European teams looking to make it to the next round with 8 games to play on Thursday night

Photo [Courtesy]

The UEFA Europa League is seen by many as the second best in Europe. But when it comes to the intensity of the competition, it is as good as the Champions League. Many teams who exit the Champions League at the group stages enter the Europa League at the round of 32 and fail to make it through.

That shows the difficulty in the competition as teams battle it out for the title and a ticket to the Champions League the next season.

The football faithful welcome Europa League football once again on Thursday night with eight matches scheduled to play.

Game Yetu looks at the four matches to watch tonight as the action unfolds. The matches include:

 

Rennes Vs Arsenal

Arsenal defender Sokratis Celebrates after scoring in the previous round [Courtesy]

This fixture will be played at Roazhon Park in France. French-based Rennes welcome the Premier League giants Arsenal in what is expected to be a mouthwatering clash.

The Ligue 1 outfit outclassed Real Betis as they strolled into the round of 16 and have gathered confidence from their exploits which could make them a tricky opponent for Arsenal who struggled to see of Bate Borisov in the previous round.

Despite being a shadow of the 2003-04 invincibles, Arsenal still pose a challenge for the Frenchmen although they have reasons to be confident at home. Rennes have a fine home record domestically with six unbeaten at Roazhon Park. They are also arguably the best attacking side in the Europa League on home soil this season.

However, Arsenal have also done good in the competition so far with the London based side scoring seven times during the group stage of the competition.

Both sides seem to have done well defensively in the competition so far but they are yet to be tested against greater sides.

Team news

Rennes are expected to be without Abdoulaye Diallo and Romain Danze, and Hamari Traore while Arsenal will miss the services of Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin and Danny Welbeck remain sidelined while Alexandre Lacazette is banned after his red card against BATE.

 

 

Chelsea Vs Dynamo Kiev

Young winger Hudson-Odoi will get a chance to impress again tonight [Courtesy]

The 2013 winners Chelsea will be looking to continue their winning streak when they host Ukraine outfit Dynamo Kiev in London. Maurizio Sarri has managed to steer the Chelsea ship clear of the storm of late with an easy stroll against Malmo FF in the previous round of the competition. The former Premier League Champions have a fine record at home having won each of their four home matches, scoring 11 goals and conceding just one.

Kiev have not been good performers on the road but they haven’t lost a match away in Europe. This means that the Ukraine based side have a habit of grinding results in Europe without having to play well at all. But Chelsea have the ability to run their visitors’ luck out on Thursday night.

Team news

Chelsea have less to worry about in terms of injuries with a host of players set to return while Dynamo Kiev have Benjamin Verbic who is suspended.

 

SS Napoli VS RB Salzburg

Napoli are favourites in this tie [Courtesy]

Napoli could be up for a surprise considering Salzburg’s comeback against Club Brugge in the previous round. The Austria based side trailed 2-1 after their 1st leg but ended up 5-2 victors on Aggregate. Domestically, both sides are doing well currently with Napoli placed second in the Serie A behind leaders Juventus while Salzburg sit on top of the Austrian pile by 11 points.

However, Napoli are favourites but they should worry about the comeback threat posed by the Austrian Bundesliga leaders.

Team news

Napoli only has one injury concern in the name of Spanish Centre-back Raul Albiol who is out until April while the visitors have no injury concerns or suspended players ahead of the trip to Italy.

 

Eintracht Frankfurt VS Inter Milan

Inter will look to overcome a tricky fixture in Frankfurt [Courtesy]

The fixture takes place at Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt Germany.

Eintracht Frankfurt will look to draw their confidence from beating one of the Champions League dropouts at home after the Bundesliga outfit beat Shakhtar Donetsk in the previous round.

Inter Milan will have to look out for a serious threat posed by the Germans considering how they did their business against Shakhtar at home in the previous round while they struggled to see off a weaker Rapid Wien side.

Team News

Gelson Fernandes and Ante Rebic are doubts while Lucas Torro remains out for Frankfurt. On the other hand, Inter are expected to be without the services of Sime Vrsaljko, Balde Keita and Mauro Icardi. This will considerably weaken them.

Other games on the docket on Thursday night include:

Dinamo Zagreb VS SL Benfica, Sevilla VS Slavia Prague, Zenit St. Petersburg VS Villareal and Valencia VS Krasnodar.