The calendar year’s penultimate round of Europa League fixtures take place on Thursday as former European royalty compete for safe passage to the knockout rounds.
Half of the reformatted league phase matches have already occurred, with the likes of Manchester United, Roma and Porto having drifted into mid-table obscurity after underwhelming starts.
Seven still await their first victory in the competition’s league phase, while eight are yet to taste defeat as the 36-team table begins to take shape.
Here are 90min’s score predictions for Matchday 5 of the Europa League.
Many of the Europa League’s elite sides feature in the 20:00 GMT kick-off slot but there are some impressive teams taking part in early duels. 2004 Champions League winners Porto visit the unbeaten Anderlecht as they search for only a second win in the league phase.
Athletic Club have been one of the leading performers to date and have a relatively easy assignment at home to Swedish outfit Elfsburg. Turkish giants Besiktas and Galatasaray both kick-off early, with the former having put a rocky start behind them with two straight victories and the latter still yet to taste defeat sat in third.
Marco Baroni’s high-flying Lazio are the only side with a perfect record after four matches and they should maintain their run when they welcome winless Bulgarian side Ludogorets to Rome. The Italian outfit have won 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions and must now be considered among the tournament favourites.
RFS and PAOK clash in this week’s battle of the initialisms, while Lyon make the long journey to Azerbaijan to face Karabagh. The French side won their opening two but have since failed to taste victory.
| Fixture | Kick-off time (GMT) | Prediction |
|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht vs Porto | 17:45 | 1-2 |
| Athletic Club vs Elfsborg | 17:45 | 2-0 |
| AZ Alkmaar vs Galatasaray | 17:45 | 1-3 |
| Besiktas vs Maccabi Tel Aviv | 17:45 | 2-1 |
| Dynamo Kyiv vs Viktoria Plzen | 17:45 | 0-1 |
| Lazio vs Ludogorets | 17:45 | 4-0 |
| Qarabag vs Lyon | 17:45 | 1-2 |
| RFS vs PAOK | 17:45 | 1-1 |
| Braga vs Hoffenheim | 20:00 | 2-2 |
| FCSB vs Olympiacos | 20:00 | 1-3 |
| Ferencvar vs Malmo | 20:00 | 2-1 |
| Man Utd vs Bodo/Glimt | 20:00 | 2-0 |
| Midtjylland vs Eintracht Frankfurt | 20:00 | 1-3 |
| Nice vs Rangers | 20:00 | 2-0 |
| Real Sociedad vs Ajax | 20:00 | 2-2 |
| Slavia Prague vs Fenerbahce | 20:00 | 1-2 |
| Tottenham vs Roma | 20:00 | 2-1 |
| Twente vs Union Saint-Gilloise | 20:00 | 1-0 |
The late kick-offs involve both Premier League sides in the competition. Ruben Amorim takes charge of his first match in European competition and at Old Trafford as Man Utd manager, with Norwegian side They will/Glimt the visitors. The Scandinavian team follow their trip to Manchester with a title decider against already relegated Lillestrom on the final day of the Eliteserien on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur are also in action after their mightily impressive weekend victory over Manchester City. They face a visit from Italian giants Romawho are now under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri for the third time in their history. Spurs lost their most recent European outing at Galatasaray but face a Roma side in crisis and with just one win from four Europa League games.
Rangers are the other British side in action, making the picturesque journey to Nice. Philippe Clement is on the brink of the sack and failure to pick up a positive result in France could prove the final nail in his coffin.
Conference League winners Olympiakos have been slightly less impressive in the continent’s second most prestigious competition and face an away day at FCSB. The Greek side can leapfrog their Romanian opponents with victory.
2021/22 champions Eintracht Frankfurt have impressed this term, led by the in-form Omar Marmoush. They visit Central Jutland in search of a fourth successive victory in the Europa League.
Those looking for a fun clash can tune into face Royal Society vs Ajax in San Sebastian. The Dutch side are in impressive European form but will be handed an almighty test from their Spanish opponents.
