Arsenal’s surprise Europa League exit may prove unfortunate for Monday night’s FA Cup fifth-round opponents Portsmouth at Fratton Park. The Gunners should now be able to prioritise this competition more and are expected to prove too strong for the League One outfit in this televised tie.
Manchester City are red-hot favourites to complete a hat-trick of EFL Cup Final triumphs but we feel Aston Villa will not go down without a fight. Villa have fond memories of playing at Wembley themselves, having prevailed in last season’s Championship play-offs decider at the national stadium.
Manchester United survived a tricky Europa League test when visiting Club Brugge and are fancied to finish the job off at Old Trafford. The Red Devils started shakily in Belgium after making six changes, but looked the better team in the second half of that contest and have more scope for improvement.
Wolves look assured of a place in the last 16 of the Europa League after crushing Espanyol 4-0 at Molineux and may be content to cruise through the second leg. Their opponents are far more focused on a La Liga relegation battle than battling back in this tie, so this has the makings of a low-key contest.
Celtic left Denmark with mixed feelings following last week’s 1-1 Europa League draw with FC Copenhagen but are fancied to ease through in Glasgow. The Hoops had chances to establish a strong first-leg lead at Parken Stadion, but ended up needing a superb penalty save to return home on level terms.
Ajax have a mountain to climb in their Europa League last-32 tie after putting in a lacklustre effort when beaten 2-0 by Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Perez. The Spanish outfit enjoyed a bit of good fortune with a deflected second goal on the stroke of full-time, but were good value for their victory overall.
LASK Linz look worthy favourites to reach the last 16 of the Europa League after returning from the Netherlands on level terms against AZ Alkmaar. The Austrian outfit impressed at Linzer Stadion during the group stage, beating Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven and Rosenborg by an aggregate score of 8-1.
With the Champions League having resumed this month, we’ve taken a look at the data from recent seasons to predict what will happen in this year’s knockout stages.
Rangers staged a fantastic fightback when beating Braga 3-2 in the first leg of their Europa League tie but we fear it may ultimately prove in vain. Their opponents have been in outstanding form in Portugal and looked an excellent team at times at Ibrox, despite being hampered by a poor playing surface.
Wolves will be hoping to boost their prospects of qualifying for the Champions League with a win over bottom-of-the-table Norwich. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are without a Premier League win in three games but sit in eighth place and are only five points behind Chelsea in fourth with 12 matches remaining.
Swansea’s hopes of securing a place in the Championship play-offs have slipped of late but they have a good chance to get back on track when visiting Hull. The Tigers look badly out of sorts after picking up just one point in six games and invariably struggle to break down teams from the top half of the table.
Lazio and Inter are both battling it out for the Serie A title with Juventus this season and everything points towards a close encounter at Olimpico. The hosts are unbeaten in 18 games in Italy’s top flight, with their last defeat in this competition being a 1-0 loss to the Nerazzurri at San Siro in September.
West Brom fans will be dreaming of a return to the Premier League after three straight wins helped them move six points clear at the top of the table. Forest are also still in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot, though, even if Tuesday’s home loss to Charlton was a hammer blow to their hopes.
Swansea and QPR both suffered defeats at the weekend and have a quick chance to make amends when they meet in south Wales. Swansea threw away a 2-1 lead as they suffered a 3-2 loss at home to Derby to leave them four points outside the play-off places, while QPR dropped to 17th after a 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield.