After two spectacular semifinals of the Champions League, it is time for the four best teams in the Europa League to start the battles for the finals. In a season that was full of surprises, Red Bull Leipzig, Glasgow Rangers, West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt arrived at the penultimate station. Big favorites like Barcelona, Sevilla, Napoli, and even Borussia Dortmund ended the competition too early, so it seems that before the start of the semifinal clashes, the chances of the mentioned four reaching the throne are – pretty equal. Leipzig and Rangers on the one hand, West Ham and Eintracht on the other will fight for a place in the final at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium (May 18).David Moyes will have to work with a depleted defense against the Germans. The Scot has only one healthy sweeper available – Craig Dawson is the only one ready to respond to the challenges of the first European semifinal for the London Hammers since 1976, after Issa Diop and Kurt Zouma joined Angelo Ogbona on the list of injured players. The Scot is expected to remain true to the formation with three players in the back line, and along with Dawson, Alfonso Areola will be joined by Ben Johnson and Aaron Creswell – right and left back by vocation.CONFERENCE LEAGUE: League’s top scorer opens up about his struggles with TuchelWest Ham have a draw with Burnley at home (1-1) and a defeat by Chelsea away (0-1) behind them, and previously in the Europa League the Hammers were great against Lyon. After 1-1 in London, the Hammers were victorious in France 3-0.Eintracht drew 2-2 with Hoffenheim in Frankfurt last weekend, before that they lost 0-2 to the Union in Berlin, but the team is still riding the wave of eliminating Barcelona and the spectacular support they had in Catalonia.That is why Moses’ squad will be especially careful. They will try to endure and then, as in the quarterfinals against Lyon – try and attack the finals spot in the return match with all their might. Both teams are fighting for Europe in the national championships, but they are also dreaming that they could reach a place in the Champions League with a triumph in the Europa League. Clearly, the stakes are high.Mozzart Bet offers world’s biggest odds in two Thursday matchesEnglish team coach Moyes put good games at home in the foreground.”I think we are playing very well at home this season. We have recorded great results. It is good to be a little nervous. To understand the importance of the game, but I want the players to go out on the pitch full of confidence and be natural. A great game is ahead of us, we are very excited.””If someone told us in May last year that we would have a chance to reach the final, we would think they were joking. We are in a good place and I think we deserved it. We got Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea at home and it shows that we can win every team when we have our day”, said the Scotsman.Moyes: Is it by luck, by plan or design? Sometimes you need a bit of all of themHis colleague from the Frankfurt bench points out that he has a game of his career ahead of him, but that he has a clear goal.”We have to play the best match of the season. As always, we are going for the win. We are in good shape and we are going into this match full of confidence. They are doing well too, the impression is that they have a similar approach to games. They are very compact, physically strong and they like to pass the ball quickly to the attacking third.””They are also dangerous from set pieces. It is a good opportunity to compete with the best. Like us, West Ham deserved a place in the semifinals,” said Oliver Glasner.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Elsewhere, the most pleasant surprise of this season in the Europa League is visiting RB Leipzig (22.00), where they will try to get an active result for the rematch in Scotland.After those crisis years, being knocked out in the fourth rank and a slow return to the top, Glasgow Rangers fans deserved all that is happening to them this season. The Policemen have been playing the best season on the international scene since the 2007/2008 season, when they reached the UEFA Cup final. They are now in the semifinals of the Europa League, where they are by no means the favorites.The presence of the Scots among the four best clubs in the Europa League is rightly called a sensation. There was no indication that this campaign would be so successful given that Malmo easily knocked out Rangers in the 3rd round of qualifications for the Champions League. Therefore, when Rangers drew Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the knockout phase, many have already written them off. However, the Scots performed a proper miracle in Germany, beating the Millionaires 4-2.Reds’ blazing second half sinks the Yellow SubmarineTonight, Rangers need even more luck than they had in previous rounds. Dortmund are quite a team, but Leipzig are more dangerous at the moment – probably the team that is in the best shape in the entire Bundesliga. The Bulls tied as many as 17 games in all competitions without defeat (13 wins, four draws) before being defeated by Union Berlin (2-1) last weekend. The question is whether they would have lost that game if coach Domenico Tedesco had not been determined to rest some first-team players for the duel against Rangers.For the Scots, Ibrox stadium is their main weapon this season, they had only one victory away in Europe and it was the one in Germany. They failed to triumph in the remaining eight away games and Leipzig have the opportunity to inflict their third consecutive defeat away and that has not happened to Rangers since the 2000/2001 season.Leicester boss ahead of Conference League semis: Mourinho is one of the greatsAnother problem for Giovanni van Bronckhorst is that he cannot count on some of his best players. Due to injuries, Alfredo Morelos, Kemar Roofe, Aaron Ramsey and Ianis Hagi are missing, they are all important players, especially in the offensive. They will have to manage to score a goal without them because it is quite certain they will concede at least one – Leipzig have scored at least one goal in the last seven matches.Both teams entered the finals of their national cups, so their self-esteem is still at a high level. This is Leipzig’s second European semifinal after previously playing in the Champions League in 2020, when Paris Saint-Germain defeated them 3-0.UEFA EUROPA LEAGUESemi-finalsThursday22:00: (1.40) RB Leipzig (4.50) Rangers (8.50)22:00: (1.95) West Ham (3.50) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.90)***odds are subject to change***
