23 February 2011
The second leg fixtures of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 have already gotten underway, with CSKA Moscow booking their place in the next round after a 1-1 draw (handing them a 2-1 aggregate win) against PAOK on Tuesday.
Wednesday night sees just one fixture, with Porto looking to build on a 2-1 lead when they host Sevilla at the Estadio do Dragao.
The Spaniards have won just one game in their last seven outings but coach Gregorio Manzano says overturning a deficit away from home is not beyond his team.
“There have been games this season where we have scored a few goals away from home, and not just two goals either,” the 54-year-old coach said.
“We’ve come back from difficult situations before and that we must score two against Porto is non-negotiable.”
The rest of the second leg matches will be played on a busy Thursday evening. English clubs Liverpool and Manchester City will be confident of progressing to the next round, as they host Sparta Prague and Aris respectively, having secured goalless draws in their away legs.
Reds forward Dirk Kuyt believes that the Merseyside team will make good use of their home advantage: “We’re playing well at Anfield, we have to win. It is always difficult for European teams at Anfield, the crowd will be behind us and we’ll definitely play at a higher tempo.”
Meanwhile, City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips believes his team still has some work to do and should not take Greek side Aris lightly in their return match at Eastlands.
“We know how dangerous they can be just from playing them and from video clips. We know how well they defend and how well they break.
“We will need to have our wits about us and that is why we know it won’t be a formality,” said Wright-Phillips.
Several other ties are also intriguingly poised: Zenit St. Petersburg will be looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit when they host Young Boys, while VfB Stuttgart are in the same position ahead of their home game against Benfica.
Sporting and Rangers meet in Lisbon with their aggregate scored locked at 1-1; PSV and Lille drew 2-2 in their first leg and the return game in Eindhoven promises to be a thriller; and Villareal host Napoli after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Italy.
The likes of FC Twente, Bayer Leverkusen, Ajax and Dynamo Kyiv already have one foot in the Last 16 after comfortable first leg victories and should cruise to straight-forward aggregate victories.
UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg fixtures (first leg score in parenthesis):
Wednesday, February 23
Porto v Sevilla (2-1)
Thursday, February 24
Zenit St. Petersburg v Young Boys (1-2)
Sporting v Rangers (1-1)
Liverpool v Sparta Prague (0-0)
Spartak Moscow v Basel (3-2)
PSV v Lille (2-2)
Leverkusen v Metalist Kharkiv (4-0)
Villareal v Napoli (0-0)
Ajax v Anderlecht (3-0)
Braga v Lech Poznan (0-1)
Dynamo Kyiv v Besiktas (4-1)
Manchester City v Aris (0-0)
FC Twente v Rubin Kazan (2-0)
VfB Stuttgart v Benfica (1-2)
PSG v BATE (2-2)
Result:
Tuesday, February 22
CSKA 1-1 PAOK CSKA won 2-1 on aggregate
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