Bayer Leverkusen vs Villarreal
Having successfully secured a 2-0 first leg win in Spain, Villarreal know they have progression in their own hands. However, their away form of late leaves a lot to be desired, with the Yellow Submarines currently mired in a seven-game winless run on their travels. Bayer Leverkusen’s recent performances in front of their own fans, though, have been well below par. Inconsistency is the order of the day for the Bundesliga side, who have just two wins to their name from their last six competitive outings at the BayArena.
Villarreal can prey on Leverkusen’s indifferent home form in one of Thursday’s three early kick offs, particularly with Cedric Bakambu back in form. The summer arrival had gone 11 appearances without scoring before the first leg in Spain last week, with the Frenchman bagging a brace to hand Villarreal the advantage. He followed this up with two more goals in the weekend’s 4-2 loss at Sevilla as Bakambu appears back to his goalscoring best. In the Buabook match market, I’m buying shares in the 24-year-old ahead of Thursday's Europa League fixtures.
Valencia are lucky to be only one goal down coming into the second leg meeting with Athletic Club. Goalkeeper Maty Ryan gained the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.06 and Los Che have the Australian to thank that the Spanish side still have a chance of progressing. Another inspired performance from Ryan would go a long way to helping Valencia overturn the one-goal deficit on Thursday.
Ryan, though, will have his work cut out when Athletic make the trip to Valencia. Aduriz has scored more goals (7) than any other player in the Europa League this season, returning a WhoScored rating of 7.95. Back on his old stomping ground, the experienced striker would like nothing more than to dump his former employers out of the competition at Athletic’s expense. Recent history would also favour Ernesto Valverde's men, who have recorded three wins over Valencia this season. Given Gary Neville has only overseen four wins from his 12 home matches in charge, Valencia's season could be over at the end of this match.
Given Aduriz’s fine goalscoring form in the competition, he, like Bakambu, is a player worth investing in through Buabook’s match market.
Manchester United vs Liverpool
Arguably the biggest tie of the round as Manchester United and Liverpool face off for the second time in a week. The Reds secured a 2-0 win at Anfield last Thursday with a comprehensive victory and it could well have been more had it not been for the goalkeeping expertise of David De Gea. With the Spaniard performing to expectations, Louis van Gaal needs his attacking players to pull their weight this week if United are to harbour any hope of overturning the deficit and securing a place in the next round of the Europa League.
United and Liverpool fans will both fondly remember Anthony Martial’s debut for the former, with the Frenchman netting 20 minutes into this debut against Liverpool. Marcus Rashford may have been stealing the limelight of late, but Martial remains United’s primary attacking option with Wayne Rooney sidelined. The 20-year-old netted a late equaliser against West Ham in the FA Cup at the weekend and the Manchester side will hope he can score in back-to-back competitive outings for the first time since September.
Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund
Tottenham have it all to do against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday if they are to progress to the next round of the Europa League. Spurs fell to a 3-0 defeat in Germany last Thursday and it could easily have been more had it not been for goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris. With one foot in the next round of the competition, Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel could opt against a full strength team for the trip to White Hart Lane.
Spurs will look to save face in front of their own fans, though overturning a three-goal deficit could be a bridge too far for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Nevertheless, they’ll hope to remain solid at the back, with Toby Alderweireld expected to feature in defence once more. The Belgian has played a starring role for the club following his summer switch, with Alderweireld a corner stone of a backline that has conceded just 24 league goals this season. With three league goals to his name - all of which have been scored at White Hart Lane - the 27-year-old is a hugely influential member of this Spurs side at both ends of the pitch. He’ll need to show this once more on Thursday.
You can buy and sell shares ahead of Thursday's Europa League action with player trading website Buabook
