Twenty-four matches, two kick-off times, one day - Europa League is the end-of-week crush UEFA undertakes trying to make its second tournament work. At this early stage of the competition, it’s all a bit confusing, especially as a massive dessert following the Champions League main course. If this year’s tournament is anything like last year’s, there will be a pay-off come the knock-out rounds, but during group stage, it’s a storm of scores.
UEFA Europa League Preview, Predictions: Four Hours, 24 Matches
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The key to keeping it fun: find a match and embrace it. Today, there are a number of intriguing pairings. Belgian champions Anderlecht host Zenit St. Petersburg, still undefeated in Russia. Powerful PSV welcomes Giampaolo Pazzini, Antonio Cassano, and Sampdoria. Sevilla gets Paris Saint-Germain at the Sanchez Pizquan - there are a number of compelling match-ups, though we can’t chose for you (but if we could, we'd point you to Anderlecht-Zenit).
What we can do is provide context. So, here’s a brief run-down of each group, listing the day’s matches:
Group A: Manchester City is the favorite. They start their tournament at Red Bull Salzburg. Juventus is also expected to go through. They host Poland’s Lech Poznan. Both matches start at 1:00 p.m., Eastern.
Group C: This group is wide open, with Belgium’s Gent, France’s Lille, and Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon all potential group winners. Levski Sofia, off to a strong start in Bulgaria, could also break out of the this group, though at the onset of group play, they take on the spoiler’s role. Gent is in Bulgaria today while Lille hosts Sporting. Both matches at 1:00 p.m. Eastern starts.
Group D: Villareal is the name club in this group but will get significant resistance from Club Brugge, who drew this weekend with Juliper League leading Genk. Villareal will be in Zagreb today to face Dinamo while Brugge hosts Greece’s PAOK. These are also 1:00 p.m. Eastern starts.
Group E: This group will be one of the least appealing to Western European and North American followers, containing teams from Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The Ukrainian team, Dynamo Kyiv, will be strong favorites, with the rest of the group being relatively wide-open. Dynamo opens group play at 1:00 p.m. Eastern against BATE Borisov, while AZ get Sheriff (same kick-off time).
Group F: Like groups A and B, this quartet has a clear top two. CSKA Moscow, quarterfinalists in last year’s Champions League, will be favored. They begin group play at Switzerland’s Lausanne Sports. Italy’s Palermo should also get out of the group. They are at Sparta Praha.
Group G: Anderlecht and Zenit are Champions League-caliber teams that stumbled in the playoffs. Now, they’re drawn in the same group and race each other today in Belgium. They should stroll through a group that also contains Greece’s AEK and Croatia’s Hejduk Split. Those clubs face-off in Athens at 3:05 p.m. Eastern.
Group H: Four quality clubs off of varying starts to their league campaigns. Young Boys, coming off a draw with Basel, go to Stuttgart, a club stumbling through the beginning of their Bundesliga campaign. In Madrid, Getafe - who have become the group favorites - welcomes Odense BK. With Stuttgart stumbling, but Obense and Young Boys have a change to go through.
Group I: PSV sits atop the Eredivisie, having scored 17 goals in five matches. Gotta love that Dutch league. Today, we’ll find out how much of that prowess will translate onto the continent when they host group co-favorites Sampdoria. In Hungary, Debrecen hosts a Cleiton Xavier and Metalist Kharkiv, a club that could sneak into a knockout stage spot should PSV or Sampdoria overlook this competition.
Group J: Sevilla’s surprise entrance into this competition sees them host Paris Saint-Germain to start group stage. PSG’s scoring goals for fun, allowing goals for pain in Ligue 1, scoring nine and allowing six through five matches. Good luck with whichever of Luis Fabiano, Frederic Kanoute or Alvaro Negredo you draw! Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund goes to Ukraine to face Karpaty Lviv, the group’s best bet for fourth.
Group K: While there are no weak clubs in Group K, there seems to be a clear pecking order. Liverpool should be favored, with Napoli also expected to get out of group. Steaua Bucuresti could play spoilers, starting their tournament at Anfield, while Utrecht is the group’s weakest side. They open group play at Napoli.
Group L: What’s Porto doing here? They’re always in Champions League. Thanks to Sporting Braga, this year’s different. They open up Europa League by hosting Rapid Wien. At the same time, Turkey’s Besiktas, the group’s second favorites, welcomes CSKA Sofia to Istanbul. Besiktas has scored four goals in each of their last three games.
Predictions
| Group | Time (Eastern) | Home | Visitor | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1:00 p.m. | Salzburg | Manchester City | 1-0, Manchester City |
| A | 1:00 p.m. | Juventus | Lech Poznan | 2-1, Juventus |
| B | 1:00 p.m. | Aris | Atlético Madrid | 2-1, Atlético |
| B | 1:00 p.m. | Bayer Leverkusen | Rosenborg | 3-2, Bayer |
| C | 1:00 p.m. | Levski Sofia | Gent | 2-2 |
| C | 1:00 p.m. | Lille | Sporting Lisbon | 1-0, Lille |
| D | 1:00 p.m. | Dinamo Zagreb | Villareal | 3-1, Villareal |
| D | 1:00 p.m. | Club Brugge | PAOK | 2-1, Club Brugge |
| E | 1:00 p.m. | AZ | Sheriff | 1-1 |
| E | 1:00 p.m. | Dynamo Kyiv | BATE | 2-0, Dynamo |
| F | 1:00 p.m. | Lausanne Sports | CSKA Moscow | 2-1, CSKA |
| F | 1:00 p.m. | Sparta Praha | Palermo | 2-1, Sparta |
| G | 3:05 p.m. | Anderlecht | Zenit St. Petersburg | 2-2 |
| G | 3:05 p.m. | AEK | Hejduk Split | 2-0, AEK |
| H | 3:05 p.m. | Stuttgart | Young Boys | 1-1 |
| H | 3:05 p.m. | Getafe | Obense | 2-0, Getafe |
| I | 3:05 p.m. | PSV | Sampdora | 3-2, PSV |
| I | 3:05 p.m. | Debrecen | Metalist Kharkiv | 1-1 |
| J | 3:05 p.m. | Sevilla | Paris Saint-Germain | 3-1, Sevilla |
| J | 3:05 p.m. | Karpaty Lviv | Borussia Dortmund | 1-1 |
| K | 3:05 p.m. | Napoli | Utrecht | 2-0, Napoli |
| K | 3:05 p.m. | Liverpool | Steaus Bucuresti | 2-0, Liverpool |
| L | 3:05 p.m. | Besiktas | CSKA Sofia | 3-0, Besiktas |
| L | 3:05 p.m. | Porto | Rapid Wien | 3-0, Porto |
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