UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Preview

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 PREVIEW

“Enjoy Thursday nights” has long been a “witty” piece of “banter” that fans of Champions League clubs throw at fans of clubs playing in the other European competitions, as the snobbish side of tribalism takes hold. The UEFA Europa League Round of 16 will be shown by pay-TV broadcaster BT Sport in the UK.

Well as football fans we can, and should, enjoy Thursday nights because both the Europa League and Europa Conference League are shaping up to be really exciting competitions now that we’re in the Round of 16. We’ve already had the first legs of this round of games, and so many of ties sit on the proverbial knife-edge.

Let’s not waste time or words on rambles, let’s get straight into it.To change things up a bit, we thought that rather than just giving you one game in each time slot as a preview we’d give one from each competition in each time slot and mini-previews.

THIS UEFA Europa league ROUND OF 16 preview is brought to you in partnership with EPL Index, and Dave Hendrick – host of the Two Footed Podcast, offering FREE podcasts to football fans.

UEFA Europa League Round of 16 | Freiburg vs Juventus

Thursday 16 March | 1745 GMT | BT Sport Live Streaming

Juventus come into the game with a 1-0 lead from the first game, and will be confident that they can see this tie out and advance to the quarter-finals.

Following a 15 point deduction in Serie A for financial discrepancies, Juventus find themselves in 7th place and 10 points outside the top four. While they could still qualify for next season’s Champions League through the league, the Europa League likely represents their best chance of playing in Europe’s premier competition next season. This season’s Champions League campaign was a shambles and in truth they would likely already be out of the Europa League without the brilliance of Angel Di Maria.

They desperately need Dusan Vlahovic to find form if they are to progress and be real challengers to win this competition. The Serbian is struggling to live up to expectations but Di Maria, fresh off winning the World Cup, has picked up the load when big goals are called for.

Freiburg sit 5th in the Bundesliga, behind Union Berlin and RB Leipzig only on goal difference and with a real chance of securing Champions League football next season. They would very much like to double their chances by continuing their Europa League campaign and potentially landing the first major silverware in club history.

Managed by the outstanding Christian Steich, Freiburg are one of the clubs who are easy to root for. Sustainably run, without big name stars, they are a hard-working, well-coached outfit who have developed some excellent players in recent years. Nico Schlotterbeck and Kevin Schade are two academy graduates that have departed in the last nine months for a combined £45mil, money which will be reinvested to ensure that Steich continues to have the club punching above its weight.

No matter where you are, you can use your Liberty Shield VPN to find a way to watch UEFA Europa League Round of 16 from anywhere. Don’t have a Liberty Shield VPN? You’re missing out! Click right here to check out what we can offer you, and use the code EPL25 to get a 25% OFF your VPN or VPN Router at check-out.

UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16 | Istanbul Baseksehir vs Gent

Thursday 16 March | 1745 GMT | BT Sport Live Streaming

Not the most glamorous of games, but it’s a well balanced tie between two sides who play conflicting styles. Baseksehir play a more conservative, defensive orientated style under former Newcastle midfielder Emre Belozoglu, while Hein Vanhaezebrouck has implemented his trademark attacking style at Gent.

The Turkish side have been impressive in the competition so far, losing only once in 13 games so far and topping a group that included Fiorentina. They have scored more freely in Europe than in domestic action and Emre will be hoping that they have some more goals in them as he looks to guide them into the last eight.

Gent began the season in the Europa League but failed to progress past the play-off stage and dropped into the Conference League. They huffed and puffed in the group stage, finishing second behind Djurgardens but caused an upset when they knocked out Qarabeg on penalties in the last round. Vanhaezebrouck’s team play an attractive brand of football but they might need to be a little more cynical to advance any further.

No matter where you are, you can use your Liberty Shield VPN to find a way to watch UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16 from anywhere. Don’t have a Liberty Shield VPN? You’re missing out! Click right here to check out what we can offer you, and use the code EPL25 to get a 25% OFF your VPN or VPN Router at check-out.

UEFA Europa League Round of 16 | Arsenal vs Sporting CP

Thursday 16 March | 2000 GMT | BT Sport Live Streaming

These sides played out an exciting 2-2 draw in the first leg, a game that ebbed and flowed and highlighted two young teams with attacking mindsets.

Arsenal are currently having an outstanding season under Mikel Arteta, leading the Premier League and being one of the favourites to win this competition outright. They have a potent attack, a settled defense and a midfield that balances the brutish nature of Thomas Partey, the methodical style of Granit Xhaka and the inventive genius of Martin Odegaard.

The Gunners cruised through their group, ensuring qualification after four games and enabling them to rest and rotate their team in the final two games. They’ve had a blip in the Premier League but have steadied the ship and gotten back to winning ways in recent weeks. The season will get a lot more hectic for them between now and the end of May as games come thick and fast so it will be interesting to see if Arteta compromises in Europe in a bid to secure a first Premier League title for the club since their legendary Invincible season of 2003/04.

