5 Europa League RO16 Tips - 17/3/22

For the second round running, Rangers put in a terrific first leg performance to give the Glasgow side a three-goal advantage heading into Thursday.

Domestically, hosts Red Star are in perfect form, with five straight wins putting them level on points at the top of their league with rivals Partizan Belgrade.

In Scotland, Rangers sit second in the league, three points behind Celtic having won three and drawn two in their past five. They will be confident of progression this week given their three-goal advantage, however, should be wary of a Red Star side who have tasted defeat just once in the league all season.

Given the Serbian side had three goals ruled out at Ibrox last week, we expect them to give Giovanni van Bronkhorst's men a tough game on Thursday. At 5/2, our tip is for Red Star to win 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1, a tip that would have won in three of their past five league games, although would still see them crash out of the competition to the Bears.

After a goalless draw at the Nou Camp, Barcelona travels to Turkey in the hunt for a Europa League quarter-final place. In truth, most people expected the Blaugrana to be well clear after their home leg, however, Galatasaray will be hopeful that home advantage can help carry them through on a current level playing field.

Despite sitting 11th, the hosts have been in good form with two wins, two draws, and a loss in their past five, although they welcome a Barcelona outfit who have won four on the bounce and last tasted defeat in early December to Real Betis.

Since arriving from Arsenal in January, forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been prolific, netting six times in nine appearances, and we back the Gabonese hitman to strike again this week, priced at 8/11 to score anytime.

Lyon plays host to Porto this week at the Groupama Stadium as they look to defend their one-goal advantage in France.

The home side is in decent form, winning two, drawing one, and losing two of their past five league games, however, a 4-2 home defeat to Rennes at the weekend potentially ended any hopes of European football next season.

Visitors Porto sit top of Liga Nos having won three and drawn two of their past five league games as Sergio Conceicao’s men look on course for the title. They will face a tough challenge on Thursday, with hosts Lyon yet to lose at home in the Europa League this season.

Cameroonian forward Karl Toko Ekambi leads the competition's scoring charts with six goals in seven, and with home advantage may fancy himself to get on the scoresheet. We back the French side to do the business this week, with our tip Ekambi to score and Lyon to win priced at 3/1.

Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen produced arguably the game of the round last week when these two met at the Gewiss Stadium as the Italian side ran out 3-2 victors.

After a shock 1-0 loss to Koln at the weekend, this week’s hosts sit third in the Bundesliga and will look to bounce back on Thursday against Atalanta. The visitors enter this one in poor form, with one win, two draws, and two losses in their last five league outings, however, have faced fellow top-six challengers Roma, Fiorentina, and Juventus in this time.

Both sides had quiet games at the weekend, with Atalanta held to a goalless draw against Genoa, but considering last week's results and both sides' season-long impressive attacking records, we expect them to be back to form in Europe with our tip over 2.5 match goals priced at 8/15.

West Ham welcome Sevilla to the London Stadium as they look to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg. The Hammers were unfortunate to lose last time out, missing several big chances which if taken would surely have left them favourites going into this one.

David Moyes’ side has won two, drawn two, and lost one of their last five league games, finding the net on all but one occasion as they continue their hunt for European football next season. Visitors Sevilla had a surprise draw to mid-table Real Vallecano at the weekend; however, this still leaves Julian Lopetegui’s side unbeaten in five and in second place behind Real Madrid.

Despite Sevilla’s impressive defensive record this season, we think home advantage will play a part this week and could see the Hammers potentially causing an upset, with our tip for this one being both teams to score at 10/11.