West Ham will visit Lyon as they continue chasing European glory in this campaign and David Moyes’ side will know their trip to France will be tough. They were held to a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg even though they had to play some minutes with ten men. It was a brave performance from them. This game offers them the chance to complete what they have started already, but it would be much harder to get a win in France now that the away goals rule has been abolished. The Irons are battling for a European place on the league table and has to also do well in the Europa League, which is a commendable thing for them to do. Will Lyon allow them make the semi-final? The French club wants a crack at this competition and they will feel confident in themselves finishing the job at home after that first leg draw in England. But they are struggling to get wins, having won just one of their last five matches although others have been draws. Another stalemate in this game could lead to penalties which might not favour them.

Barcelona will look to make the semi-final of the Europa League by beating Eintracht Frankfurt in this quarterfinal return leg after their 1-1 draw in Germany. Xavi Hernandez has made them one of the most-improved clubs in the world in recent months and if he wins a trophy at the helm, it would be a nice cherry on the cake. The Catalans have been lucky with the in-form Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who joined them unexpectedly from Arsenal in January and has been scoring goals for fun. The striker will look to get another one in this game, but as they found out in the first leg, Frankfurt will not be pushovers and they will fight to ensure they get something from this match. The Germans have not won any of their last five matches and they even got beaten 2-1 at the weekend, but when they face tough opponents they bring out their bests. Barca has not lost any of their last ten matches and they won eight of those games which will boost their confidence ahead of this game.  

Arsenal would be looking to end this season with a trophy even if they fail to qualify for the Champions League and the Europa League is the only other trophy up for grabs for them. The Gunners have struggled very much recently but their form in this competition hasn’t been bad and their win over Napoli at the last round would have significantly boosted their morale ahead of this game, however, Valencia is a different kind of challenge. Valencia started their season slowly but they are currently playing well and making a late dash towards the last Champions League in the Spanish league table. Despite failing to really make their mark in the Champions League, they have been impressive since they dropped down to the Europa League. They have eliminated the likes of Celtic and Villarreal to get here. Having beaten Real Madrid this year, they would be confident that they can cause an upset in North London here. Valencia has won 2 and lost just one of their last 5 matches with the Gunners.

It is not the most expected match of Europa League round of 16, with the clashes between Arsenal and Rennes and Inter Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt as the ones who will probably attract most viewers, but Benfica x Dinamo Zagreb it is still worth mentioning. If you are into betting and you are eager to find a possible underdog to gamble on, take a look at the predictions below. Benfica win (-270) It is obvious to say that Benfica is the clear favorite is in this clash. They are first of their league, after being 7 points down in January to now second placed Porto, and they seem in great shape since they hired their new manager Bruno Lage. Signed as a temporary replacement for Rui Vitoria, who was fired after a defeat to Portimonense in the beginning of 2019, Bruno Lage has landed an impressive record of 12 straight wins in different competitions, including wins against Porto and Sporting away. This has settled a permanent contract for him, signing until 2023, and securing the president’s Luis Felipe Vieira trust for managing one of the teams in the world with most fans. Benfica has also progressed from the round of 32 in Europa League, after winning in Istambul for 1-2 and holding a 0-0 draw at home against Galatasaray. After an unimpressive record of successive Champions League defeats, for two years in a row, under the previous manager, they seemed to have found a coach who is not afraid of battling toe to toe with European opponents. On the other hand, Benfica seems to have somehow being shook down in their last two matches. First, they lost 1-0 against Dinamo in Zagreb, in the first leg of Europa League’s round of 16, after Ruben Dias conceded a very childish penalty in the end of first half. Then, in the weekend, they went on to lose a 2-0 advantage over Belenenses, at their home ground, to finish the game 2-2. Again, Ruben Dias was the one to blame for, with a back pass who ended up in a goal for the opposition team. So, after winning in their rival’s home ground for 1-2, just one week ago, Benfica lost their 2 points lead and are now tied on points with Porto for the title. Dinamo Zagreb (+550) So, is this enough to believe that Dinamo will go on to win in Lisbon and surprise the bookmakers and the football experts themselves? Will they be able to stand their lead of 1-0 and manage another tight win, catching Benfica unprepared, as they will bring all their guns to the attack and possible leave the defense unattended? Well, that is not as unlikely as it seems. The Croatian team had an amazing performance in the round of 32 against Viktoria Plzen, coming back with a 3-0 result in Zagreb, after losing 2-1 in the Czech Republic. They are also cruising through their league, holding a 15-point lead, so they probably have the players more focused on breaking the odds at Lisbon and finding themselves in a historical quarter final place in Europa League. Furthermore, Dinamo come from a great weekend, having won 3-1 to their closest rival Rijeka, second placed team in Croatian league, which might serve as a perfect motivation for their players. Should we believe they can goan extra mile, maybe with another great performance by their youngster Dani Olmo, who was long praised after his last week UEL performance by coach Nenad Bjelica? Draw (+305) Let’s establish a more down to Earth prediction, if you are not one to take a huge risk. A draw seems legitimately possible, considering Dinamo will most likely try to defend their advantage from last week match. Also, bear in mind that Benfica striker Seferovic is out for some weeks, after tearing his adductor muscle, so this means that the ‘eagles’ attack won’t be as forceful as it had been in the last weeks. Jonas is a player to look out for, but let’s be honest. He is 34 and, besides scoring for fun in the Portuguese league, he often disappears in the great matches. He has only two goals against Benfica’s national rivals Porto and Sporting and both came from the penalty spot. If Lage decides to put him as Seferovic replacement, it might be easier for Dinamo to stop his attacking prowess, since he lacks the speed and unpredictability from the Swiss. Also, since 2012 that Benfica didn’t suffer so much goals at home in the league. Right now, with 9 games left, the Portuguese team has conceded 23 goals, 8 more than the rivals Porto and just one less than third place Sporting Braga. So, considering Benfica’s lack of solutions on the attack and they’re not so efficient defense, Dinamo can be able to hold their horsesin Lisbon. It is safe to say that betting on a draw might be an intelligent and not so risky move for gamblers.

