The second league matches of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals will take place on Thursday, in which two of the teams are looking to restore their consideration for the title.
The remaining two are looking to preserve their performance in the first round. Italy’s Roma is set to host England’s Manchester United, whilst Villarreal of Spain is looking to create a stir against Arsenal.
The first round ended with a significant 6-2 victory for Manchester United over AS Roma, whilst Arsenal were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat against Villarreal.
Whilst Manchester United always remain confident of their talents, the other three teams are aspiring to win this title for the first time. Meanwhile, Villarreal enter with hopes on their head coach Unai Emery, who claimed this title three times before with his former club Sevilla.
At 21:00 (Cairo time) on Thursday, Arsenal will host Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium in London following its defeat in the first leg.
Both teams seek to win the title for the first time in their history, in order to participate in the next season in the new version of the UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal are counting on their attack line, which has the highest goal scoring rate in the tournament after achieving the full mark in the group stage.
The Gunners are hoping to relive memories, having eliminated Villarreal from the Champions League twice in 2006 and 2009, to win their first title in the tournament.
Villarreal have not qualified for the final at all in any European competition, although they are playing their fifth continental semi-final and fourth in the Europa League. They had previously been eliminated by Valencia in the previous UEFA Europa Cup tournament, and after that they were eliminated from the semi-finals of the Champions League at the hands of Arsenal.
On the other hand, Manchester United will travel to Rome to meet AS Roma at the Olimpico stadium. The Red Devils are confident it will set foot in the Europa League final, after the broad victory they achieved in the first leg.
The Red Devils played strong matches in the three elimination matches, against Real Sociedad, Granada, and Milan.
On the other hand, Roma depend on its scorer Borja Mayoral, who scored seven goals in the tournament, and Bosnian veteran Eden Djikko.
