Copenhagen vs Istanbul BB
Telia Parken, Copenhagen
Wednesday, 05-08-2020 @7:55pm
Ref: Daniele Orsato (Italy)
Danish giants Copenhagen host recently crowned Turkish champions Istanbul Basaksehir in the Europa League Last 16 second leg this week, with the tie balanced on a knife edge ahead Wednesday’s tussle.
Copenhagen fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Turkey on March 12 after Edin Visca buried an 88th minute spot kick for the hosts, however with a high-profile date with Manchester United in the quarter finals on offer for the victors, this week’s second leg feels far from over.
The Danes warmed up for Wednesday’s game with successive wins in the Championship Round of the Superliga, though Ståle Solbakken’s men had lost four out of five games before that during a disappointing spell.
Istanbul Basaksehir meanwhile, should arrive in Denmark with their confidence soaring having just lifted their first ever Turkish League title.
With talented manager Okan Buruk calling the shots, and performances from veteran players like Gael Clichy, Martin Skrtel, Eljero Elia and Demba Ba key – Basaksehir broke the stranglehold traditional big hitters Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas held on domestic football in Turkey to achieve unprecedented success for the club.
In the Europa League, good results and performances against teams like Borussia Monchengladbach and Sporting CP highlights just how potent a force Basaksehir can be, and the newly crowned title holders will back themselves to progress to the quarter finals this week.
Both teams scored in five of Copenhagen’s last eight UEL matches. Istanbul Basaksehir scored at least once in seven of their last eight Europa League matches. Copenhagen drew two of their last three UEL home games 1-1. Both teams registered in three of Istanbul Basaksehir’s last four Europa League assignments.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Wolfsburg
RSK Olimpijskij, Donetsk
Wednesday, 05-08-2020 @7:55pm
Ref: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia)
Shakhtar Donetsk lost just two of their last 35 competitive home games. Shakhtar Donetsk beat Wolfsburg 2-1 in their Last 16 first leg tie. Wolfsburg scored in 100% of their Europa League fixtures this season. Shakhtar scored exactly two goals in each of their last two UEL home matches.
Having coasted to the Ukrainian championship this season, in-form Shakhtar Donetsk turn their attentions to the continental endeavours this week with the second leg of their Europa League Last 16 tie with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.
With the squad’s heavy Brazilian influence key, Shakhtar topped the Premier League in their homeland by a whopping 23 points this season, and it was two of their boys from Brazil, that made the difference in Donetsk’s 2-1 first leg triumph over Die Wolfe back in March.
Júnior Moraes and Marcos Antonio hit The Miners goals on that occasion in an impressive victory on German soil, and Shakhtar went on to win seven of their 10 competitive matches since, drawing twice and losing just once during a momentum building stretch.
In contrast, Wolfsburg will arrive in the Ukraine a little low on confidence this week after they limped to a 7th place finish in the Bundesliga.
Die Wolfe closed out their domestic campaign in frustratingly inconsistent form, winning four, drawing one and losing four of their final nine matches of the season.
It’s worth noting that Oliver Glasner’s men did most of their best work on their travels in the season’s climactic period, though Wolfsburg should struggle to replicate their fine domestic form on the road against a Shakhar side that were beaten just twice on their own patch since October 2018.
Inter Milan vs Getafe
VELTINS Arena, Gelsenkirchen
Wednesday, 05-08-2020 @10pm
Ref: Anthony Taylor (England)
Inter Milan have never won in Gelsenkirchen, where their record is D1 L2, all three matches against Schalke. Their most recent visit ended in a 2-1 loss in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg, completing a 7-3 aggregate reverse. Getafe finished fifth in the 2018/19 Spanish La Liga, narrowly missing out on a guaranteed UEFA Champions League berth. Instead, they are in the UEFA Europa League for the second time, their 2010/11 debut having ended at the group stage with seven points and a third-placed finish behind Stuttgart and Young Boys. Getafe reached the knockout phase of a European competition for only the second time this season thanks to two victories apiece against Trabzonspor and Krasnodar in Group C. That put them one point behind group winners Basel, who beat them twice. Victory over Ludogorets took Inter into the UEFA Europa League round of 16 for the fourth time, but they have lost all three of their previous ties in this round of the competition, falling to Tottenham, after extra time, in 2012/13 , Wolfsburg in 2014/15 and Frankfurt in 2018/19. Getafe captain Jorge Molina’s goal against Krasnodar on Matchday 6 made him, at 37 years and 234 days, the fifth oldest scorer in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final.
