eighths
Xavi’s team is very favorite against Galatasaray in the round of 16 of the Europa League, while Lopetegui’s team will face the difficult West Ham and Pellegrini’s team will face Eintracht
Very favorable draw for Barcelona, somewhat more complicated for Betis and difficult for Sevilla in the round of 16 of the Europa League, one more round on the way to the grand final that will take place on May 18 at the Sánchez Pizjuán. After showing off against Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, Xavi Hernández’s team will have to face the Turkish Galatasaray, while Julen Lopetegui’s team from Seville will face West Ham, one of the opponents to avoid, for the indisputable power of the Premier League and being a very physical team, and Manuel Pellegrini’s army will collide with the German Eintracht Frankfurt, a historic come down. The first leg matches are played on Thursday, March 10 (Betis’ match is brought forward to the 9th so as not to coincide with Sevilla) and the tie will close on the 17th.
The round of 16 draw, with the innocent hand of Andrés Palop, a legend of Seville and of this tournament, was still conditioned or directed. Teams from the same country could not yet face each other and it was forced to match the eight already classified previously, considered seeded, with the rivals from the ‘playoff’ completed this Thursday, among them the three Spanish survivors after the elimination of Real Society against the German Leipzig.
In addition, those classified from this preliminary round will have to play the first leg in their fiefdom, which a priori harms the azulgranas, Nervionenses and Heliopolitans, although less so since the double value of the goals scored away from home disappears in the event of a tie. And as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Spartak Moscow will have to play the second leg against Leipzig on neutral ground.
Against the Turkish team, Barça will find several familiar faces. The Catalan Doménec Torrent, who spent four years in Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff, has been the team’s coach since this summer, Iñaki Peña defends the goal on loan from the Catalans and the former Barça player Arda Turan roams more than shines in this historic Istanbul team who does not live his best days.
Galatasaray qualified directly for the round of 16 of the Europa League as group winners, ahead of Lazio, Marseille and Lokomotiv Moscow. In the Turkish Super League, Galatasaray occupies a surprising 13th position, no less than 31 points behind leaders Trabzonspor and 12 behind European positions. The background clearly favors the Catalans, with five wins and one draw.
Complex matchup for Seville against one of the revelation teams this year in England, where West Hamp is in sixth place with David Moyes at the controls. After beating Zenit Saint Petersburg, with more difficulties than expected in the second leg played at the Benito Villamarín, the Verdiblancos will face off against the tenth-ranked team in the German Bundesliga, a semifinalist in the 2018-19 season.
Round of 16: March 10 and 17
Glasgow Rangers-Red Star
Braga-Monaco
Oporto-Olympique of Lyon
Atalanta-Bayer Leverkusen
Sevilla-West Ham
Barcelona-Galatasaray
Leipzig-Spartak de Moscú
Betis-Concord de Francfort
