UEFA Europa League: Round of 16 - Leg 1

Summary

Europa League moves onto leg one of the round of sixteen, which sees sixteen teams trying to punch their ticket into the quarterfinals.

This has been one of the most competitive Europa League competitions to date, with every team truly making a push with their best players.

Everything is set in stone to become even more crazy, and with two of the top teams in the world still left in the tournament, we might see some fireworks!

Arsenal and Manchester United are by far the favourites for this Championship, however, upsets happen, and this tournament is one of the biggest advertisers of the underdog.

This week is important for many of these teams who have hopes domestically to clean their act up and get themselves ready in a great spot to win the tie.

Two legs over the next few weeks will be a challenging task no matter who you are facing.

There are some banger matchups this week, so make sure to head over to Stake.com’s sportsbook and blog for promotions and the best odds in the game!

Match Betting Previews

Sporting CP Vs Arsenal FC - Thursday, March 9th

Sporting is through to the Ro16 after a great showing over two legs against Danish giants, Midjtylland.

Sporting was not their most clinical, but they showed great grit to climb back into the tie and secure the win after going down a late goal in the first leg.

One of the teams that is coming from the Champions League, Sporting have the obvious pedigree and talent to go far in the Europa league.

This week, however, they have to face one of the toughest tasks in their recent history.

Challenging the current Premier League leaders will be something that excites the Portuguese squad, and they will be up for the challenge.

Look for players like Marcus Edwards to take the game by the hair and make an instant impact.

Arsenal FC is currently trying to balance a huge plethora of goals, the main one being the Premier League title.

The Gunners are definitely not unbeatable and have shown cracks in their armor in all of the past few games.

This past month of February showed that there are definite ways to expose the defence and pick up results.

Whatever the situation is, Mikel Arteta will have his best interests in mind.

Whether it’s displaying the firepower of the full squad this Thursday or resting some of the stars for a better opportunity on the weekend, Arsenal will come into this as a sure favourite.

If he plays, Bukayo Saka could be a potential MOTM.

Betting Prediction - Arsenal to win the match and over 2.5 goals scored.

AS Roma versus Real Sociedad - Thursday, March 9th

AS Roma and Real Sociedad are both teams hovering around the top four of their respective Italian and Spanish leagues.

Their form has varied, but this clash should be a good ole’ bang-out.

Two teams who are more than capable of controlling the game, possession and counterattacking will be the main focus points.

Defensively, we don’t see either of these teams conceding a ton of goals at all, and the breakthrough will likely be crucial.

We can expect Kubo and Sorloth to carry Sociedad’s attacking load, while Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham will look to score for the Romans.

Betting Prediction - Under 2 goals in this match, and a possible draw.