Inter manager Antonio Conte is sure to miss out on the services of Matias Vecino heading into this fixture. However, the Italian may have Stefano Sensi back in contention. They have also called up midfielder Lucien Agoume for the trip to Gelsenkirchen. Little does it matter, though, with Conte likely to start with Marcelo Brozovic in central midfield. The Croatian is set to partner Nicolo Barella in the double-pivot, with the Italian starting ahead of Borja Valero, Agoume and Roberto Gagliardini. They will be provided additional support by Christian Eriksen, who might return to the side after being benched against Atalanta. However, Alexis Sanchez is another option and coach Conte might utilise the qualities of the Chilean international later in the game. There might be one change in the wing-back slots, with Antonio Candreva replacing Danilo D’Ambrosio on the right flank. Ashley Young is pretty much guaranteed to get the nod ahead of Cristiano Biraghi on the opposite flank. In defence, Conte might prefer the experience of Diego Godin ahead of the young Alessandro Bastoni. The Uruguayan international should accompany Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij in the back three, starting just in front of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. And finally, the Inter Milan attack will be led by the productive duo of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. Sanchez, as mentioned earlier, is also an option.
Getafe do not have any fresh injuries to deal with heading into this fixture. However, he will miss out on the services of Erick Cabaco due to ineligibility while Peter Etebo is also unavailable due to contractual complications. Filip Manojlovic is the only player out injured for the Spanish side. They are more than likely to stick to their trusted 4-4-2 setup, with topscorers Jaime Mata and Angel Rodriguez spearheading the attack. Jorge Molina is another option Bordalas could utilise should he look for more experience. In the 4-4-2, the second bank of four could be important in preventing the likes of Eriksen, Brozovic and Barella from dominating the game. And that is where the compactness of midfield duo Mauro Arambarri and Nemanja Maksimovic could come in handy. They will be provided additional support by Marc Cucurella and Jason, operating in the wider roles. And finally, in defence, Bordalas has no reason to shift from his trusted combination of Damian Suarez, Djene Dakonam, David Timor and Mathias Olivera. Djene and Timor are their main central defenders and their presence at the heart of Getafe’s four-man backline could be as important as goalkeeper David Soria.
Man United vs LASK Linz
Old Trafford, Manchester
Wednesday, 05-08-2020 @10pm
Ref: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)
Luke Shaw and Axel Tuanzebe have been left out of Manchester United’s Europa League squad due to injury. Season-ending injuries have seen the defenders omitted from United’s 30-man squad for Wednesday’s last-16 second leg against LASK and the final eight tournament in Germany. Phil Jones has been included despite not featuring since the restart due to an issue of his own, while Under-18s captain Teden Mengi has been named in the group as well as fellow youngsters Ethan Laird and Ethan Galbraith.
LASK were be without midfielder duo Thomas Goiginger and Marvin Potzmann due to knee injuries for the first leg, while defenders Petar Filipovic and Philipp Wiesinger were both miss the clash through suspension. Goiginger and Potzmann remain injured but Filipovic and Wiesinger are available for new manager Dominik Thalhammer, who will likely deploy Samuel Tetteh, Joao Klauss and Dominik Frieser as a front three as they look to overturn the five-goal deficit.
The last time Manchester United reached the quarter finals of the Europa League they won the tournament back in 2016-17, in what was Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge of the Red Devils. United have used 35 different players in this season’s Europa League, seven more than any other side (Sevilla, 28). Mason Greenwood has scored more Europa League goals than any other United player this season, netting five of his eight attempts on target. LASK have lost just one of their past seven Europa League games (W4 D2), although that defeat did come against Manchester United in the first leg, conceding as many goals in that game (5) as they had done in their first eight matches in the competition this season.
The other upcoming Europa League games
Thursday, 06-08-2020
-Bayer Leverkusen vs Rangers@7:55pm
-Sevilla vs AS Roma @7:55pm
-Wolves vs Olympiakos @10pm
-Basel vs Frankfurt @10pm
