Europe Europe League - Last 16 (2nd Leg)

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Brighton vs Roma Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Brighton:
Steele; Lamptey, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Gilmour, Gross; Adingra, Lallana, Fati; Welbeck

Roma:
Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Zalewski; Bove, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy

Roma, revitalized by new coach Daniele de Rossi, demolished Brighton in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. The Italian side won 4:0 at Stadio Olimpico and virtually secured a spot in the quarter-finals. Two defensive errors by Brighton defenders in the first half determined the outcome of the match. Roma took an early lead through Paulo Dybala, but Leandro Paredes should also be mentioned for his excellent assist. The Seagulls had some good opportunities, but young Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar was fantastic during the whole 90 minutes. On contrary, Lewis Dunk's poor touch was pounced on and punished by Romelu Lukaku just before half-time. Roma continued to terrorize the guests in the second half. Gianluca Mancini scored the third in the 64th minute, while Bryan Cristante set the final 4:0 few minutes later.

Brighton suffered a heavy defeat at Stadio Olimpico, something nobody was expecting. The Seagulls are solid in the Premier League, though they are poor in the last period. De Zerbi's men have lost three of the last four matches across all competitions. Aside from Roma, they also lost the league matches with Fulham and Wolverhampton. Brighton have problem in the attacking department as they have scored just one goal on the mentioned four matches. To be worse, de Zerbi has big injury worries. Solly March, James Milner, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood are all sidelined, as well as the club leading scorer Joao Pedro. On the positive note, Igor and Julio Enciso should both be fit enough to make the bench. The attack could be lead by young Evan Ferguson.

Roma continued to build momentum under new coach De Rossi. Last weekend they scored an injury-time goal to avoid the defeat from Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi. Goalkeeper Svilar and Diego Llorente were the heroes in Florence. The first saved a penalty shot in the finish of the match, while the later scored a stoppage-time goal and earned an important point in their fight for European spots. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, while the players confidence is high. The Giallorossi have lost just once in 11 games since De Rossi took charge, a 4:2 home defeat to Serie A leaders Inter. Most of the players are available for this match, but Rasmus Kristensen and long-term absentee Tammy Abraham are sidelined. De Rossi could rotate the players in order to rest some of them.

Brighton vs Roma Prediction:

Roma won 4:0 at home and they are virtually in the quarterfinals. But Brighton will not give up easily. The Seagulls will try to win - at least. Brighton have good and talented players, lead by motivated coach. Roberto de Zerbi is Italian and this match means a lot to him. De Zerbi is already monitored by many big clubs in Serie A, but also in UK. That means he will try to erase the high defeat from Italy. Four-goal advantage is not easy to be overturned, but Barcelona showed it is not impossible. In 2016/17, Barca became the first side to fight back from four goals down to win a Champions League tie, while PSG were the victims. This was only the fourth time it had been done in any UEFA club competition tie, a feat so special the match was given a name: La Remontada (The Comeback). Historically, Roma were not too successful at British soil. The Giallorossi have won just once in 22 previous trips to England. I expect Brighton to win, but Roma to progress.

Brighton vs Roma Pick: Brighton to win @ 1.78 with Pinnacle

 

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Liverpool vs Sparta Prague Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, McConnell, Clark; Elliott, Gakpo, Koumas

Sparta Prague:
Vindahl Jensen; Vitik, Krejci, Panak; Preciado, Kairinen, Solbakken, Zeleny; Birmancevic, Kuchta, Haraslin

Liverpool won 5:1 in Czech Republic and virtually secured the quarter-finals. The Reds took the lead through Alexis Mac Allister's sixth-minute penalty. Darwin Nunez doubled the lead with a "special goal" - it was Liverpool's 1,000th goal under Jurgen Klopp. The Uruguay forward then made it 3:0 with his second goal scored in the added time. Caoimhin Kelleher has to be mention as he had several good saves, including one at 1:0 when he took the sting out of Lukas Haraslin's shot which saw the ball spin towards the net before Joe Gomez hooked it off the line. However, Kelleher couldn't save the net from his own teammate - Conor Bradley scored an own goal with his first touch in the 46th minute while trying to make a clearance. Luis Diaz restored Liverpool's three-goal advantage with a deflected finish seven minutes later, while Dominik Szoboszlai scored the fifth goal.

Liverpool are confident of advancing to the quarter-finals of Europa League. The Reds are always favorites at Anfield, regardless of the opponents and competition. However, it won't be easy for Klopp to motivate his players after the high victory in Prague. Nevertheless, it is very important the positive series to continue. Liverpool had a derby match with the defending champions Manchester City last weekend, but the game ended with an 1:1 draw. According to me, the Reds deserved the victory, but missed some clear opportunities and were denied a last-minute penalty. Just three days later Liverpool will play another derby, this time against Manchester United in the FA Cup. Klopp must rest some of his players, but he is has huge injury issues. At least 11 players are sidelined due to injury - Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Thiago Alcantara. That's not all as young star Jayden Danns and Ibrahima Konate are rated as doubtful.

Sparta Prague suffered a catastrophe in the first match, but showed they are not a mediocre side. Coach Brian Priske decided not to "park the bus" and pressed the Premier League leaders. Sparta have produced lot of problems to Klopp's defenders, but failed to score in the first half. It will be much more difficult away from home. Sparta have a poor away record losing 17 of their last 21 continental matches on rival territory. To be worse, Sparta suffered defeat in each of the last four knock-out games as guests. Worst of all, Sparta suffered another four-goal defeat during Sunday's Czech Fortuna Liga showdown with Viktoria Plzen. As a result, their lead at the top of the rankings over bitter foes Slavia Prague has now been cut down to just the one point. The injury of defender Asger Sorensen is between the reasons for the domestic defeat. The 27-year-old Dane remain sidelined due to hamstring issue. Andreas Vindheim is also out, but Ladislav Krejci is eligible to play, despite the league suspension. Attackers Jan Kuchta and Veljko Birmancevic should play from the first minute, after both started as reserves against Plzen.

Liverpool vs Sparta Prague Prediction:

Sparta Prague have experienced some painful defeats at British soil. Just one of their 11 trips to England has ended in victory. The triumph came in the 1983-84 UEFA Cup against Watford. Sparta have also visited Anfield in 2011, where a Dirk Kuyt header decided the winners and confirmed the Reds' progression to the next round. I am confident Liverpool will secure the next round once again, but this time I expect an efficient match with at least four goals. Priske is not a coach that will defend, some decisions proves that. Kuchta and Birmancevic didn't start against Plzen and it is clear they were saved for this match. Playing at Anfield is something special for everybody. Scoring even more. I believe this will be an open match. At least four goals should be scored.

Liverpool vs Sparta Prague Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 1.99 with Pinnacle