Three Europa League Qualifiers To Look Out For This Week
The first legs of the final round of Europa League qualifiers will take place over the course of this midweek, with the bulk of the fixtures taking place on Thursday night.
We’ll looked through the upcoming fixtures and have picked out three ties that look particularly tasty.
Rangers v Alashkert (Thursday August 19, 21:00 CEST)
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers will be disappointed after their shock Champions League exit at the hand of Malmo last week. The Scottish champions are looking to get back on track after a less-than-convincing start to the season, suffering three consecutive defeats before their Premier Sports Cup victory over Dunfermline on Friday.
Armenian champions Alashkert set up this trip to brox with a 3-2 aggregate win over Kazakhstan side Kairat Almaty.
The Armenians haven’t enjoyed the ideal preparation for the game, however, losing 2-0 at home to FC Van in the Armenian Premier League on Sunday.
Olympiacos v Slovan Bratislava (Thursday August 19, 21:00 CEST)
Greek side Olympiacos lost in a penalty shootout to Ludogorets in their Champions League qualifier after the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate. They have been strong defensively in recent matches, only conceding four goals in their last six matches.
This defence will be put to the test against Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava who have scored 15 times in their last six games.
Defensively, however, the Slovakians aren’t the best and have failed to keep a clean sheet in five of those six games, so we could be in for a high scoring affair.
Slavia Prague v Legia Warsaw (Thursday August 19, 19:00 CEST)
Czech champions Slavia Prague will be looking for a positive result in this one after their 2-0 away win over Mlada Boleslav in the 1. Liga.
Slavia looked impressive in last year’s competition and will be tough to break down, having conceded only four goals in their last six matches.
Legia currently sit eighth in the Polish Ekstraklasa, claiming six of the nine points available so far. Their latest match was a 2-0 win over Warta Poznan away from home, but they haven’t been prolific in recent weeks, scoring six goals in as many games.
