Who Will Be the Europa League semi-finalists?
by Steve Ashfield |
Who Will Be the Europa League semi-finalists?
The 2021/2022 Europa League has reached the quarter finals stage. Eight teams remain with seven countries being represented. Only Germany have more than one club through to the quarter finals with both Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig reaching the last eight. The current favourites to win the Europa League are a side you wouldn't expect to be in the competition. After losing in the Champions League group stages, can Barcelona now win the Europa League? Let's look at the four quarter finals and the likely winners.
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Eintracht Frankfurt v Barcelona
Spain has a tremendous record in the Europa League but they could have unlikely winners this season. Barcelona finished only third in their Champions League group behind Bayern Munich and Benfica. Only earning one point against the Portuguese club saw Barcelona end up in the Europa League. They had to get past Napoli to reach the last 16 and then had a narrow 2-1 aggregate win over Galatasasray in the last 16.
It's been a strange season for Barcelona. They struggled in the first half of the campaign and have never been in title contention in La Liga. They end March third in the table and looking good for automatic Champions League qualification, A form guide for the last 15 La Liga games has them top of the table. Now they can focus on trying to win another European competition. They are unbeaten in their last 12 matches at the time of writing this article. If winning this quarter final, they take on either West Ham or Lyon.
Eintracht Frankfurt are eighth in the Bundesliga and seven points behind the final Champions League qualification place. That puts them in the position where they may well have to win the Europa League to be in Europe's top club competition next season. They won Group D this season ahead of Olympiakos, Fenerbahce and Antwerp. It was a tough task getting past Real Betis in the last 16, needing a 121st minute own goal to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory. Including extra time they are unbeaten in their last eight Europa League games but have conceded in all of them. With that kind of record, Barcelona can be favoured to make the last four.
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RB Leipzig v Atalanta
Both of these clubs began the season in the Champions League group stages. Atalanta had a good chance of finishing second in their group but lost their final home game against Villarreal 3-2. That saw them out of the Champions League after winning just one of their six games.
The Europa League play-off round go 1-0 down in the home first leg against Olympiakos. They recovered to win 2-1 and then won 3-0 in Greece. That took them into the last 16 where again they had to come from behind but ended up with a comfortable 4-2 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen. Atalanta are eight points behind fourth spot in Serie A, so again might need to win this competition to qualify for the 2022/23 Champions League.
RB Leipzig are fourth in the German Bundesliga but in good form coming into this Europa League quarter final. A form guide for the last 10 Bundesliga games has them top of the table. They had a tough draw in the Champions League wth Manchester City and PSG to play. They managed to finish third above Brugge and were moved into the Europa League.
They had another difficult draw in the play-off round, taking on Real Sociedad. Twice in the home leg they went behind but an 82nd minute penalty earned them a 2-2 draw. The away leg was easier with a 3-1 win. Leipzig didn't have to play in the last 16 after drawing Spartak Moscow and being given a bye. This is a difficult tie to predict but Leipzig are in form and playing well on their travels and may well reach the last four.
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Braga v Rangers
Braga are in fourth place in Portugal's Primeira League but 12 points behind the final Champions League qualifying place. They were the runners-up in the Europa League 11 years ago. With the winners of this tie taking on either Atalanta or RB Leipzig in the semi-finals, there is an outside chance of them reaching a second final.
They finished second in Group F but had to rely on their home form to qualify. Only three of their ten points came on their travels. The play-off round saw them up against Sheriff Tiraspol who had been transferred from the Champions League. Braga's poor away form saw them lose the away first leg 2-0 but they won the second leg by the same score and then were triumphant in the penalty shoot-out. The last 16 went a lot smoother with a 3-1 aggregate win over Monaco, winning the home first leg 2-0.
Rangers began the season in the Champions League but were beaten by Malmo in the qualifying rounds. Alashkert were beaten in the Europa League play-off qualifying round and the Scottish club then finished second behind Lyon in Group A, though only one away game was won. That took them into the play-off round and a difficult tie against Borussia Dortmund. Their away form suddenly improved with a 4-2 win in Germany and a 2-2 home win to go through 6-4.
Their good run continued in the last 16 winning the first leg 3-0 at Ibrox Park. The second leg was lost 2-1 but Rangers were never in danger of not reaching the last eight. The away leg being first may well be to their advantage and Rangers can make the semi-finals.
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West Ham United v Lyon
West Ham's hopes of a top four finish in the English Premier League have faded in recent weeks. They still tend to be inconsistent but will give Lyon a good game in this quarter final. If they were to progress and possibly take on Barcelona, then that would be the end of their run though.
The Hammers won Group H, finishing three points clear of Dinamo Zagreb. They lost the first leg of their last 16 tie in Sevilla but had a 2-0 extra time victory in the second leg to progress. West Ham have had three home clean sheets so far in this season's Europa League and will need to get a good first leg result if they want to reach the last four.
Lyon are ten points adrift of the final Champions League qualification place in Ligue 1. Current form isn't good at all and making up that points difference isn't looking likely. They have shown good form in the Europa League though. Lyon won Group A by eight points with five wins and a draw from their six games. That took them into the last 16 and a difficult tie against Porto.
The French club did well to win the away first leg 1-0 and then drew at home 1-1 to progress. This is another tie that looks like being a tight one and the slight preference is for West Ham to win it given the current form of Lyon.
