The second leg of the Europa League quarterfinals will happen later this week with the highly-touted teams expected to advance except for one.
Manchester United, AS Roma, and Villarreal turned in impressive performances in the last time out, while Arsenal somehow made it harder for themselves despite being favoured by the Europa League 2021 odds.
Nothing is settled as of the moment. But if there’s anything we know about football, it is that anything can happen.
Here at SBOTOP, we examine their upcoming matches by looking at the latest Europa League 2021 updates.
Slavia Praha vs Arsenal
The Gunners are in grave danger as they couldn’t close out giant killers Slavia Praha in the first leg of their tie.
After a Nicolas Pepe goal to put Arsenal up by one during the 86th minute, the Gunners’ were left in shock as Tomas Holes replied seven minutes later.
With the tally level, Slavia Praha have the edge since they had the away goal and that might prove to be crucial.
Arsenal simply lacked the guile and killer instinct to beat their visitors, which is why they should come in here with a more determined mindset to keep their trophy hopes alive.
Mikel Arteta’s men weren’t gun-shy as they vented their ire over relegation-bound Sheffield United yesterday with a convincing 3-0 victory.
Alexandre Lacazette, who miffed his chances against Slavia Praha before, bagged a brace while Gabriel Martinelli showed off his class with a goal of his own.
With his recent score, Martinelli is almost certain to be featured into the starting XI alongside Lacazette and Pepe especially since Bukayo Saka limped off against the Blades with a thigh issue. Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s status has improved to probable.
Slavia Praha are likely to stick to their starters and they’re fresh from a 2-0 win over Sparta Prague in Czech’s First League.
Manchester United vs Granada
The Red Devils are enjoying a fantastic week and they’re keen on keeping it up when they host Granada this weekend.
After their 2-0 victory in the first leg, Manchester United followed that one up with another solid win over Tottenham last Sunday night.
The said game was sprinkled with controversy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side needed a furious rally to steal the win on the road.
When Edinson Cavani’s first half goal was waved off for some reason, Tottenham claimed the 1-0 lead after a nice finish from Heung-Min Son on the other end.
Then come the second half, Fred scored the equaliser off of a Cavani miss then the latter finally had a goal counted during the last 10 minutes and Mason Greenwood added one for good measure.
As for Granada, they are fresh from a win over Real Valladolid after trailing for much of the game. Facing a one-goal deficit, Jorge Molina and Quini inspired a late rally that ultimately saw them steal the three points.
AS Roma vs Ajax
Ajax are looking for strong performances from their stars if they plan on upsetting AS Roma this Friday.
The Dutch Eredivisie defending champions were up by one goal in the first half of the first leg, but they faltered in the second half as Lorenzo Pellegrini and Roger Ibanez stole the victory.
The win boosted AS Roma’s confidence as they carried their momentum with a needed win over Bologna yesterday. Prior to the first leg, Paulo Fonseca’s men were stuttering – losing two of their last three league matches.
As for Ajax, they bounced back with a domestic victory over RKC Waalwijk, although they should’ve scored more.
For Erik ten Hag’s side to survive versus the Giallorossi, the trio of Dusan Tadic, David Neres, and Edson Alvarez have to show up since they were virtually absent in the first leg.
Villarreal vs Dinamo Zagreb
Gerard Moreno aims to steer the Yellow Submarine into the semifinals when they host Dinamo Zagreb as the Estadio de la Ceramica.
When these two teams last met in Croatia, it was Moreno who slotted home the away goal via penalty when Kevin Theopile-Catherine was called for a crucial foul just before the halftime break.
Unai Emery did the smart thing to rest Gerard Moreno in their loss against Osasuna as they’re preparing for this weekend’s contest. 18-year-old winger Yeremi Pino was inserted in Moreno’s place.
Dinamo Zagreb, meanwhile, picked up a crucial win over NK Lokomotiva to maintain their top spot in the Croatian League.
The last time that we saw the Croatian defending champions trailing, they somehow pulled off a miracle comeback against the Spurs.
Villarreal will surely take note of that and they’ll do everything they can to stop them on their tracks.
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