UEFA Europa League
Europa League quarter-finals second leg preview
The Europa League quarter-final ties have already produced some serious upsets, most notably Liverpool losing 3-0 to Atalanta at Anfield, leaving them with plenty of work to do in the return fixture away from home.
In the other three first leg fixtures, Benfica managed to create a one-goal cushion against Marseille, Roma put one past league rivals AC Milan and Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen dismissed West Ham 2-0.
We preview two of the return legs below.
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Atalanta v Liverpool – Thursday 8pm, Gewiss Stadium
Atalanta were heavy underdogs going into the opening fixture, with a trip to Anfield looking a big mountain to climb for the Italian side, however they managed to shock Jurgen Klopp’s side and put three past them. We’ve seen a couple of magical comebacks from Liverpool in the past few years and it’d be remiss to write them off to come out on top to reverse the deficit at 4/1 and proceed into the semi-final.
Atalanta will take some comfort in being three goals up combined with the return leg being at their home stadium, and will presumably input some heavier defensive tactics to keep Jurgen Klopp’s men at bay. Atalanta are 17/5 to win this fixture, but a short price of 1/7 to proceed to the next stage of the competition. It was Gianluca Scamacca who was the star man for Atalanta in the opener, netting twice, and is 9/4 to do so yet again in front of the home fans. Marco Pasalic, the other scorer in the opening leg, is at a longer price of 17/5 to etch his name on the scoresheet for a second time.
As mentioned, Liverpool tend to have a knack for unusual comebacks in European competitions, so we can’t write them off just yet with Jurgen Klopp no doubt giving them some kind of hairdryer treatment following that lacklustre performance in the first leg. The Reds remain favourites for this fixture despite the shortcomings faced in the opener at 13/20. Mohamed Salah is the market leader to net against the Italian outfit at 10/11, with Diogo Jota (23/20) and Darwin Núñez (5/4) also bound to give it their all to put their side in front.
West Ham United v Bayer Leverkusen – Thursday 8pm, London Stadium
The odds looks stacked in Bayer Leverkusen’s favour here, as they have progressed from all 13 previous occasions on which they’ve won the first leg of a two-legged European knockout tie by two or more goals. At 10/11 to win the return leg, and overwhelming favourites to proceed to the semi-finals at 1/20, Leverkusen look to be the pick here despite being away from home.
Since their defeat, West Ham have more recently been swept aside by Fulham in the Premier League which won’t be the result that David Moyes was looking for ahead of the return leg. However, they will be at home with the backing of the fans which could prove beneficial to overcome the deficit and are 27/10 to win the match, with a larger price of 8/1 to win the tie. Jarrod Bowen’s form has slowed down somewhat of late and should he kick back into gear, a price of 9/4 looks nice to score for the Hammers, with Mohammed Kudus and Michail Antonio in behind at 3/1 in the anytime goalscorer market.
Since beating West Ham in the opener, Bayer Leverkusen put five past Werder Bremen to secure their first ever Bundesliga title so will be at an all-time high as they head to London. Xabi Alonso’s brigade will no doubt be keen to sweep up more silverware this season given the calibre of teams still left in the competition, with their biggest threats Liverpool on the brink of being knocked out. Both star men Patrik Schick and Victor Okoh Boniface lead the anytime goalscorer market at 6/4, narrowly in front of Borja Iglesias at 7/4.
