The UEFA Europa League continues this week with the second leg matches from the Round of 32.
Here are five games to keep close tabs on.
Besiktas vs Liverpool
Jordan Henderson handled last week’s confrontation with Mario Balotelli as best he could. The long-standing rule of a captain having the final world on the pitch goes without saying, as is the responsibility to upheld the club’s reputation and extinguish potential embarrassment. Henderson did the classy thing and walked away from a heated exchange with his Italian teammate over who was going to take the eventual match-winning spot-kick at Anfield in the first leg. Luckily for Balotelli his defiant stance had a happy ending for Liverpool.
Liverpool’s 1-0 aggregate lead looks even stronger given the calf injury to Besiktas top-scorer Demba Ba. The Senegalese hit man missed out on last weekend’s 1-0 league defeat to mid-table Eskisehirspor. On a positive note for Slaven Bilic’s side, the hosts are unbeaten in six European home matches. However, the Attaturk Stadium was the venue for the Reds most memorable European triumph a decade ago. It was recently made into a motion picture—“One Night In Istanbul.”
Thursday programming alert: Watch Besiktas vs Liverpool on the four main Sportsnet channels at 1:00 pm ET, Fiorentina vs Tottenham on Sportsnet ONE at 1:00 pm ET, Inter Milan vs Celtic on Sportsnet World at 1:00 pm ET, AS Roma vs Feyenoord on the four main Sportsnet channels at 3:00 pm ET, Everton vs Young Boys on Sportsnet ONE at 3:00 pm ET and Sporting vs Wolfsburg on Sportsnet World at 3:00 pm ET. || Also, watch these five games online at Sportsnet World NOW: Dynamo Moscow vs Anderlecht at noon ET, Zenit Saint Petersburg vs PSV at noon ET, Salzburg vs Villarreal at 1:00 pm ET, Borussia Monchengladbach vs Sevilla at 1:00 pm ET, Napoli vs Trabzonspor at 3:00 pm ET and Olympiacos vs Dnipro at 3:00 pm ET. || Broadcast schedule
Feyenoord vs AS Roma
A 1-1 draw in the first leg was overshadowed by violence in the streets of Rome between travelling Feyenoord fans and riot police—23 arrests were made and tear gas was used to end the bloody melee that resulted in multiple injuries on both sides. Similar scenes hopefully won’t ignite in Rotterdam, though plenty of security measures are being taken by local police—both sets of supporters have notorious ultra factions.
Unfortunately, it will be surprising for this fixture to end without incident. The hosts have the edge after scoring the crucial away goal, with Colin Kazim-Richards having cancelled out Gervinho’s opener at the Stadio Olimpico last week. Feyenoord have won their last four home matches, while the Giallorossi haven’t taken maximum points from their last six European fixtures.
Fiorentina vs Tottenham
The odds are in La Viola’s favour heading into the second leg at the Stadio Artemio Franchi through Jose Maria Basanta’s equalizer in North London last week. Add to the equation that Fiorentina are unbeaten in their previous four encounters with English sides in Florence without conceding a goal. Vincenzo Montella has his side running on all cylinders: top four domestically and currently on a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions, having last tasted defeat 46 days days ago to lowly Parma.
Tottenham, on the other hand, have sort of slipped of late, winless in their last three, though, a late second-half comeback to draw West Ham—after being down two at the half—provided a necessary boost of confidence before their trip to Italy.
Borussia Monchegladbach vs Sevilla
A boring stalemate in the first leg was avoided by a classy Vicente Iborra strike in Andalusia which gave Sevilla the slimmest of advantages going into Thursday’s encounter in Germany. Overall, the entertainment value in the opener at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan was practically non-existent—only seven shots from 23 in total from both sides were on target. For the most part both teams seemed timid and afraid to go on the offensive.
Don’t expect Sevilla manager Unai Emery to change his tactical approach at Borussia-Park, as the reigning Europa League champions will attempt to force their hosts to make the first move. Given their position, Borussia must press the issue right from the start and not allow the visitors to dictate the tie. One bright spot for Lucien Favre’s chances is his side’s impeccable record on home soil in this year’s competition (four wins, 16 goals scored and one conceded), while Sevilla have yet to win a European away fixture this term (two draws and one loss).
Inter Milan vs Celtic
The history between these two clubs set the tone ahead of kickoff in Glasgow last Thursday, and the atmosphere inside Parkhead was more than worthy of the thrilling performance displayed on the pitch. John Guidetti gave Celtic a lifeline heading into the second leg at San Siro with a last-gasp equalizer in injury time. Inter grabbed a 2-0 lead after 13 minutes which should have effectively put Celtic to bed, but Roberto Mancini was horrified to watch his side squander their sizeable advantage by surrendering two goals in 60 seconds just past the half-way point of the opening frame.
Ronny Deila’s team still has a mountain to climb in Milan, as they must find a way to score to keep hope alive. Inter are currently riding a 10 match unbeaten run—spanning two-and-a-half years—at home in Europe (six wins and four draws). The Hoops will be looking to secure maximum points on their European travels this season (two losses and three draws).
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