (1-2)
Kick-off: 17:45 GMT
Despite going a goal down to Mattia Zacagni's finish early on, Porto battled back and a brace from Toni Martinez puts them in a favourable position ahead of their trip to Italy.
However, after recording 21 shots in the first leg, Porto may regret not extending their lead at home, and they may struggle to defend the lead at Lazio.
The Italian side are in great form of late, having built up an unbeaten run of six games in Serie A. Their 53 goals scored ranks second behind only Inter (55), so they'll head into the clash confident of scoring.
Ciro Immobile is their danger man, with the Italian scoring 19 in 21 games this season. He was ruled out of their last game against Udinese but could return in time for Thursday's clash.
Olympiacos vs Atalanta (1-2)
Kick-off: 17:45 GMT
Having been eliminated 14 out of 15 times when losing the first leg of a European knockout match, there's not much hope for Olympiacos heading into Thursday's match.
The only time the Greek side did progress following a first leg loss was against Arsenal in the 2019/20 Europa League last 32.
Frankly, they were lucky to leave Italy only a goal down, with Francisco Soares scoring their only shot on target last week.
Berat Djimsiti did the damage for Atalanta with a brace, and having dominated the first tie, Gian Piero Gasperini will be hoping for more of the same in Greece.
