Europa League 2016: Live Stream Schedule, TV Info, Predictions for Round of 16
Manchester United and Liverpool will again headline the UEFA Europa League on Thursday as they take each other on in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie, with the Red Devils hoping to overturn a 2-0 defeat in the first leg.
Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur will also be taking to the field, but after the Bundesliga side defeated the weakened Lilywhites 3-0, it will take a miraculous turnaround for Spurs to reach the quarter-finals.
There are also a number of evenly poised ties with Athletic Club Bilbao travelling to Valencia clutching a 1-0 lead, while holders Sevilla host Basel after drawing 0-0 in Switzerland.
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Here is the full schedule complete with viewing information and score predictions for each game:
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Bayer Leverkusen vs. Villarreal (0-2) | BT Sport Extra (red button), Fox Sports 1 USA | 2-1 (2-3) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Lazio vs. Sparta Prague (1-1) | BT Sport Extra (red button), ESPN3 USA | 2-0 (3-1) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Valencia vs. Athletic Bilbao (0-1) | BT Sport Extra (red button), Fox Sports 2 USA | 1-1 (1-2) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 8:05 p.m./3:05 p.m. | Manchester United vs. Liverpool (0-2) | BT Sport Europe, Fox Sports 1 USA | 2-1 (2-4) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 8:05 p.m./3:05 p.m. | Anderlecht vs. Shakhtar Donetsk (1-3) | BT Sport Extra (red button), ESPN 3 USA | 1-2 (2-5) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 8:05 p.m./3:05 p.m. | Sevilla vs. Basel (0-0) | BT Sport 2, ESPN3 USA | 2-0 (2-0) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 8:05 p.m./3:05 p.m. | Sporting Braga vs. Fenerbahce (0-1) | BT Sport Extra (red button) | 0-0 (0-1) |
| Thursday, Mar 16 | 8:05 p.m./3:05 p.m. | Tottenham Hotspur vs. Borussia Dortmund (0-3) | BT Sport 1, Fox Sports 2 USA | 2-2 (2-5) |
The matches can be live streamed via BT Sport Player, Fox Sports GO and Watch ESPN.
Manchester United vs. Liverpool
Liverpool dominated United in the opening leg, and if not for David De Gea making several vital saves, the Reds would have put the tie firmly to bed there and then.
Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News pulled no punches in his assessment of the Red Devils' atrocious performance:
His views were echoed by former United stars Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport:
The Red Devils barely scraped together anything resembling a chance at Anfield, but to overturn the result they need to at least match the same scoreline.
Should Liverpool find the net themselves at Old Trafford, United will need to score at least four times because of the away-goal rule.
Nevertheless, per the club's official Twitter account and the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce, Louis van Gaal is confident his side can come out on top:
If United can get on the scoresheet early, the tie could really come alive and become a thrilling contest, particularly as it will motivate Liverpool to grab the away goal that will almost guarantee them passage into the quarter-finals.
The Reds have scored seven goals in their last three outings, so even if they don't win on the night they stand a good chance of scoring and progressing on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund produced some mesmerising football as they comfortably beat Spurs at Signal Iduna Park last time out, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opening the scoring before Marco Reus bagged a brace in the second half.
The final goal was the pick of the bunch, with Reus finishing coolly after a delightful team move, per BT Sport Football:
However, for many there was a sense of disappointment as Mauricio Pochettino made seven changes to his Tottenham side, with the likes of Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela all starting on the bench and Eric Dier absent entirely.
ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko was among those disappointed by the decision, which robbed fans of an intriguing clash between two strong and in-form sides:
So too was Yahoo Sports' Andrew Gaffney:
James Maw of FourFourTwo defended Pochettino, however:
Either way, the manager faces a selection dilemma ahead of the return leg. The tie is all but lost and his side face Bournemouth on Sunday in the Premier League before a tricky run of games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Stoke City, so he may be tempted to rest his stars once again.
However, he won't want to see his team embarrassed at home, so some of his key players might get a run out.
If they put out a full-strength side, Tottenham should be able to give a better account of themselves, though they'll still have trouble keeping out a team who have scored over 100 goals in all competitions this season.
