The semi-final second legs of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and European Conference League. We will know all of our finalists this week!

This week will be the most crucial in many teams’ recent histories. To be just 90 (maybe 120) minutes away from a European final is a testament to the hard work that each club has achieved so far, but now they have the chance to go one better, to fight for the chance to be legends, immortalised in a club’s history. For some, reaching a final would require a remarkable comeback after defeats in the first leg, but anything is possible when you are fighting for the most coveted titles in Europe. Expect nothing, everything is on the line!

Not sure who to take a punt on? Then read our preview and place your bets wisely!

Contents:

1.       Villarreal vs Liverpool

2.       Real Madrid vs Manchester City

3.       Rangers vs RB Leipzig

4.       Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham United

5.       Roma vs Leicester City

Villarreal vs Liverpool

There is only a very, very small chance that Villarreal can overturn the 2-0 deficit and progress to the UEFA Champions League final, but it is a chance nonetheless. The club will be hoping for a famous night in La Cerámica, and for the team to go one better than their semi-final finish in 2006. Anything is possible at home on an occasion as big as this, Villarreal may have lost 2 of their past 3 meetings with Liverpool, but those defeats came away at Anfield. The other match? A home victory. What’s more, el Submarino Amarillo are unbeaten in all 7 of their UCL home knockout round matches, but the issue is that there have only been 2 victories (5 draws). They need another here.

The comeback from Villarreal would rival the famous Liverpool comeback against Barcelona 3 years ago. In fact, that 2019 semi-final (Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool first leg, Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona second leg) remains the only time that a team has come back from a deficit of 2 goals or more in a semi-final to eventually progress to the final. Villarreal will have to pull off a similar miracle, but for Liverpool, they stand in pole position. Their two goals in quick succession last week has given Jürgen Klopp a decent advantage, but they will be expecting a different Villarreal side for this match, a side that will not be anywhere near as defensive.

Will it be Liverpool’s 10th Champions League final, or Villarreal’s 1st?

Real Madrid vs Manchester City

After a truly sensational first leg in Manchester (4-3, an instant Champions League classic), will we see even more drama in the decisive second leg? Pep Guardiola, in his ever-eccentric manner, will be furious that his team was not able to capitalise on even more opportunities in the match last week. Despite scoring 4, there were many chances to kill off the game, but Real Madrid kept coming back. There is concern amongst the Citizens that a 1-goal advantage is just not enough, especially when you need to travel to the Bernabeu next. Nevertheless, a win was a win, and it meant that City have now won all of their last 3 UCL meetings against Real Madrid. With a record like that, why can’t they do it again? After all, Guardiola’s men only need to avoid a defeat and they will be in a second consecutive final.

Despite losing the first leg, Real Madrid will believe that they currently have the upper hand, given that they arrive at this match only 1 goal behind, but now they have home advantage on their side. Karim Benzema, arguably the best striker in the world this season, kept his side in it with 2 goals at the Etihad, with the ever-impressive Vinicius Junior scoring the other goal. Those 2 players have been instrumental in Real Madrid’s success this season, which saw them crowned LaLiga champions last weekend. The success of Los Blancos’ attacking pair can be seen in these remarkable statistics: this season, from 42 games, Benzema has scored 42 goals and provided 13 assists. From 49 games, Vinicius has scored 18 goals and provided 19 assists. It’s these two players that will threaten the Man City defence most, can they do what’s necessary at the Bernabeu to reach the final in Paris?

Rangers vs RB Leipzig

It’s advantage Leipzig at the moment in the Europa League semi-finals. The German side eventually got their goal in the first leg (from defender Angeliño in the 85th minute) but Domenico Tedesco will definitely be disappointed that they didn’t manage to score more. With only a 1-goal lead, heading to face the hellishly intimidating atmosphere of Ibrox, it will be a huge task for Leipzig to hold on to their advantage. The only other time they have made the trip to Glasgow was to face Celtic, in the 2018-19 Champions League group stages. The Saxony side suffered a 2-1 defeat, something they cannot allow to happen in the other half of Glasgow this time.

For Rangers, they need to make these next 90 minutes count. The Ibrox atmosphere has been an important factor in a number of rounds already this season; Rangers are unbeaten in their last 5 home matches in the Europa League (won 4, drawn 1), and they need the support for one more time before a potential final in Seville. Historically, Rangers have been near masters of the semi-finals, they have progressed from 4 of their 5 European semi-final appearances, but to make it a fifth here would mean overturning the current 1-0 deficit. With Rangers failing to retain the league title, and thus having nothing to play for domestically, they will put all their efforts into this match against Leipzig.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham United

It was the perfect first leg for Frankfurt, a 2-1 victory away in London, and now all they have to do is avoid defeat in their own home to reach their first European final (UEFA Cup) since 1980. That victory last week was crucial, and the statistics put Die Adler in a fantastic position: Frankfurt have progressed from 22 of their 25 European knockout round appearances whenever they have won the first leg. Furthermore, on the 6 occasions that they have won the first leg away from home, they have qualified for the next round every time. The destiny of a final is in their hands, Oliver Glasner will want to make absolutely sure that this does not slip from their grasp.

For the Hammers, they have it all to do. They had numerous opportunities to score more in the first leg, but it just didn’t seem to be their day. To make it to the final, David Moyes and his team will need to give a similar performance to what they achieved away from home against Lyon in the previous round (West Ham won 3-0) but, with the stakes even higher, it is bound to be more difficult. West Ham have fallen off the pace in the Premier League recently (drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 4 league games) which suggests that they are fully prioritising the Europa League, but it is starting to appear that they are running out of steam. They need goals here, so expect this semi-final to be a thrilling one!

Roma vs Leicester City

The Europa Conference League semi-final between Roma and Leicester is still completely in the balance following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but José Mourinho’s Roma will consider themselves slight favourites knowing that they have the home advantage for the decisive second leg.

Mourinho’s intentions were clear in the match last week, defensive tactics to ensure that they could return to Rome for the second leg with everything to play for. The Stadio Olimpico has treated them well in this competition so far: they are unbeaten at home in the Europa Conference League this season (won 3, drawn 2) and have scored 16 goals from these 5 games! This new competition has provided extremely competitive European football and, if Roma were to reach the final and even win the trophy, it would be deemed a huge success in Mourinho’s first season as manager.

Similarly, it would be a massive success for Leicester! It will be a little more difficult for the Foxes, given that they will have to win away from home against a historic giant, but it is certainly possible. All they have to do is replicate their performance from the previous round, where they drew 0-0 at home in the first leg against PSV, only to then defeat the Dutch side 2-1 in Eindhoven. Make that happen again, and the final is yours!