The knockout stage of the Europa League will offer several interesting matches. Starting from 8.45 PM EAT, Sparta Prague face a tough opponent in the form of Turkish champions Galatasaray. Feyenoord will want to take revenge on Roma for last year’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the competition and defeat in the final of the Conference League, Shakhtar and Marseille,and finally , Young Boys and Sporting, will face each other. In the later matches, Champions League ‘drop-outs’ AC Milan welcome Rennes, Sporting travel to face Swiss side Young Boys, Lens and Freiburg meet in France and Braga host Qarabag from Azerbaijan.Feyenoord are back on the scene again and this time they will try to pay Roma back for past failures. At home, the Dutch are very strong and in great form. The Wolfess arrives in Rotterdam without many of her loyal fans, but will do whatever it takes to keep the door open for the rematch at the Olimpico.When the pairings for the Europa League playoffs were drawn and it was Feyenoord’s turn, many fans of the Dutch team probably wanted Roma. In the last decade, the two teams met five times, and Feyenoord always came out of the battles defeated. Less than a year ago, the Rotterdam team managed to beat the Roman club at home, but did not have the strength to resist it in Italy, where they were defeated 4-1.Let’s make history. 📜#feyrom pic.twitter.com/Aq5OCyzLh6— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) February 15, 2024 Coach Arne Slot’s team is in excellent shape. Since December 13, they have not lost a single competitive duel. That defeat against Celtic definitely confirmed that Feyenoord will not continue the fight in the Champions League, as they wished, but instead Atletico Madrid and Lazio will fight in the prestigious club competition. In the remaining nine matches, however, the company from De Kuip won seven times and thus occupies second place in the Eredivisie.In the last round, thanks to the goals of Hancko and Geertruida, Feyenoord overcame Sparta and won the important Rotterdam derby. Moreover, the team kept a clean sheet for the fifth time in a row, which is another of the strong sides of the home team.The problem for Slot is the potential absence of Santiago Jimenez, the team’s leading scorer. Considering the form, the absence of the Mexican striker would be a big loss. In the current season, Jimenez has already scored 21 goals.##EDITORS_CHOICE##On the other hand, the guests will also have problems with absences, as defenders Chris Smalling and Leonardo Spinazzola are gradually returning to the game after injuries. Tammy Abraham and possibly key midfielder Bryan Cristante are out.The man who added drama to matches against Feyenoord was former Roma coach Jose Mourinho. But we will be deprived of his energy, because the trophy specialist was recently fired due to poor results and internal disagreements with the club’s owners. Roma icon Daniele De Rossi has taken his place, and he’s not doing badly at all. As this is his first ‘tangible’ job near the sideline, the former captain quickly won the favor of the fans. De Rossi’s team is more aggressive, bolder and faster. Roma won the first three duels, but last weekend they had no solution for Inter, who won 4-2.UEFA EUROPA LEAGUEPlayoff roundThursday the 15th20:45: (2.00) Feyenoord (3.50) Roma (4.10)20:45: (4.00) Young Boys (3.60) Sporting (2.00)20:45: (1.80) Galatasaray (3.70) Sparta Praha (5.00)20:45: (3.40) Shakhtar (3.50) Olympique Marseille (2.25)23:00: (1.65) AC Milan (4.00) Rennes (6.00)23:00: (2.00) Lens (3.50) Freiburg (4.10)23:00: (1.40) Benfica (5.00) Toulouse (9.00)23:00: (1.37) Braga (5.20) Qarabag (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
