So, we are back to European competition following the winter break and, on Thursday evenings, that means Europa League highlights.
Those who topped their respective groups before Christmas do not have to focus on Euro commitments until March so, for the next two weeks, group runners-up will face off against some of the sides who dropped out of the Champions League.
Realistically, that means that Freiburg, Marseille, Qarabag, Rennes, Roma, Sparta Prague, Sporting Lisbon, Toulouse are the underdogs against the Champions League drop-outs, which comprise of Benfica, Braga, Feyenoord, Galatasaray, Lens, Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Young Boys.
Of course, it won’t work out like that and I expect some of the less fancied sides will defy expectations in these last-32 ties.
The outstanding Europa League fixture for this SBOTOP writer will see Feyenoord lock horns with Roma.
Jose Mourinho’s side won the final of the inaugural Europa Conference League in Tirana in 2022, and then came out on top in the quarter-finals of last season’s Europa League, en route to losing the final on penalties to Sevilla.
That was quite a tie as Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini netted in extra time to earn the Italians victory against the 10-men of Feyenoord for a 4-2 aggregate win.
The reigning Dutch champions are only here because they dropped out of the Champions League after coming third in a tough group behind Atletico Madrid and Lazio.
They won the Rotterdam derby at the weekend, defeating Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 in De Kuip with David Hancko converting a penalty before Lutsharel Geertruida added a second.
In Santiago Gimenez they have a player in contention at the head of the Dutch scoring charts and he could be their main threat in Europe.
The 22 year-old Mexican forward has 19 league goals and four assists so far, a marked improvement on his decent 15 goals in 32 games last term.
Gimenez has scored 44 goals for Feyenoord since leaving Mexican side Cruz Azul in 2022.
They may be 10 points behind high-flying and unbeaten PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie but that is a healthier position than the club from the Italian capital find itself in.
Since the draw was made, Mourinho and Roma have parted company and, while their 4-2 home reverse to Serie A leaders Inter Milan at the weekend was only their first defeat since Daniele De Rossi took over at the helm last month, I am not convinced.
There is a body of thought that De Rossi is a breath of fresh air in the Stadio Olimpico; suggestions that the Portuguese coach played the victim mentality whereas Roma now have a coach who clearly and loudly believes in his players, his club, his fans and his future.
That may be true but, to my mind, I do not think De Rossi will bring the success that the passionate eternal city clamours.
Roma are slight favourites to progress over two legs but I think our Europa League betting odds will be wrong and it’s Feyenoord to triumph for me.
My other predictions for the last 16 are Marseille, Galatasaray, Sporting Lisbon, AC Milan, Lens (just), Benfica and Braga.
After that, it can really start to get interesting as the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, leaders in the Bundesliga, tournament favourites Liverpool, West Ham, Brighton and Rangers are among the eight group winners automatically advancing to the last-16 stage, which will be played on March 7 and 14.
For now though, don’t expect all the sides who didn’t make the Champions League cut to automatically find it more straightforward in Europe’s second tier competition.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
