5 Key Issues That Will Shape Europa League Quarter-Finals
Secondary to the Champions League it may be, but there is more than enough intrigue and potential for drama in this week’s Europa League quarter-finals to keep us all entertained on the next two Thursdays.
Two Italian, two Ukrainian, a Belgian, a Russian, a Spanish and a German club remain, but which one of those will be lifting the distinctive trophy in Warsaw on May 27th?
Whoever it is will have to come through this next week unscathed, and it is a week with plenty of potential plotlines.
Will Fatigue and Dnipro Dent Club Brugge’s Remarkable Run?
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Club Brugge vs. Dnipro
Should they reach the final in Warsaw at the end of May, Club Brugge’s Europa League campaign will have lasted almost exactly 10 months and 19 matches.
Somewhat remarkably, they’ve remained unbeaten in the 14 games they’ve played ever since a 3-0 victory over Danish club Brondby way back at the end of July last year, swatting aside Liverpool’s conquerors Besiktas 3-1 in Istanbul last month to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory.
The Reds feature heavily in the Belgian club’s European history, as it was they who were the victorious opponents in Brugge’s only two European finals to date—the defeats in the UEFA Cup in 1976 and European Cup at Wembley two years later.
An historic third meeting is no longer on the cards, but a third European final is.
From highly rated Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan through to Israeli forward Lior Refaelov—who has six goals in this competition this season—this somewhat unlikely band of brothers from a first-team squad made up of 12 different nationalities have just kept going and going, so much so that they now find themselves in the last eight.
To turn the last eight into the last four, they are probably going to have to take a positive result into the second leg against Dnipro in Kiev.
Standing up to what is sure to be a physical approach from the team who have committed the most fouls and picked up the most bookings out of any of this season’s quarter-finalists, according to UEFA.com, is sure to be key, especially for a Brugge squad who are certain to be feeling a little weary by now.
Have Fiorentina and Mohamed Salah Lost Their Sparkle?
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Dynamo Kiev vs. Fiorentina
Last seen in a Chelsea shirt trudging off the pitch 70 minutes into the FA Cup embarrassment against Bradford City, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah was in dire need of a change of scenery to get back to being the player we all saw impress at Basel. And how he got it.
Six goals in his first seven games during his loan spell at Fiorentina—including one in the Europa League win over Tottenham Hotspur—made for a superb start to life in Italy, but he’s scored just one in his last seven appearances. Salah couldn't continue his fine form in those matches, which included heavy defeats to Lazio, Juventus and Napoli.
A trip to Dynamo Kiev to face an outfit who hammered Everton in the last round doesn’t strike you as the best opportunity to rediscover that lost form—especially when you consider the 5-2 win over the Blues in the Ukrainian capital was the fifth successive time in this Europa League season that Dynamo have won a home game by two goals or more.
Back-to-back 3-0 defeats aren’t the best way to prepare for such a defensive challenge, then, but the men at the back for Fiorentina might find things a little easier if Salah is on his game in Kiev.
Everton managed to score twice against Dynamo both at home and away, and Salah will be hoping that it is the weaknesses in the home defence that are magnified here and not the ones in his own.
Either way, this promises to be a fascinating tie.
Can Specialists Sevilla Get the Better of a Defensively Minded AVB?
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Sevilla vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
One of four clubs to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League a record three times, Sevilla’s name has been synonymous with this competition in the past decade.
Many will regard them as favourites as they play host to Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of their quarter-final, especially given that the Russians will be without the suspended Hulk and are without a win against Spanish teams in their last seven meetings with them.
But this version of Zenit seem to be a team with a plan.
Ever since dropping into the Europa League, Andre Villas-Boas’s side have conceded only one goal in four matches—the aggregate wins over PSV Eindhoven and Torino which brought them this far.
Just as the Europa League win with Porto in 2011 announced the talents of Villas-Boas to the wider football-watching world, so success with Zenit this season would show the Portuguese has picked up the pieces of a reputation left somewhat in tatters following life in London with Chelsea and Tottenham. He seems to have learned how to set up a defence, too, and that’s always handy.
A resolute defensive display against a team who boast nine different goalscorers in this competition this season would set things up very nicely for the second leg in Russia, and ensure Sevilla might have to wait a little longer for that record-breaking fourth crown.
Is Kevin De Bruyne a Game Away from Another Mega Move?
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Wolfsburg vs. Napoli
The Telegraph believes Kevin De Bruyne is on Manchester City’s summer shopping list, and anyone who has seen the performances of Wolfsburg’s 23-year-old Belgian star this season will understand why.
Although it didn’t work out for De Bruyne at Chelsea, another major move for the clever, dynamic attacking midfielder would appear to be a real possibility in the summer, and a good performance in what is surely the tie of the round against Napoli will only add weight to those claims.
De Bruyne is Wolfsburg’s top scorer in this competition this season with five goals from his 10 appearances, adding to his nine Bundesliga goals to make for a pretty impressive season.
With home advantage likely to be vital for a Wolfsburg side who blew away Inter the last time they met an Italian opponent at home, the Belgian and his team-mates will seek to get on top of the Serie A side and take a lead to Naples.
If De Bruyne impresses in the process, there are certain to be more than a few scouts who take notice.
Would Rafael Benitez Survive a Heavy Loss at Wolfsburg?
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Wolfsburg vs. Napoli
Rafael Benitez has a decent record in this competition, but doing well in it often leads to a change of job.
He won the UEFA Cup in his last act as Valencia boss before his move to Liverpool in 2004, while at Anfield he still managed to reach the semi-finals in the Reds’ mess of a 2009/10 season—but he was gone from the club just over a month later.
There is a growing belief the Spaniard won’t be at Napoli next season either, with the Premier League perhaps calling again. Lazio’s unexpected resurgence in Serie A has left Napoli seven points off the Champions League places, something they wouldn’t have expected at the beginning of the campaign.
Winning the Europa League seems to be viewed as an acceptable conclusion to his time in Naples and not the beginning of something special. If Napoli were to fall to a heavy defeat at a Wolfsburg side who are capable of terrific attacking play, then will this be Rafa’s last stand?
There might not be much point in him hanging around longer, even for the second leg, and another chapter of an eventful career could come to a close in Germany on what will be his 55th birthday.
Where he’d pop up next would be anyone’s guess.
