The UEFA Europa League has already thrown up some intriguing ties and the Round of 16 is certainly a round that continues to give.
With a number of the top football teams in Europe managing to overcome difficult challenges and progress, whilst others were not so fortunate, the Round of 16 could be their toughest challenge yet.
However, with the format that the competition provides, that should really be a given and rather unsurprising, shouldn’t it?
Indeed, many of the sports betting enthusiasts around the world will have been happy with what they have seen, as they will have a large number of opportunities to get involved, especially with the European Championships 2020 coming up, as there are some great EM 2021 odds around at the moment.
Nonetheless, it is time to focus on club football and the UEFA Europa League, and the ties that have been formed.
Manchester United have been rewarded – or perhaps punished – with a tie against AC Milan in the Round of 16 after they dismantled Real Sociedad with an aggregate 4-0 victory, with the Italians FK Crvena Zvezda 3-3 by virtue of away goals.
Other top ties include the likes of Arsenal playing against Olympiakos; a tie many Gunners will remember from last year’s tournament and one that they will want to exact revenge for. At least they have a taste of winning there as they defeated SL Benfica in the previous round in Piraeus.
Tottenham Hotspur made it 3 out of 4 English teams to advance (Leicester City were shocked by Slavia Prague) as they eased past Austrian outfit Wolfsberger AC 8-1 on aggregate after scoring four goals in each fixture.
Indeed, with so many other top UEFA Europa League Round of 16 fixtures scheduled to take place next month, there is certainly plenty to look forward to. Here is the list, in full, of the games to be played:
Ajax vs Young Boys
Dynamo Kiev vs Villarreal
AS Roma vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Olympiakos vs Arsenal
Dinamo Zagreb vs Tottenham
Manchester United vs AC Milan
Slavia Prague vs Rangers
Granada vs Molde
Molde are perhaps the surprise team still left in the competition after the Norwegian minnows managed to dump out TSG Hoffenheim 3-5 on aggregate, although Granada did well themselves after they eliminated SSC Napoli in the previous round with a 2-3 aggregate scoreline.
Rangers will want to avoid what Leicester City did when meeting Slavia Prague, but the Czechs will likely need to produce something special once again if they are to overcome a Steven Gerrard side that remains unbeaten in their last 41 matches across all competitions.
