UEFA Europa League
Europa League Preview: Italian giants look to stake their claims
The Europa League is back! Following the culmination of the group stages in both the Europa and Champions League, we see the remaining sides compete to earn their spots in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Those who placed 3rd in the group stages in the Champions League will now face the 2nd placed teams from the Europa League group stages to make it to the last 16.
We preview two of the games below.
Bet on the UEFA Europa League with William Hill
Feyenoord v Roma – Thursday 14th February 17:45
Feyenoord and Roma are two teams that are familiar with one another when it comes to competing on the European stage, having faced one another in three consecutive knockout ties in the Europa League. Most notable was Roma’s win against them in the Conference League final back in 2022 in Tirana, Albania, but the Italian side also knocked their opponents out of the Europa League at the quarterfinal stage last season.
The hosts are EVS to win the first leg, with Roma slight outsiders trading at 12/5. There is no doubt that Feyenoord will be looking for redemption following their 4-1 loss to Roma in the competition last year and frontman Santiago Giménez is the market leader to hit the back of the net at 11/8, narrowly in front of Japanese striker Ayase Ueda at 7/4.
For Roma, it’s the looming presence of veteran Romelu Lukaku who has his eyes on netting against Feyenoord at 2/1. He has an immaculate record in the Europa League, failing to score in just one of his last 17 appearances in the competition, and is the 4th top scorer in the history of the Europa League. Paulo Dybala (14/5) and Italian Lorenzo Pelligrini (7/2) are also in line to score but are yet to play a European fixture under their new manager and former player Daniele De Rossi since Mourinho’s sacking.
It’s all to play for as both teams vie for progression in the Europa League to the round of 16, but Feyenoord could have a fair chance as Roma recently suffered a 4-2 defeat to league rivals Inter Milan, and their confidence could be dented as a result. However, under De Rossi, things seem to be going well at Roma (erasing the last game from the record) so there’s no doubt they will come out punching to further their domination of the Dutch in this competition.
AC Milan v Rennes – Thursday 14th February 20:00
Other Serie A giants AC Milan will host Rennes at the San Siro for the first time in their history despite it being Rennes’s fifth game against an Italian opponent in the Europa League. Milan currently sit 3rd in the Serie A, with their league campaign a lot stronger than their European one, scoring just 5 goals in the Champions League group stage, and only scraping qualification into the Europa League to keep their hopes of silverware alive.
Rennes on the other hand have been in fine form of late in the Europa League and should they win against Milan in the first leg (19/5), it’ll be their third consecutive away game win in a major competition, for the first time ever. Should they get some goals, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Martin Terrier are the top bets, at 17/5 and 15/4 respectively.
For the Rossoneri, who are at 8/13 to win the match, it’s the 37-year-old Olivier Giroud who leads the market at 11/8 to net against Rennes, which would make him the fourth oldest player to score in the history of the Europa League knockout stage. Should Giroud leave his shooting boots at home, it’s Luka Jovic (15/8) and Rafael Leao (2/1) who could make the difference.
Given the fact the two teams haven’t played against each other before, it looks a tough game to call, but on form AC Milan are certainly the team to beat in this clash, having gone unbeaten in their last five games. Having said this, Rennes have the hottest form in Ligue One as it stands, with five wins from their last five in the league, which could give them the boost in confidence to take on the Italian outfit.
