The UEFA Europa League is back to give you something to do on Thursdays. Perhaps you can plan your exotic vacation to a completely off the beaten path locale in Europe while taking in an Asteras Tripolis match?
UEFA Europa League schedule and preview, Matchday 2: Lots to like
Dean Mouhtaropoulos
Arguably the best match of the day is the first match of the day, with Dinamo Moscow hosting PSV well before anyone else kicks off. They play at 11 p.m. ET. There’s also a 12 p.m. game, then huge chunks of matches in the regular 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. timeslots.
Only two English teams remain in this stage of the tournament, and they both have tough matches. Tottenham Hotspur face fellow group favorites Besiktas, while Everton have to travel all the way to Russia to take on Krasnodar. And for those hanging on to a delusion that Scotland still has a real league, Celtic host Dinamo Zagreb.
We’ve picked out the three best games of the day, and you can find a full schedule below.
Dinamo Moscow vs. PSV
11 a.m. ET
TV: BT Sport 2 (U.K.). Online: ESPN3 (U.S.), BT Sport (U.K.)
These two teams won their opening games, have been very good domestically and have a lot of fun players. Unless you’re a really big Everton fan, watch this one to its completion, assuming that Memphis Depay and Mathieu Valbuena make the squads. They’re worth your time.
Wolfsburg vs. Lille
1 p.m. ET
TV: FOX Sports 2 (U.S.), BT Sport 2 (U.K.), Sportsnet World (Canada). Online: FOX Sports Go/FOX Soccer 2 Go (U.S.), BT Sport (U.K.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada).
Generally, American and Canadian TV searches for English teams first, Spanish and Italian second when scheduling TV games. But they were smart enough to recognize that this is by far the best game during the 1 p.m. slate, and for that we commend them. One of these teams isn’t getting out of a group of death that includes Everton, and Lille might be able to kick some dirt on Wolfsburg’s grave with a win.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Besiktas
3 p.m. ET
TV: FOX Sports 1 (U.S.), ITV 4 (U.K.), Sportsnet regional (Canada). Online: FOX Sports Go/FOX Soccer 2 Go (U.S.), ITV Player (U.K.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada).
On the evidence of the first round of games, this is going to be a tight group. Spurs and Besiktas were the clear favorites to advance, but both could only manage draws in tough first round games. Spurs will probably make somewhere between nine and 11 changes from the team that drew Arsenal this weekend, which sounds awful to watch, but their backups aren't really any worse than their starters, save for Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela.
The rest of the games (all times ET)
Krasnodar vs. Everton - 12 p.m.
Feyenoord vs. Standard Liege - 1 p.m.
Rijeka vs. Sevilla - 1 p.m.
Sparta Prague vs. Young Boys - 1 p.m.
Slovan Bratislava vs. Napoli - 1 p.m.
Aalborg vs. Rio Ave - 1 p.m.
Dynamo Kiev vs. Steaua Bucharest - 1 p.m.
Guingamp vs. PAOK - 1 p.m.
Dinamo Minsk vs. Fiorentina - 1 p.m.
Lokoren vs. Metalist Kharkiv - 1 p.m.
Trabzonspor vs. Legia Warsaw - 3 p.m.
FC Zurich vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach - 3 p.m.
Villarreal vs. Apollon - 3 p.m.
Torino vs. FC Copenhagen - 3 p.m.
HJK vs. Club Brugge - 3 p.m.
Asteras Tripolis vs. Partizan Belgrade - 3 p.m.
Astra vs. Salzburg - 3 p.m.
Celtic vs. Dinamo Zagreb - 3 p.m.
Estoril vs. Panathinaikos - 3 p.m.
Saint-Etienne vs. Dnipro - 3 p.m.
Inter Milan vs. Qarabag - 3 p.m.
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