Europa League last 32 second leg previews

Benfica, 5-1 aggregate winners over Hertha Berlin, have already booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League. Few teams start their second legs knowing they have all but joined them – only two of the 15 remaining ties have a first leg scoreline with at least a two goal deficit.

Rubin Karzan, 3-0 winners over Hapoel Tel Aviv certainly have one foot in the next round and it would be a major surprise if Marseille let a 3-1 advantage over Copenhagen slip on their home turf. Every other tie is up for grabs.
Anderlecht hold a narrow advantage over Athletic Bilbao after securing a 1-1 draw at San Mamés last week. The Belgians maintained their grip on their domestic league with a 2-0 weekend win over Mechelen and they should complete the job against the La Liga outfit.

Panathinaikos ended Roma’s stunning unbeaten strike with a thrilling 3-2 win last week, but Claudio Ranieri’s outfit are even harder to beat at home and a repeat of their weekend 1-0 win over Catania would be enough to put them through.

Galatasaray are also a tough nut to crack at home and the Turkish outfit appear to have done the hard work by drawing 1-1 at Atletico Madrid in the first leg. Madrid lost for the third time in five league matches on Sunday.

UEFA Europa League betting odds have Juventus down as one of the favourites for the trophy and a hard-earned 2-1 first leg win at Ajax appears to have kept them on course for another European final. Juventus have lost four times at home in the league this season, as well as suffering a 4-1 home thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, so Ajax know they have a chance in this one.

Club Brugge upset Valencia with a 1-0 win last week, but Unai Emery’s outfit is hard to contain at the Mestella. They should turn this tie around in style and prove why they are one of the favoured teams to go all the way.

Holders Shakhtar Donetsk should also be expected to recover from a one goal first leg deficit against Fulham, who suffer from travel sickness domestically – a trip to Ukraine with a narrow advantage should prove too tricky.

Overall, UEFA Europa League final betting is still wide open. There are plenty of teams that will fancy their chances. There are also bound to be a few more upsets along the way, so who knows what the next few rounds are going to bring.