UEFA Europa League: The UEFA Europa League 2021/22 quarterfinals draw took place today. In this article, we will discuss the matchups and predict who is more likely to qualify for the semifinals of the Europa League!
UEFA Europa League, Quarterfinals 1: West Ham United vs Olympique Lyonnais
West Ham United are the only representatives that remain from the Premier League. After beating Sevilla in a hard-fought game, they are set to take on French outfit Lyon in the quarterfinals.
Olympique Lyonnais themselves qualified after a tough round of 16 ties against Porto, winning 2-1 on aggregate. The French side are underperforming in Ligue 1. Hence they would look to compensate for the same in the Europa League.
The match looks equally balanced on paper. But we predict West Ham United to qualify to the semi-finals. The Hammers are currently on a better run of form, hence they would be the favourites in the Europa League tie.
UEFA Europa League, Quarterfinals 2: Barcelona vs Eintracht Frankfurt
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Barcelona has had a resurgence under Xavi Hernandez and hence they are being considered as the favourites to win this competition. Their opponents Eintracht Frankfurt beat fellow LaLiga side Real Betis in the round of 16 stages.
The Blaugrana are the favourites considering the fact that they are in form and have a comparatively better squad. Nevertheless, anything can happen in knockout ties and no one knows it better than Barcelona fans!
The winner of the West Ham/Lyon tie would take on the winners of the Barcelona/Frankfurt game in the semi-finals. As per our predictions, we see the much-awaited clash between Barcelona and West Ham United in the next round.
UEFA Europa League, Quarterfinals 3: Braga vs Rangers
The Portuguese side, Braga are set to face off against the Scottish side, Rangers in the third quarter-finals bracket. Having beaten Monaco and Red Star Belgrade respectively, both sides would be high on confidence.
The first leg of the game would be played in Portugal on 7th April whereas the return leg would be played on 14th April. Rangers have the head-to-head stats on their side hence we would give them the edge over Braga in this tie.
UEFA Europa League, Quarterfinals 4: RB Leipzig vs Atalanta
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According to us, the game between Leipzig and Atalanta should be the most entertaining among the Europa League’s quarter-finals ties. Both teams have an attacking brand of football and this would make the game interesting.
Both the teams dropped in the competition from the Champions League. To add to this, their league form has also been quite similar. This would be a very close game but we predict Atalanta may edge it as they play the second leg at home.
The winners of the Braga/Rangers tie and the Leipzig/Atalanta tie will meet in the second semi-finals. Hence we will surely have a mouthwatering tie in the next round of the UEFA Europa League.