On February 24, in Sion, Switzerland, the draw for the ⅛ final of the Europa League was held, according to whose results all the pairs of the new stage of the playoffs were determined. And there is something to see here.
Union (Germany) – Union (Belgium)
A meeting of (practically) teksok, which, although they have completely different stories, have one common feature that distinguishes them: they know how to surprise.
The German “Union” last season finished fifth in the Bundesliga, which in itself was perceived as a miracle, but this season the team continues to surprise. Union shares first place in the German championship with Borussia and Bayern.
“Union” after the sensational last season has not slowed down, and in the current one it ranks second.
It should be noted that these teams already met in the group stage, and now fate has brought them together again. Then the matches mutually ended 1:0, so the pair “Union” – “Union” looks perhaps the most even of all.
Seville (Spain) – Ferebahçe (Turkey)
The crisis Sevilla, which is only three points from the relegation zone in La Liga, barely managed to overcome PSV in the first phase of the playoffs (3-2 on aggregate). Given this, the Spanish seem to focus on the Europa League, which they have won more than any other team: six times.
Fenerbahce is far from focused on football, but it will be even more interesting to watch it in matches after a long hiatus.
Juventus (Italy) – Freiburg (Germany)
They have already taken 15 points from Juventus in the Italian championship, and special financial structures continue to “dig” for the club, so the option of relegating the team to the lower Italian divisions is not even ruled out. The ‘old’ is set in the European Cup, whose conquest will allow him to slam the door long before the possible fall of the club.
Freiburg, who have never lost in the Europa League this season, will try to prevent Juventus from doing so. It should be noted that the Germans in the group scored six points against Nantes (with a total score of 6:0), with whom Juve played in the previous stage.
Juventus can completely rid the Europa League of the representatives of group G, but it will not be easy to do so.
Bayer (Germany) – Ferencvaros (Hungary)
The most interesting matchup of the ⅛ final for the Russian public will be Bayer – Ferencvaros. Literally risen from the ashes, compared to the start of the season, Bayer took on a crazy form, thanks to which the club managed to knock out Alexander Golovin’s Monaco.
Now, Bayer will play against Stanislav Cherchesov’s Ferencváros, who beat Monaco in the group stage. Despite this, the Germans are considered clear favourites, but as we know, the former coach of the Russian team knows how to surprise.
Rome (Italy) – Real Sociedad (Spain)
In another pair, teams that do not care about the Europa League came together. Roma for the first time in four years has a real chance to fly in the top three, after one reaches the Champions League next season, and Sociedad intends to dilute the three regulars from the best teams in La Liga, eliminating Atlético de Madrid. .
Both clubs can’t afford to split on two fronts, which means we’re most likely looking forward to liberated matches with an abundance of goals.
Shakhtar (Ukraine) – Feyenoord (Netherlands)
Another matchup of maximum balance in which it is impossible to pick favorites. Shakhtar, like Feyenoord, are experienced players in European competitions, but this season is different from previous ones.
It is much more important for Feyenoord to win the second Dutch championship trophy in the 21st century than to reach the Europa League quarter-finals, which the whole world will forget next year. The club leads the standings, ahead of Ajax, PSV and the rest.
Shakhtar, given their comfortable position in the Ukrainian league, usually give their all in European competition, but at the moment they are only second in their local league, and even five points behind the first Dnipro-1. We will have to solve a dilemma: to show ourselves to the maximum in the Europa League or to bite the next trophy of the Ukrainian championship.
Sporting (Portugal) – Arsenal (England)
Sporting have failed to get past the first phase of the European Cup playoffs for four years in a row. First, he lost twice in the 1/16 LE, then he did not even go to the main part of the tournament, and last season the club lost in the final ⅛ of the Champions League.
The unsuccessful streak of the Portuguese was interrupted, because the club had already passed Midtjylland, but it has every chance to overcome one more stage. At first glance, they were not very lucky, because Arsenal, the leader in the English Championship, will get in the way, but you must understand that Mikel Arteta does not need this tournament at all. The Gunners spent the entire group stage of the Europa League running around the second team, and most of the time they won not very big and convincing. “Arsenal” will not be too obvious to “merge” the LE, but the motivation of “Sporting” is much more powerful.
Manchester United (England) – Betis (Spain)
Speaking in the language of the game, Manchester United already at the first stage of the playoffs overtook the “boss” of the tournament, knocking out Barcelona. As I said before, thanks to this, Manchester United have cleared the way to the trophy a lot.
In the context of the Catalans, Betis should seem like a simple rival for the Mancunians, who can be beaten by a semi-main team. The Cucumbers, though they win, almost always with a minimum score, and I highly doubt their strength will be enough to overcome the British. Where is it better to act prudently and pay attention to La Liga, otherwise Betis risk losing the European competition next season?
