Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa in all-English Europa League semis
The first leg of an all-English Europa League semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa takes centre stage at the City Ground on Thursday night.
The winners of this eagerly-anticipated two-legged tie between two European Cup winners will lock horns with either Braga or Freiburg in the final at Besiktas Park in Istanbul on May 20.
Nottingham Forest enter their first major European semi-final since 1984 in high spirits after surprising everyone with their emphatic 5-0 Premier League victory over Sunderland last Friday, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight matches.
Forest will now shift their focus to the first all-Midlands tie in UEFA competition and the first all-English semi-final since Man United beat Arsenal in the 2008-09 Champions League. The last all-English Europa League match was, in fact, last season’s final when Tottenham Hotspur won 1-0 against Man United.
Forest – European Cup winners in 1979 and 1980 under Brian Clough – failed to beat Aston Villa in both Premier League meetings earlier this season, but they will take comfort from a four-game unbeaten home run.
After reaching the Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and the Champions League quarter-finals last season, Europa League favourites Aston Villa are hoping to progress to their first European final since beating Bayern Munich in the 1982.
The Lions now have an esteemed head coach at the helm in the form of Unai Emery, who recently became the fastest boss in the club’s history to reach 100 wins (after 181 games). The Spaniard is also the only manager in Europa League history to win the competition four times (three with Sevilla, one with Villarreal).
Emery has insisted that Europa League glory this term is “very important” for his Aston Villa side.
Both teams will back themselves to claim a positive result and take a slender advantage into next week’s return fixture at Villa Park, but we feel that the spoils could be shared again for the second time this month.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Crystal Palace travel away to face Shakhtar Donetsk
Crystal Palace continue their maiden major European campaign today when they travel to Krakow to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final.
Whoever prevails from this two-legged contest will face either Rayo Vallecano or Strasbourg in the final in Leipzig on May 27.
The 2024-25 campaign was arguably the greatest in Crystal Palace’s history, defined by FA Cup glory, European qualification and a record Premier League points tally. Now, the Eagles are on the cusp of another historic milestone: reaching their first ever major European final.
Oliver Glasner’s side have been listed as favourites to win the Conference League throughout this season, but their route to the semi-finals has been far from easy.
The South Londoners are gearing up for their seventh European away day of the season and have had mixed success on the road thus far, winning three (one after extra time), drawing one and losing two.
Shakhtar have not let their lack of a home advantage impact their season, and they possess the technical quality to dominate possession and carve out chances against a Crystal Palace outfit who may prioritise defensive solidity to keep the tie alive ahead of next week’s return fixture at Selhurst Park.
Considering that there is little to separate these two teams, we feel that a closely-contested encounter in Krakow will end all square.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Strasbourg face Rayo Vallecano in 1st leg Conference League
Strasbourg travel to Estadio de Vallecas to face Rayo Vallecano in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final on Thursday night.
The victors of this two-legged tie will lock horns with either Shakhtar Donetsk or Crystal Palace in the final in Leipzig on May 27.
Twenty-five years on from their quarter-final appearance in the UEFA Cup, Rayo Vallecano are competing in the semi-finals of just their second major European competition, though they stumbled into the last four after avoiding a major scare in the quarter-finals against AEK Athens.
Indeed, Los Franjirrojos nearly surrendering a three-goal first-leg advantage in a nerve-shredding second leg in Greece, and they had cult hero Isi Palazon to thank for scoring a second-half goal that ultimately secured a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Perez’s men face sixth-placed Getafe on Sunday, but their immediate focus is Thursday’s Conference League clash at the Estadio de Vallecas – a formidable fortress for Rayo, who have lost just one of their 12 home games in UEFA competition and only two of their last 19 matches overall (W10 D7).
Considering how vulnerable both teams have looked in defence in recent weeks, an entertaining, end-to-end contest could be in store on Thursday. However, we are backing Rayo Vallecano to spring a surprise on Strasbourg and take a slender advantage to France for next week’s second leg.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Braga, Freiburg in an enticing Europa League tie
Estadio Municipal de Braga will stage an enticing Europa League first-leg tie between Braga and Freiburg on Thursday night.
Either Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa awaits the victors of this two-legged contest in the final at Besiktas Park in Istanbul on May 20.
Fifteen years on from losing the Europa League final to Portuguese rivals Porto, Braga are preparing for just their second major European semi-final after beating Real Betis 5-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals earlier this month.
Braga can therefore be forgiven for throwing everything at their Europa League semi-final, and Vicens’s side can take confidence from their four-game unbeaten home run against German opposition (W3 D1). They have also won three of their five European home games without conceding this term (D1 L1).
Freiburg had failed to progress beyond the last 16 of a major European competition prior to the current campaign, but the Bundesliga club now find themselves competing in their first-ever semi-final having gone from strength to strength under 41-year-old head coach Julian Schuster.
Keen to bounce back from domestic defeats last weekend, both Braga and Freiburg will back themselves to come out on top in what could prove to be a tight first-leg affair. However, the hosts’ defensive solidity may just give them the edge on this occasion.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Nottingham Forest 20:00 Aston Villa
Conference League Fixtures
Semi-finals
