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The Europa League has reached the Round of 16, and the first of two legs are set for this week, with the return legs next week. There will only be seven matchups instead of eight as UEFA have disqualified Spartak Moscow as part of their suspension of all Russian teams during the invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Red Bull Leipzig are the first team to qualify for the Europa League quarterfinals.
In this round, the eight group winners who skipped past the knockout round phase are seeded against the eight winners from the previous round. Wednesday’s games are Real Betis against Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Porto against Lyon. The other five games are set for Thursday, with Sevilla against West Ham United and Atalanta against Bayer Leverkusen among the highlights. Barcelona also faces Galatasaray. Let’s have a look at our UEFA Europa League Betting update for the top matches to bet on this week.
UEFA Europa League Betting Analysis & Preview for Top Matches of the Week
Porto in Midst of Great Season
Porto are currently atop the table in Portugal’s Primeira League as they prepare to host Lyon. Luis Diaz led the team in goals with 16, but he transferred to Liverpool in January. Toni Martinez got Porto into the round of 16 with two goals in the first leg of the knockout round win over Lazio.
Porto started in the Champions League but had just one win in the six group stage games as they fell into Europa League. They sit atop the Primeira League with 21 wins, four draws, no losses so far on the season, and a +44 goal differential. They have scored at least two goals in nine of their last 11 league games and in 14 of the last 16 games in any competition.
Lyon have struggled this season in Ligue 1, sliding to ninth place with a +5 goal differential. They have just two wins in their last six league games but did knock off Lorient 4-1 over the weekend.
Lyon won their group in the first stage of the Europa League with five wins and a draw. Karl Toko Ekambi leads the way with six Europa League goals, and he has 12 overall on the season. Moussa Dembele and Lucas Paqueta have eight goals each on the season but have combined for just one Europa League goal.
Playing at home, FC Porto are the favorites at +102 at MyBookie. Lyon is +245, and a draw is +250. The total goal line is set at 2.5, with the over at -135 and the under at +100.
Leverkusen in Better Form than Atalanta
Two teams that are in the top five in their domestic leagues meet up as Atalanta hosts Bayer Leverkusen. Atalanta lost over the weekend to Roma and are now tied for fifth in Italy’s Serie A. Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 against first-place Bayern Munich over the weekend and are now in third place in the German Bundesliga.
Atalanta are in a goal drought with six goals in their last seven league games, and four of those came against Sampdoria on February 28. They started in the Champions League but finished third in their group behind Manchester United and Real Villarreal. They found their scoring touch against Olympiacos in the knockout round, winning 5-1 on aggregate with two goals each from Ruslan Malinovskyi and Merih Demiral.
Leverkusen went 4-1-1 in their Europa League group with 14 goals scored and five allowed. They scored at least two goals in all four wins and have also scored at least two goals in seven of their last eight Bundesliga games. Patrik Schick leads the team with 20 goals but hasn’t scored in this competition, while Moussa Diaby has 15 goals and Florian Wirtz has 10.
Atalanta are -106 home favorites at MyBookie, with Bayer Leverkusen at +266. A draw is +250, and the goal total is 2.5, with the over at -160 and the under at +116.
Sevilla Run Europa League
Spanish side Sevilla have won this competition six times overall, including three straight from 2014-16. They also won it in 2020 while their opponents, West Ham United, haven’t been to a European quarterfinal since 1981.
With a hard-fought 1-0 road loss to Liverpool on Sunday, the Hammers are in sixth place in the Premier League. They had won or drawn four straight before the Liverpool loss, and they are +11 goal differential on the season.
The Hammers won their Europa League group stage, going 4-1-1, with the only loss coming after they had already clinched the group. They scored at least two goals in each of the first five games led by Said Benrahma with three. Overall, Jarrod Bowen leads the team with 12 goals this season, and Michael Antonio has nine.
Sevilla haven’t lost in La Liga since November 28, with 13 straight positive results landing them in second place. They started in the Champions League but finished in third place behind Lille and Red Bull Salzburg. In the Europa League knockout round, they beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-2 on aggregate with a 3-1 win at home and a 1-0 loss in Croatia.
Rafa Mir leads the team with 11 goals while Lucas Ocampos has eight and Ivan Rakitic has six. Rakitc scored twice in the Champions League and added a goal against Dinamo Zagreb. Ocampos and Anthony Martial also scored in that first leg, but the latter has since been injured.
Sevilla is +109 home favorite at MyBookie. West Ham United is +270 with a draw at +210. The goal total is 2.5, with the over at +115 and the under at -155.