Sporting have had a disappointing season so far, sitting 4th in the Portuguese league but well within striking distance of Braga who sit in the last Champions League qualifying spot, with 10 games to go.

Ruben Amorim must be frustrated that his title-winning team of 20/21 has been broken up and not necessarily replaced in completely adequate ways. Pedro Porro’s departure in January saw the 6th key member of that title winning squad depart, and the third in seven months. Injuries to other star players like Pedro Goncalves have also played a part but Amorim remains committed to the cause, turning down multiple Premier League clubs over the past year.

Sporting finished 3rd in the Champions League group, behind Spurs and Eintracht Frankfurt but cruised past Midtylland in the last round to earn this head-to-head with Arsenal. They will welcome back Manuel Ugarte, who missed the first game, and hope that the Uruguayan midfielder can turn in a performance to match those he has frequently produced this season. Expect him to be the next big money departure from Sporting, along with Goncalo Inacio and likely Amorim as bigger clubs continue to be impressed by the 38 year old tactician.

No matter where you are, you can use your Liberty Shield VPN to find a way to watch UEFA Europa League Round of 16 from anywhere. Don’t have a Liberty Shield VPN? You’re missing out! Click right here to check out what we can offer you, and use the code EPL25 to get a 25% OFF your VPN or VPN Router at check-out.

UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16 | Villarreal vs Anderlecht

Thursday 16 March | 2000 GMT | BT Sport Live Streaming

In 20/21 Villarreal made history by winning the Europa League and earning the first major honour in club history. In 21/22 they reached the Champions League semi-finals and almost caused a huge upset when they overcame a 2-0 deficit against Liverpool to draw level in the second leg, before the English side rallied back to win the game 3-2 and the tie 5-2 overall. Despite the exit, it was another historic season for the tiny club from the Castellon province.

Now they are chasing yet more history and aiming to add another European trophy to their ranks, though it would be fair to say this season hasn’t worked out as they expected. A year after turning down mega-rich Newcastle United, Unai Emery departed to take the reigns at Aston Villa and was replaced by former Real Betis and Barcelona manager Quique Setien. Things haven’t gone as smoothly as hoped under Setien but they do sit 6th in La Liga and have rebounded after a four game losing streak in February.

Things have gone better in Europe, as they strolled through the group stage and set up this tie with Anderlecht. Playing at home, they will be favoured to advance but they can’t take their opponents lightly.

Anderlecht sit 9th in the Belgian Pro League and are huge underdogs heading into this game, despite having managed a draw in the first leg. Manager Brian Riemer will be hoping his bosses have patience with him, as he navigates his first season as a manager after spending four years under Thomas Frank at Brentford and previously working as an assistant at FC Copenhagen.

This team have shown themselves to be battlers through their Conference League campaign, finishing 2nd in their group behind West Ham but showing enough quality in their games to suggest they will not be an easy out.

No matter where you are, you can use your Liberty Shield VPN to find a way to watch UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16 from anywhere. Don’t have a Liberty Shield VPN? You’re missing out! Click right here to check out what we can offer you, and use the code EPL25 to get a 25% OFF your VPN or VPN Router at check-out.

How to watch every UEFA Europa League match from anywhere…

UEFA Europa League matches will be streamed exclusively live in the UK by BT Sport on their website, as well as their respective apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Smart TV, Now TV, FireTV etc.

But these streaming services are not available to everyone, for example when you load BT Sport in the USA, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Dubai, Canada etc. you will get an error message.

Sorry, this video is not available in your country.

How can I watch BT Sport UEFA Europa League 2022/23 matches live?

BT Sport announced that it will continue to be the home of UEFA Europa League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League until 2027. Nothing will change this season but from 2024 BT Sport will show the majority, and not all, UEFA Europa League games, as well as all of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League. The other matches will be streamed live by Amazon Prime with match highlights available free from BBC Sport. The good news though is that BT Sport will continue to broadcast the finals for free. As for the Premier League, this season BT Sport will show a total of 52 live games.

There are a few options when it comes to signing up to BT Sport, firstly by combining it with BT Broadband. Put your postcode into the website to see what deals are available.

On the TV side, prices start at £16 per month for the duration of a 24-month contract. In exchange, you’ll get all the BT Sport channels and BoxNation, alongside Freeview, AMC and a recordable TV box.

You can also just use the BT Sport app for £16 per month- it works on mobile, tablet, smart TV and console – or  buy the Monthly Pass for £25 per month. If your device supports it, you’ll still be able to watch in up to 4K HDR quality. Sky customers can get BT Sport added for £21 per month.

BT also offers a combined package with Sky Sports via Now, which is £41 per month for 24 months.