Results of the UEFA Europa League Knockout Round Playoffs 1st leg
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Galatasaray 3-2 Sparta Praha
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Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 Marseille
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Feyenoord 1-1 Roma
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Young Boys 1-3 Sporting Cp
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AC Milan 3-0 Rennes
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Braga 2-4 Qarabag FK
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Benfica 2-1 Toulouse
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Lens 0-0 SC Freiburg
Top games to watch in the UEFA Europa League Knockout Round Playoffs
SC Freiburg vs. Lens
With the score line tied at 0-0, this match will be a winner-takes-all affair. Unfortunately for the home fans, Freiburg enter this tie on the back of atrocious form, having failed to win any of their last five matches. The German club are still eighth in the Bundesliga but will need to fix up rapidly if they are to overcome the French outfit.
Lens, meanwhile, are winless in their last two fixtures but are also unbeaten in their last five. However, the visitors will be without key defender Kevin Danso, who is suspended for this tie, thus leaving Franck Haise with a hurdle to overcome.
Toulouse vs. Benfica
Can Benfica hold onto their 2-1 lead and make the Europa League round of 16? A day after watching rivals Porto beat Premier League giants Arsenal 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League, Portugal's defending champions will be hoping to follow suit. A brace from Angel di Maria in the first leg gives them an advantage as they look to stretch their unbeaten run to seven games.
Toulouse, meanwhile, have been inconsistent. The French outfit beat Monaco 2-1 away from home over the weekend but that was just their fourth win in their last 11 matches. Nonetheless, it is only a one-goal disadvantage and after beating Liverpool in the group stage, albeit in controversial fashion, the Ligue 1 outfit should enter this match with confidence.
Marseille vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
Marseille enter this game in turmoil, having recently sacked Gattuso following an abysmal run. The Italian icon oversaw the 2-2 draw in the first leg but it will be Jean-Louis Gasset in charge at the Stade Vélodrome this Thursday. Regardless, the French side are winless in seven and will need to get their act together if they wish to end this horrible run.
Roma vs. Feyenoord
And finally, we have Roma vs. Feyenoord as the Italian and Dutch heavyweights both eye a spot in the round of 16. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning everything remains up in the air in this match-up.
Roma have been impressive since the arrival of De Rossi on an interim basis, losing only once in seven and winning a whopping five times. Dybala and Co. will be hoping to continue this form but will face a team unbeaten in 11 matches. In fact, the last time Feyenoord lost a game was back in December 13 when they went 2-1 down away to Celtic in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Who's in and who's out?
Here are the players unavailable for the UEFA Europa League Knockout Round Playoffs:
SC Freiburg: Matthias Ginter, Philipp Lienhart, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Kenneth Schmidt, and Max Rosenfelder (injured)
Lens: Jimmy Cabot and Deiver Machado (injured); Kevin Danso (suspended)
Shakhtar Donetsk: Valeriy Bondar (injured)
Marseille: Valentin Rongier, Bilal Nadir, Amir Murillo, and Jordan Veretour (injured); Leonardo Balerdi (suspended)
Feyenoord: Gernot Trauner, Justin Bijlow, Thomas van den Belt, and Gjivai Zechiel (injured)
Roma: Tammy Abraham (injured); Edoardo Bove (suspended)
Rennes: Enzo Le Fee and Fabian Rieder (injured)
AC Milan: Davide Calabria, Pierre Kalulu, Fikayo Tomori, and Tommaso Pobega (injured)
Sporting CP: Paulinho (injured); Jeremiah St. Juste (doubtful)
Benfica: Juan Bernat (injured)
Toulouse: Denis Genreau and Zakaria Aboukhlal (injured); Christian Mawissa (suspended)
