The group stages of the 2019/2020 Europa League season have hit the halfway mark and certain patterns have begun to emerge.
The fallen giants; Manchester United and Arsenal amongst others have had a few minor bumps but are more than ready to secure qualification to the next stage.
The mid-sized clubs; Sevilla, PSV, FC Porto and others like them have had ups-and-downs. Qualification for some of them is still rather uncertain.
Some unfancied sides from Europe’s lesser lights have struggled badly under the bright lights of Europe’s second-tier competition. However, others like Gent and Ludogorets have given themselves realistic chances of qualifying for the next round.
Review of Matchday 3
The goals flowed and the excitement was intense in Matchday 3 of the Europa League.
Group A saw Sevilla thrash Dudelange 3-0 in Spain while Qarabag and APOEL played a 2-2 draw.
Group B’s action was thrilling. Dynamo Kyiv was held to a 1-1 draw at home by FC Copenhagen as Malmo beat Lugano 2-1.
It went the way of the away teams in Group C. Getafe lost 0-1 at home to FC Basel as Krasnodar beat hosts, Trabzonspor 2-0 in Turkey.
PSV Eindhoven was rather surprisingly, held to a goalless draw by LASK Linz in Group D. Sporting CP kept up its impressive home form with a 1-0 win over Rosenborg
Celtic topped Lazio 2-1 in Glasgow as CFR Cluj shocked Rennes 1-0 in France. This was in Group E.
As for Group F, Arsenal left it late to secure a 3-2 win over Vitoria SC thanks to 2 Nicolas Pepe freekicks. Eintracht Frankfurt also triumphed, a 2-1 win over Standard Liege.
It was a couple of very intense games in Group G as Young Boys beat Feyernood 2-0 and Glasgow Rangers could only draw with FC Porto 1-1.
It was another away day party in Group H. Espanyol got a precious 1-0 win away at Ludogorets as Ferencvaros triumphed over CSKA Moscow by the same scoreline.
Just as on Matchday 2, it was all draws in Group I. The match between St Etienne and Olexandryia ended 1-1 while that between Gent and Wolfsburg ended in a 2-2 draw.
AS Roma and Borussia Monchengladbach fought out a 1-1 draw in Group J. Istanbul Basaksehir got a precious 1-0 win over Wolfsberg.
It was identical 1-2 away victories for two teams in Group K. Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Slovan Bratislava while Beskitas were shocked by SC Braga.
AZ Alkmaar were the big winners of Matchday 3 with a 6-0 thrashing of Astana in Group L. Manchester United beat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 thanks to an Anthony Martial penalty.
Games and Predictions for Matchday 4
APOEL vs Qarabag (Over 1.5 Goals)
Dudelange VS Sevilla (G/G)
FC Copenhagen VS Dynamo Kyiv (1X)
Lugano VS Malmo vs Lugano (1)
Basel VS Getafe (1X)
Krasnodar VS Trabzonspor (1)
LASK Linz VS PSV Eindhoven (X2)
Rosenborg VS Sporting Lisbon (X2)
CFR Cluj VS Rennes (Over 1.5 Goals)
Lazio VS Celtic (G/G)
Standard Liege VS Eintracht Frankfurt (G/G)
Vitoria SC VS Arsenal (G/G)
Rangers VS FC Porto (Over 1.5 Goals)
Feyenoord VS Young Boys (G/G)
Espanyol VS Ludogorets (1)
Fenecvaros VS CSKA Moscow (Over 1.5 Goals)
Wolfsburg VS Gent (G/G)
Olexandryia VS St-Etienne (Over 1.5 Goals)
Borussia Monchengladbach VS AS Roma (Over 2.5 Goals)
Wolfsberg VS Istanbul Basaksehir (Over 1.5 Goals)
Wolverhampton Wanderers VS Slovan Bratislava (1)
SC Braga VS Beskitas (G/G)
Manchester United VS Partizan Belgrade (1)
Astana VS AZ Alkmaar (Over 1.5 Goals)
