Europe Europa League Last 16 - 1st Leg

[spkutano]

 

[spkutano]

AS Roma vs Athletic Bilbao Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

AS Roma:
Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Kone, Cristante, Angelino; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk

Athletic Bilbao:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri; Jauregizar, Vesga; Inaki Williams, Gomez, Nico Williams; Sannadi

AS Roma will host Athletic Bilbao at Stadio Olimpico as both teams are looking to secure the quarterfinals of Europa League. This is the first leg, while the reverse fixture will be played next Thursday in Spain. Bilbao are favorites, after all they were better side in the group stage of competition and will play the first leg as guests. But on the other side, Roma are more experienced team in European competitions. The Giallorossi won the Conference League three years ago, before reaching a Europa League final. Roma have lost only two of their last 38 home matches in Europe. At the same time they have registered 27 victories in that spell. Jose Mourinho has a big impact in these numbers, but Claudio Ranieri is also a good tactician. Ranieri has almost all players ready for this match. The only unavailable player is Leandro Paredes, who must serve a one-match ban. Bryan Cristante should therefore start in midfield. Some changes are possible and I expect Artem Dovbyk to lead the line.

Athletic Bilbao finished as second in the group phase and secured a direct place in the knock-out stage, without playoff matches. They had an excellent record of six wins, one draw and one defeat. The only loss came from Besiktas in Turkey, in the seventh round, when Bilbao had virtually secured a Top-8 finish. The current form isn't at desired level, they have one win, one draw and one defeat on the last three matches in La Liga. Bilbao beat 3:0 Girona, shared the points with Espanyol and lost 1:0 to Atletico Madrid during the weekend. Valverde's men were clearly better side, hit the woodwork three times, but were unable to score. Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Oblak was also fantastic. At the end they were punished for the missed opportunities and lost the match. The defeats are not good for the confidence ahead of trip to Roma. In addition, Alvaro Djalo is out with an ankle problem, while Oihan Sancet is rated as doubtful.

Roma vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction:

Roma are playing well at the moment. They are unbeaten on the last six matches across all competitions, winning five of them. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, while the players confidence is high. Bilbao, meanwhile, suffered a narrow 1:0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the last fixture. The Basks were clearly better side, hit the post three times, but were unable to score. At the end they were punished for the missed opportunities and lost the match. Athletic are solid team, they controlled the game, but weren't clinical. Furthermore, Bilbao have lost four of their last five knockout contests. Roma could take advantage from that fact.

AS Roma vs Athletic Bilbao Pick: AS Roma to win @ 2.39 with Pinnacle

 

[spkutano]

AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

AZ Alkmaar:
Owusu-Oduro; Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, De Wit; Clasie, Koopmeiners; Poku, Buurmeester, Lahdo; Parrott

Tottenham:
Vicario; Spence, Gray, Danso, Udogie; Maddison, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Tel, Son

AZ Alkmaar will welcome the Premier League side Tottenham to Netherlands. Both teams are looking for quarter-finals, but Tottenham are clear favorites. AZ finished the group stage as 20th and had to face Turkish side Galatasaray in the playoffs. The Eredivisie outfit were impressive in both games and secured an aggregate 6:3 victory. Since then AZ have played three matches in domestic competitions, with mixed success. After the narrow 1:0 league win over Fortuna Sittard, De Kaasboeren secured their spot in the cup final after beating Hercules 4:3 on penalties following an entertaining 2:2 draw after 120 minutes. However, the last weekend wasn't according to the expectations as they lost 3:1 to Heerenveen. At the moment, they are sharing the fifth place with Twente. The hosts have four injury worries ahead of this match. The key attacking midfielder Sven Mijnans and Jayden Addai are definitely sidelined, while Ruben van Bommel and Mexx Meerdink are rated as doubtful.

Tottenham have a poor season in domestic Premier League, but their European campaign was successful. They registered five victories in nine matches and finished as fourth after the group phase of UEFA Europa League. The Spurs have collect 17 points and I believe that's a solid result. But Tottenham in domestic competitions and Tottenham in Europa are two different stories. While their European results are solid, the domestic were awful. The Spurs are out of the title race, they can't finish between Top-4, they are out of the FA Cup and out of Carabao Cup. So, they will travel to Netherlands knowing this is their only chance for silverware in the season. Postecoglou has some injury issues ahead of this match. Dejan Kulusevski is the latest victim. He was pictured wearing a protective boot on his left foot and won't play here. Radu Dragusin, Dominic Solanke and Richarlison are also sidelined. Four players - Antonin Kinsky, Fraser Forster, Timo Werner and Sergio Reguilon - are ineligible to play in Europa League. Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have slim chances to return against AZ, while Ben Davies will be assessed on Thursday.

AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham Prediction:

Tottenham have already beaten Alkmaar this season, overcoming the Dutch side 1:0 in London. The Spurs are favorites again and they should win here. AZ are solid team, but nothing more. They are not strong as PSV, Ajax or Feyenoord. You saw how Arsenal demolished PSV on Tuesday, even five key players were out injured. There is a class difference between Premier League and Eredivisie. The absence of Sven Mijnans is an additional handicap for AZ. Tottenham also have injury issues, but also have a bigger roster.

AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham Pick: Tottenham to win @ 2.06 with Pinnacle