The Round of 16 matches in the Europa League will start tonight (Thursday) when Arsenal will be hosted by Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United will try to recover from the seven that they stole from Liverpool in a home game against Betis.
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Sporting Lisbon – Arsenal 1:0
The leader of the Premier League wants to continue to do well in the European framework as well, but has not yet welcomed Gabriel Jesus back to the squad, who returned from a long injury to training this week. After the dramatic 3-2 win over Bournemouth in the last round, the Spanish coach gave Rhys Nelson, who scored the winning goal in extra time, the team shirt, as Arsenal made a number of changes to the 11 with players most of whom are usually substitutes, such as Fabio Vieira, when alongside Nelson Bocayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli came up. On the other hand, the Portuguese, who in the play-off phase eliminated the Danish Meteoland with a resounding 0:4 in the second leg, will try to overcome a mediocre season in the league with the continuation of their impressive European campaign, and with a good result for the second leg in London next week.
the progress of the game
6 min: Antonio Adan’s long ball finds Pedro Gonçalves, but Sporting’s attacking midfielder can’t find the frame.
22nd minute: Goal! Fabio Vieira’s corner kick found William Saliba in Sporting’s box, the French stopper accurately hit Adan’s corner for Arsenal’s 0:1!
Rome – Real Sociedad (19:45, Sport4)
The winner of the conference league wants to make history and win the European title for the second year in a row. Jose Mourinho’s players beat Oscar Gloch’s Red Bull Salzburg in the playoffs, and will now meet one of the most impressive teams this season in the factory. The Basques recorded a great home stage, when they finished in first place at home with Manchester United, and in a great season in the local arena as well, it is difficult to decide who is the favorite in one of the closest meetings of the round of 16. The pair of games will be the first ever between the teams in any possible framework, and after a prestigious victory over Juventus, the Giallorossi will try to take advantage of Sociedad’s negative streak in the league and get an advance for the return match in Spain.
Manchester United – Betis (22:00, Sport2)
On the red side of the match, they did not imagine that they would reach the pair of games against the Andalusians after such a painful defeat. The seven that the Red Devils got at Liverpool last Sunday was their biggest ever defeat in the Premier League, but United will try to put aside the pain from Anfield and start a new way. The impressive victory over Barcelona in the playoff phase gave a lot of confidence to Erik ten Haag’s players, who may rotate the team partially, but also let a number of key players start in order to restore the self-confidence of those who took part in the loss to Liverpool. Casemiro is indeed in doubt at United, but at Betis Nabil Fakir is injured and will not take part in the game, which is a big blow for the Spaniards. The green-whites will try to recover the wonderful ability from the group stage and achieve at least a draw at Old Trafford before the second leg in Spain.
Juventus – Freiburg (22:00, Sport4)
After the explosion of the affair in Juventus which led to a reduction of points, it seemed that the team from Turin managed to cope and gain strength in the local and European arena again. In the playoff stage, the Bianconeri passed Nantes, and in the Italian league they are 7 points away from a place in Europe next season as well. The loss to Roma in the last round was crucial in what has been a confusing season for Juventus, but against Freiburg, they will try to keep their ticket to the Champions League next season. The visitor from Germany has not lost in her last five matches in all competitions, and after an early home stage which she finished at the top of the house, she hopes to surprise Juventus who started to return to form and threaten the ticket to the quarter-finals.
The one not included in the squad is Paul Pogba, who was late for the final training session last night and will not take part in the match.
More games:
Bayer Leverkusen – Franzvarousch (19:45)
Union Berlin – Union Saint Gilles (19:45)
Sevilla – Fenerbahce (10:00 p.m., Sport3)
Shakhtar Donetsk – Feyenoord (22:00)
The second leg of the round of 16 in the Europa League will be held next week on Thursday, March 16.