Europa League: previews and predictions for the playoff round

Roma, Porto, Fenerbahce, Real Sociedad and Galatasaray are among the teams trying to book a place in the last 16. By Ben McAleer for WhoScored. Fenerbahce are in good form in the Turkish league, their 2-0 win at Alanyaspor on Sunday extending their unbeaten run to 12 games. José Mourinho’s side are just three points behind Galatasaray, who remain unbeaten in the league. The downside for Fener is that they have only won twice in Europe this season and just once at home. They scraped into the playoffs, securing the 24th and final spot by the slimmest of margins, pipping Braga and Elfsborg on goal difference.

Caglar Soyuncu pulled up in the victory over Alanyaspor and is one of five players who will miss out when Anderlecht visit Istanbul for the first leg. The midfielder Sofyan Amrabat replaced Soyuncu at the weekend and may start in a backline alongside Milan Skriniar, a January arrival, and Alexander Djiku.Anderlecht narrowly missed out on an automatic place in the last 16. David Hubert’s side were flying high in the group stage but lost their last two games and finished outside of the top eight on goal difference. Their domestic form has been mixed this season: they have dropped to fourth in the table but have booked a place in the Belgian Cup final, where they will play Club Brugge. Prediction: Fenerbahce to progress.

Robbie Keane took over at Ferencvaros last month and his start to life in Hungary has been … mixed. The 44-year-old has overseen just one win in his five games in charge, though that did come in the Europa League in a seven-goal thriller against AZ Alkmaar. Keane is likely to be without his regular goalkeeper Denes Dibusz, so Adam Varga looks set to continue to deputise between the sticks. Júlio Romão, the Brazilian midfielder who joined from Qarabag earlier this month, may start in the middle of the park.

Viktoria Plzen finished 16th in the group stage, just above Ferencvaros on goal difference. They will be without their forward Christophe Kabongo. The former Watford man Matej Vydra is expected to partner Prince Adu in attack as the pair look to add to their three goals apiece in the competition. Prediction: Viktoria Plzen to progress. Ajax are the household names in this tie, but Union SG have not lost a home game since November, winning eight of their 10 matches at the Stade Joseph Marien in that run. The Belgian side have a couple of key players ruled out for the first leg, however. Ross Sykes and Ousseynou Niang are banned, with Koki Machida expected to deputise for the latter at left wing-back.

Ajax are in great form. They have won their last six games in a row to go top of the Eredivisie. They will be missing the young forward Mika Godts but Jordan Henderson, who came close to a move to Monaco in the winter window, should start in midfield. Prediction: Ajax to progress. The Danish winter break means the first leg will be Midtjylland’s fourth competitive game since the start of December. They did not finish the year well, having won three of their last 10 games in all competitions spanning back to October. Their goalkeeper Elias Olafsson is out, so Jonas Lössl is expected to continue between the sticks. Real Sociedad should be wary of the exciting Chilean winger Darío Osorio, who has been linked with big clubs across Europe.

Real Sociedad booked their place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals last week, beating Osasuna to set up a meeting with Real Madrid, and they will expect to be in the last 16 of the Europa League too. They need to improve their away form though; they did not win any of their away matches in the group, relying on home wins against Ajax, Dynamo Kyiv and PAOK to get them this far. La Real have a number of concerns for their trip to Denmark, with the centre-back Igor Zubeldia a doubt and the right-back Hamari Traoré a long-term absentee. Prediction: Real Sociedad to progress.

This is probably the standout tie of the round, but neither team has been at their best this season. Porto will hope to improve on a run of one win in their last eight games when they welcome Roma to the Estádio do Dragão. The Portuguese side are now under the management of the 39-year-old Argentinian Martín Anselmi, who has sought to implement a three-man backline since taking over from Vítor Bruno last month.

Porto are out of contention in the Primeira Liga and out of the Taça de Portugal, so are looking to the Europa League to save their season. Marko Grujic, Iván Marcano and Martim Fernandes will miss the Roma game with injury, but the main blow to their chances is Nico González’s €60m move to Manchester City on deadline day. Roma have no injury or suspension worries but they have been poor on the road this season. Their narrow 1-0 victory at Venezia at the weekend was justtheir second away win in all competitions in 2024-25. It has been a tough year for the club, who have employed four managers in the last 14 months. Claudio Ranieri came out of retirement to lead his boyhood club in November and would dearly love to finish his career with some European silverware. Prediction: Roma to progress.