Key Arsenal player unlikely to be risked, Tottenham star omitted – originally posted on Sportslens.com
The Europa League is back with a bang on Thursday as the round of 32 gets underway.
Eight clubs have dropped into the competition from the Champions League, joining the 24 who safely navigated through the group phase.
Manchester United and Ajax are the biggest names to enter the Europa League at this stage, and both will fancy their chances of making progress.
However, with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Leicester City, AC Milan and Napoli amongst a strong line-up, winning the Europa League will not be easy.
All four Premier League clubs are on the road for their first leg matches, with Arsenal facing the toughest test against Benfica.
The Gunners have been boosted by Kieran Tierney’s return to training, but the defender is unlikely to be included in the starting XI.
Spurs will be without Joe Rodon for their trip to Wolfsberger, with the Welsh international omitted from the squad due to non-homegrown player limits.
The remaining two ties involving English clubs sees United face Real Sociedad while Leicester go head-to-head with Slavia Prague.
Rangers have also made it through to the last-32 and have been handed a winnable looking tie against Royal Antwerp.
Other notable ties include Lille versus Ajax, Red Star Belgrade vs Milan and Braga vs Roma.
Europa League Round of 32 First-Leg Fixtures
Thursday, February 18
Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge
Olympiacos vs PSV Eindhoven
Young Boys vs Bayer Leverkusen
Krasnodar vs Dinamo Zagreb
Braga vs Roma
Slavia Prague vs Leicester City
Red Star Belgrade vs AC Milan
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
Wolfsberger vs Tottenham Hotspur
Lille vs Ajax
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Granada vs Napoli
Molde vs Hoffenheim
Red Bull Salzburg vs Villarreal
Royal Antwerp vs Rangers
Benfica vs Arsenal
The return fixtures are scheduled to be played on February 25. BT Sport will be showing every round of 32 tie live across their different channels.
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Live Stream Information
All of the Europa League fixtures are available to watch online. Please click here to view our dedicated live streaming page.