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Europa League preview: Manchester United, Arsenal, Leicester and Rangers all looking to follow Spurs and confirm their European progression

Europa League
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The round of 32 second leg games will be played on Thursday night with five British clubs in action.

Manchester United are as good as through following their 4-0 demolition of Real Sociedad last week. Meaning they can afford to rest some players this time around.

Spurs have already beat Austrian side Wolfsberger AC 4-0 on Wednesday which followed-up on their impressive first-leg 4-1 win.

Pressure is on Arsenal and Leicester

For the other North London club, Arsenal, they must win their second leg tie against Benfica in order to progress.

The two clubs drew 1-1 in the first leg at a neutral venue last week. The Gunners will want to go further in the competition to compensate for their poor showing in the league.

Similarly, Leicester City must win against Slavia Prague following the sides’ 0-0 stalemate in the first leg.

The result was a surprise considering the Foxes’ superb domestic form.

Although they are expected to come out on top this time.

Rangers looking to finish off Royal Antwerp

Rangers featured in a thrilling 4-3 win away at Royal Antwerp in the first leg of their tie. With four away goals they just need to avoid defeat in the second match.

Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen have the same task as Antwerp, having suffered a 4-3 defeat to BSC Young Boys last week.

A single goal will be enough for the German side, but after such a strong showing in the first knockout game. Young Boys will be confident they can come out on top again.

Fellow German club Hoffenheim also need to win after their 3-3 draw with Norwegian team Molde FK, although a draw could be enough to send them through on away goals.

Italian and Spanish giants in action

There are also some big Spanish and Italian sides left in the competition.
AC Milan failed to beat Red Star Belgrade last week but secured two vital away goals as the teams drew 2-2, putting them in a good position going into the second leg.

Roma fared much better, winning 2-0 away at Braga in comfortable style which leaves them 90 minutes away from the round of 16.
The final Italian club, Napoli, weren’t so lucky when they suffered at 2-0 loss to Granada.

The Spaniards have put themselves closer to the next round after their strong showing last week, in what is becoming an impressive season in Europe for manager Diego Penas and his players.

Villarreal share a similar fate, beating Austrian champions RB Salzburg 2-0 last Thursday.

Other games on Thursday night include Ajax tyring to maintain their 2-1 lead over Lille, PSV looking to comeback from 4-2 down to beat Olympiacos and Shakhtar Donetsk attempting to hold a two goal lead over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Finally, Club Brugge have the advantage on away goals following their 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv, and Dinamo Zagreb are a goal up after beating FC Krasnodar 3-2 in the first leg of their round of 32 tie.

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