5 Europa League Tips - 24/02/22

After a stunning Rangers display in the first leg, Borussia Dortmund will be travelling to Ibrox determined to put the Scottish champions to the sword in order to overcome their 4-2 deficit on Thursday.

Giovanni van Bronkhorst’s side rocked the German heavyweights with the big result last week but could only follow it up by snatching a draw away to Dundee last time out in the Scottish Premiership.

The Black and Yellows on the other hand returned to Bundesliga action by taking their frustrations out on Borussia Monchengladbach, hammering them 6-0 on Sunday. Marco Reus rolled back the years to produce an incredible performance, with two goals and three assists to his name.

Despite Erling Haaland still being out injured, Reus could be the catalyst that could ignite a Dortmund fightback on Thursday and win them the match. Whether it will be enough to overcome the two-goal margin on aggregate is a different question.

After prevailing in Russia last week, Real Betis will be looking to book their place in the next round when they welcome Zenit St Petersburg to the Estadio Benito Villamarín this Thursday.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men ran out as 3-2 winners in the Krestovsky Stadium and will want to seal the tie with another win in the home leg. Los Verdiblancos extended their current winning run to four matches, with another win in La Liga on Sunday in a 2-1 win over Mallorca, keeping them in third place.

Whilst the former Manchester City boss has rotated some players in his side, winger Juanmi continues to be a regular and is a key player for the Spanish outfit. The 28-year-old has 12 La Liga goals in 21 league appearances so far this season, along with two goals in his five Europa League appearances. He’ll fancy his chances against a Zenit side that are winless in their last 16 away matches in the Europa/Champions League.

Following a comfortable 3-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the home leg, Sevilla travel to Croatia in the driving seat of the tie.

Julien Lopetegui’s side are on a six-game unbeaten run and will be confident of extending that on Thursday evening. Sevilla have progressed in 17 of their last 18 European ties in which they have won the first leg and are very much favoured to do the same again this year.

Dinamo Zagreb drew in their league game at the weekend, a 0-0 stalemate at home to NK Lokomotiva.

Two of the most entertaining sides in the competition lock horns again, at the Anoeta Stadium on Thursday. The spoils were shared in a back-and-forth affair last week between Real Sociedad and RB Leipzig, as the game finished 2-2.

The Germans make the trip to San Sebastian after demolishing Hertha Berlin on Sunday. Die Rotten Bullen stormed to a 6-1 win, highlighting just how ruthless they can be in front of goal. Real Sociedad were on the opposing end of a drubbing, losing 4-0 in their derby with Athletic Bilbao.

After both teams got on the scoresheet with four goals combined in their last meeting, we can see the same happening again on Thursday between two attacking sides.

It’s still all to play for in Naples as two of the biggest teams left in the competition go head-to-head in this deciding final leg.

Napoli came away from the Nou Camp with a draw in the first leg, then followed it up with another 1-1 draw away to Cagliari at the weekend. There is always potential for goals with the firepower the Blues have in their ranks, with Victor Oshimhen, Lorenzo Insigne and Piotr Zielinksi all a major threat – as Barca found out last week.

Xavi’s new-look Barca are starting to click and are five games unbeaten in all competitions. They are still some way off their usual dominant selves though and may well find it tricky against a strong Napoli side.