Tseyi Agharaye
The Europa League last 16 features some European heavyweights as well as some fringe squads looking to clinch the title.
Kaftan Post takes a look at how every team got to this stage of the competition:
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Inter Milan
This may be the top tie of the round of 16. Frankfurt has been dominant in the Europa League this season and dispatched Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of 32 6-3 on aggregate.
Inter barely missed out on qualifying for the UEFA Champions League knockout stage, but the Italian side handled the shift to Europa League play well, moving past Rapid Wien 5-0 over two legs.
The winner of this matchup has a serious chance to lift the trophy.
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Benfica
After winning 3-0 at home to seal its advancement to this round, Dinamo Zagreb will need to make the most of the first leg at home against Benfica in order to have a solid cushion going back to Portugal.
In the only round-of-32 matchup that featured teams that came from Champions League play, Benfica cooly handled Galatasaray with a 2-1 away win and scoreless draw at home.
Expect the Portuguese side to take the same approach against Zagreb.
Sevilla vs. Slavia Prague
Sevilla, the only team remaining to get in through the qualifying rounds, is the all-time class of the Europa League. The Spanish side has won a record five times: 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Slavia Prague will encounter a big challenge, but an away goal or two in the first leg will certainly make things interesting.
Sevilla should have plenty of firepower and control to go through but cannot get caught looking ahead.
After a small scare against BATE in the last round, Arsenal found form at home to advance to play Rennes.
The French club was one half of the most-entertaining matchup of the last round, defeating Real Betis 6-4 on aggregate, including a 3-1 away win.
Rennes vs Arsenal
The Gunners have rotated their squad for much of Europa League play but will probably begin to incorporate more of their top players as they progress further in the competition.
Zenit vs. Villarreal
Zenit scored what could be considered an upset of Turkish club Fenerbahce in the last round, using a huge 3-1 second leg win at home to advance.
Villarreal also had a tough draw against Sporting CP but found a way through, thanks to some stingy defense and timely goals. This tie could be sneaky good over the course of two legs.
Chelsea vs. Dynamo Kiev
The other top English club in the Europa League, Chelsea has been in strong form for nearly the entirety of its European campaign.
Olivier Giroud has six Europa League goals, and many of the Blues’ young players are thriving in extended minutes.
Dynamo Kiev enters this stage after a well-earned aggregate win over Olympiakos but will need a lot more to upset one of the favorites to win the title.
Napoli vs. RB Salzburg
Like Inter, Napoli was agonizingly close to reaching the knockout round of the Champions League, moving to Europa League despite just one loss in the group stage.
The side was able to regroup and win its round-of-32 tie over Zurich 5-1 in dominant fashion. Salzburg also scored five times in its dispatching of Club Brugge, indicating we could be in for a goal-fest over these next two legs.
Valencia vs. Krasnodar
The third Spanish club in the last 16, Valencia didn’t give up a goal in two legs against a Celtic squad that is running away with the Scottish Premiership chase.
Krasnodar squeaked by Bayern Leverkusen on away goals to set up this meeting, one in which Valencia will expect to win to reach the quarterfinals.
