New Delhi: Europa League action returns tonight as the second leg of quarter finals will be played tonight that will eventually decide who goes through to the next round. There were some thrilling clashes in the first legs where there were a few tight scorelines. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top when Frankfurt host Tottenham and Lyon will be travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Furthermore, Lazio are the only side to carry an advantage in the second leg and they will welcome Bodoe/Glimt at Stadio Olimpico while Athletic will be hoping to break the deadlock against Rangers in the second leg at home.
Four massive games incoming 🍿🔜#UEL pic.twitter.com/dOZ6Uq4GVc
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 17, 2025
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur (12:30 AM IST)
Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Eintracht Frankfurt for the second leg of a Europa League quarterfinal, which is the most important match of the season. After an exciting first leg in north London, where Spurs spurned numerous second half opportunities after falling behind their visitors early, the two teams are tied at one. Hugo Ekitike’s incredible first goal was neutralised by Pedro Porro halfway through the first half, and they dominated the rest of the match without receiving any compensation.
Spurs’ campaign is largely dependent on their performance in Europe, as we have long known. They suffered further domestic suffering over the weekend, losing 4–2 against Wolves to finish 15th in the Premier League standings. Conversely, Frankfurt emerged triumphant on Sunday. In their extremely promising attempt to return to the Champions League, they maintained a three-point lead over fourth-place RB Leipzig with their 3-0 victory over Heidenheim.
In the semi-finals, the victor of this match will face either Lazio or Bodo/Glimt. If the fancied Italians are to advance, they must make up a 2-0 deficit in Rome.
Predicted Lineups:
Eintracht Frankfurt (4-2-3-1): Kaua; Kristensen, Koch, Tuta, Theate; Skhiri, Larsson; Brown, Gotze, Bahoya; Ekitike.
Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Bentancur, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, Tel.
Prediction: SGE 2-1 TOT
Manchester United vs Olympique Lyon (12:30 AM IST)
Manchester United will welcome Lyon at Old Trafford as they hope to advance to the Europa League semi-finals. Although Ruben Amorim’s time at Old Trafford has been pretty dismal, the Portuguese coach was poised to lead an outstanding triumph in France last weekend. Late in the game, Joshua Zirkzee headed home against the flow of play, but Rayan Cherki’s equaliser in stoppage time and Andre Onana’s second costly error of the first leg guaranteed Lyon a victory.
Consequently, with the score tied at 2-2, the two teams travel to the Theatre of Dreams. In the final four, the winner will play either Rangers or Athletic Club. Paulo Fonseca’s team won Ligue 1 by defeating Auxerre 3-1, while United followed their draw in Lyon with a 4-1 loss at Newcastle on Sunday, confirming that this season is the club’s worst in the Premier League era.
The visitors on Thursday are up to fourth in the standings after winning four of their last five games at home. With five games remaining, a return to the Champions League is likely.
Predicted lineups:
Manchester United (3-4-2-1): Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro; Dalot, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dorgu; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund.
Olympique Lyon (4-2-3-1): Perri; Maitland-Niles, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Akouokou, Veretout; Cherki, Tolisso, Almada; Mikautadze.
Prediction: MUN 2-3 OL
Lazio vs Bodoe/ Glimt (12:30 AM IST)
Lazio will be welcoming Bodoe Glimt at the Stadio Olimpico for their Europa League quarter final clash. In an attempt to advance in the tournament, the Italians will try to reverse the first leg deficit. Lazio has only won once in their last seven games in all competitions, indicating their patchy play. They drew 1-1 with Roma in Serie A in their most recent game. Lazio has won six of their previous six games at home, while drawing their last five.
However, Bodoe/Glimt enter this game fresh off a winning streak of three games. In the first leg of their Europa League match, they defeated Lazio 2-0 in their most recent game. They have lost their last four away games in the Europa League, though, so their away performance has been less than stellar. In the first leg of this tie, which took place last week, Bodoe/Glimt prevailed 2-0. The teams had never met before that.
Predicted lineups:
Lazio (4-2-3-1): Provedel; Marusic, Romagnoli, Gila, Lazzari; Rovella, Guendouzi; Zaccagni, Pedro, Isaksen; Castellanos
Bodoe/Glimt (4-3-3): Haikin; Bjørkan, Gundersen, Bjørtuft, Sjøvold; Saltnes, Berg, Evjen; Hauge, Høgh, Blomberg
Prediction: LAZ 3-1 BOD
Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers
Athletic Bilbao and Rangers square off again in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal at Estadio de San Mames on Thursday night, following an exciting goalless draw in the first leg last week. At the start of May, the team that wins this match overall will play either Manchester United or Lyon in the semi-finals. After being held by a valiant Gers team in the first leg, Athletic Bilbao failed to escape Ibrox with a victory, even though they played more than 80 minutes (including stoppage time) with an extra man, had more than 70% of the ball, and stopped Rangers from scoring a single goal.
Ernesto Valverde’s team secured a 3-1 comeback victory at home against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday, ending a run of three straight 0-0 draws in all competitions. Although Rangers have lost the first leg of each of their past six European quarterfinal matches, they have won the second leg in each of the last three. It should come as no surprise that they are entirely focused on their goal of making it to the Europa League final for the second time in four years.
After going 13 games without winning on Spanish soil between 1962 and 2008 (D3 L10), the Glaswegian giants, who are undefeated in their last seven away games across all competitions (W6 D1), have already celebrated success in Spain this season after defeating Real Betis 3-2 in the Europa League League Phase in mid-December.
Predicted lineups:
Athletic Bilbao (4-2-3-1): Simon; De Marcos, Alvarez, Vivian, Lekue; De Galarreta, Jauregizar; N. Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Guruzeta
Rangers (3-4-2-1): Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun; Yilmaz, Barron, Raskin, Jefte; Diomande, Cerny; Dessers
Prediction: BIL 2-0 RAN
The UEFA Europa League quarter-finals are heating up with high-stakes clashes across Europe. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
