The UEFA Europa League is shaping up to be a very intriguing tournament, with potential tactical battles and individual star performances looking almost as fun and interesting as its big sister, the UEFA Champions League. CSKA Moscow and FC Porto have already advanced, and will face each other in the Round of 16. This Thursday features a number of close ties that didn't come close to getting settled in the first leg.
Zenit St. Petersburg and Young Boys BSC of Bern kick off Thursday's action at 11 am ET. Young Boys won 2-1 at home, giving them a good chance of advancing after the away leg. However, Zenit have the always valuable away goal and will advance with that tiebreaker if they win 1-0.
Liverpool are in action against Sparta Prague at 1 pm ET, fresh off their dire 0-0 draw in Prague last week that prompted fans throwing smoke bombs on the pitch to protest the standard of play. That draw gives Liverpool every chance to advance, but after the first leg, it wouldn't shock anyone to see another 0-0 and penalty kicks.
Manchester City also drew their first leg 0-0 on the road, and today host Aris Salonkia at Eastlands. City played a full strength lineup last week due to a weekend clash with Notts County, but with an English Premier League match facing them on Sunday, it seems more likely that we'll see a mix of first choice players and bench players today. That match kicks off at 3 pm ET.
The headliner of the evening is another 3 pm ET kickoff, this one between Villarreal and Napoli. Unfortunately for the neutrals, it looks Edinson Cavani will be sitting this one out, hat tip to Football Italia. Could they be chasing the Scudetto, with AC Milan looking shaky? Last week's 0-0 draw did little to settle this tie, but Villarreal will be slight favorites at home after pulling off a draw on the road.