Europa League talking points: Who’ll secure a semi-final spot?
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Preview and tips ahead of the night’s return legs
A place in the Europa League semi-finals is at stake in tonight’s Europa League quarter-final second-legs.
Other than Red Bull Salzburg, this competition represents the best chance of silverware for the clubs competing tonight. And winning it also secures a valuable ticket into next season’s Champions League.
Ahead of the action, the Coral News Team have looked over the key talking points:
Will Arsenal get the job done?
Roma’s incredible comeback against Barcelona on Tuesday shows that even the best sides can’t afford to be complacent in Europe.
A 4-1 first-leg win should be enough to take Arsenal through against CSKA Moscow, but they’ll want to make sure they get the job done.
The Gunners haven’t made it to the semi-finals of a European competition for almost 10 years. They’re even-money to win on the night and end that unhappy run.
What frame of mind will Sporting Lisbon’s players be in?
It’s been an eventful week for Sporting. They lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in their first-leg last week, with both goals coming from defensive errors.
Club president Bruno de Carvalho was far from impressed and slammed the players on social media. The players then defended themselves, only for the president to threaten to suspend 19 of them.
Facing Atletico away is tough enough without any added pressure. It could be a difficult night for the Portuguese club. Sporting are 7/2 to win, with Atletico priced at 5/6.
Can home advantage make the difference for Marseille?
After RB Leipzig beat Marseille 1-0 in Germany last week, the return leg is very finely poised.
The Marseille support can turn the Stade Velodrome into a cauldron for visiting sides. Will Leipzig be able to cope with the heat?
If they can, the French side’s failure to get an away goal could be crucial here. Marseille are 5/2 to qualify. Leipzig are 2/7 favourites to progress.
Are we set for a shootout in Austria?
After losing the first-leg against Lazio 4-2, Red Bull Salzburg know that a 2-0 win at home would take them through.
But it’s going to be tough to stop Lazio from getting on the scoresheet. Simone Inzaghi’s side have bagged at least two goals in six of their previous seven outings, with 12 goals in the last three alone.
It’s 27/20 for the second leg to produce Over 3.5 Goals.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