Arsenal would be banking on their recently found good home form to help them overturn this game after they messed it all up in the first leg. The Gunners took the lead in the first leg but the impressive French side turned it around and won the game 3-1. Such a performance has been characteristic of Rennes this season and the French side would come here with enough confidence to cause Arsenal problems. The Gunners however, should be prepared mentally. They beat Manchester United 2-0 at home at the weekend to end the Red Devils’ unbeaten run under Ole Gunnar Solkjear, that result was a major upset and should have them brimming with confidence ahead of this game. The home side have also made the Emirates a fortress this season having won all of their last 9 home games in all competitions, we expect them to keep that run going here, however, it would be a tough task to stop Rennes from scoring.

Arsenal’s only hope of winning a trophy this season hinges on how they perform in this game. The Gunners need to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg without the services of Alexandre Lacazette, else they would be chasing just a top four finish from now until the end of the season. They were the better team in the first leg, but their failure to take their chances coupled with BATE scoring a sucker punch of a goal made them lose the first leg. The Gunners scored 10 goals past BATE in the group stages of this competition last season and should be able to get their acts together and reach the next round with a win here. Unai Emery’s side have showed this season that they can score the goals they need and playing at home should give them the necessary support to go all the way. Their fans would prefer a top four finish, but if they can win this trophy, it would also guarantee a return to the Champions League next season.

Celtic have dominated the Scottish game since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers three seasons ago, but the Bhoys have found it hard to transfer that form into Europe. The last two seasons have seen them compete in the Champions League but they couldn’t reach the Champions League group stage this time around, yet they struggled to qualify for the knockout phase of the Europa League and this could be their bus stop this season. They have won the treble in Scotland over the past two seasons and already have won domestic trophy in the bag this season, but Rodgers’ men seems to lack the cutting edge to get past this stage of this competition. Valencia played in the Champions League group stages this season, but a poor run of form at the beginning of the season saw them drop out of the group stage. They picked up some form towards the end of the group stages, but that was too late with a 2-1 win over Manchester United only enough for them to finish 3rd in their group. They have recently held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw in the league and would come into this game with confidence of getting the win.

This is one of the toughest groups in the Europa League this season as any of the four teams could still qualify for the next round. Steven Gerard’s side could top the group at the end of this game and they could also be totally out of the competition as well depending on the outcomes of the two group games. However, the performance of the Gers so far has been way too good to think that they would not qualify for the next round. Despite needing to go through a very tough qualification phase, Rangers suffered their first European defeat of the season in their last match. While that was a major setback, they would be banking on home support to help them get another three points here. Villarreal were expected to qualify from this group as leaders when the draw was first made, but the Spaniards are having a less than impressive season at the moment. They come into this game in the 16th position in La Liga and needed a goal from their Nigerian prodigy, Samuel Chukwueze to see off Real Betis at the weekend. While their manager has been rotating his team heavily for the past few European games, we expect him to stick to a strong line up for this game.