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Europa League Preview: English clubs looking to move closer to qualification

Europa League
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The fourth round of fixtures in the Europa League group stage are set to get underway later today, with everything still to play for in most of the groups.

Despite their domestic struggles, Arsenal have a 100% record in Group B so far and take on Molde in an early kick-off on Thursday. 

Although Pepe got a red card on the weekend, he will still be available for their European tie and has scored two and assisted two in the three games so far.

Also, in Group B, Irish underdogs Dundalk are still looking for their first European points of the season when they take on SK Rapid Wien.

The other North London club in the competition are also top of their group, but only by goal difference and Spurs need to keep up with their competition if they are to qualify for the next round.

They play Ludogorets in Group J, who are yet to record any points so far.

LASK, who finished fourth in the Austrian Bundesliga to qualify for the Europa League, take on Royal Antwerp in the other Group J encounter.

Leicester City are the final English side in the competition, and they too have maintained a 100% record so far in impressive style and top Group G.

Kelechi Iheanacho might struggle in the Premier League, but he has three goals and three assists so far in Europe and will look to keep this up when the Foxes visit Portuguese side Braga.

Ukrainian side FC Zorya are bottom of the group without a point so far, and they travel to third placed Greek club AEK Athens looking for their first result of the season.

In Group D, Rangers go into a crunch tie with Benfica which would effectively see either club qualify if they won.

Last time out resulted in a 3-3 thriller, and other than that game Steven Gerrard’s side have not conceded yet in the competition.

Elsewhere in that group, Polish runner’s up Lech Poznan will look to capitalise on any dropped points when they take on Standard Liege who have lost all three of their games so far.

Unfortunately, the other Scottish representative in the competition, Celtic, are bottom of Group H with just one point.

They travel to the Czech Republic where they will face off against Sparta Prague in a must-win tie.

The other match in the group see’s Lille and AC Milan face off against each other with the competition’s top scorer, Lille striker Yusuf Yazici, clashing with footballing legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic has ten goals in six Serie A games whilst Yazici has six goals in the three Europa League games so far.

In Group F, there are three teams joint top on six points each with those being AZ Alkmaar, Real Sociedad, and Napoli.

Sociedad, who are top of La Liga in Spain, take on AZ in a crucial fixture for both clubs whilst Napoli host bottom side HNK Rijeka.

The Croatian club have yet to rack up any points so far and progression to the next round is near impossible.

Villareal are another one of the three Spanish sides in the competition, and they currently have a 100% record in Group I.

They travel to Israel where they will play second placed side Maccabi Tel Aviv, with a win putting them in a good position to qualify.

The other Group I game features Turkish club Sivasspor taking on Azerbaijanian champions FK Qarabag.

Granada are the final club from Spain in the Europa League, and they are surprisingly top of Group E.

They play bottom of the group AC Omonoia, a Cypriot side who have recorded just one point in Europe this season.

PSV will host PAOK in the other game in the group, needing a win to keep their chances of qualifying for the round of 32 alive.

Group C boasts the closest four teams in the competition so far, with qualification still up for grabs for all of the clubs.

Top of the table Slavia Prague visit French side Nice, who will have young talent Amine Gouiri up front looking to add to the three goals he has bagged so far.

Bayer Leverkusen also play Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva FC, looking to capitalise if Slavia drop points.

Another German side, Hoffenheim, are top of Group L and will take on Slovan Liberec who finished fifth in the Czech First Division last season but qualified through the play-off phase.

Also, in Group L, KAA Gent are without a point and will look for their first win in Europe this season against Red Star Belgrade.

The Serbian side will be all but qualified if they beat Gent.

In Group A, Roma will visit CFR Cluj having not yet lost a game in the competition.

Belgian team CSKA Sofia will also play Young Boys, who won the Swiss Super League for the third consecutive time last season.

Finally, in Group K, CSKA Moscow welcome Feyenoord needing a win to keep up their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.

The other match in the group sees Dinamo Zagreb, who are top of the table, go against Austrian club Wolfsberger AC.

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