Dinamo's direct escape and NEC's man pressure can each turn a loose first pass into a box entry. The second ball matters because both sides have players who can keep an attack alive after the first shot. In Monaco, Freiburg's wide and restart delivery meets a home side looking for quick releases into Brunner or Fati. Their contest should turn on which team keeps finding a receiver after the first clearance.
Getafe's compact home game will test whether Lugano can keep reaching the box from wide areas. Lugano's repeated entries meet a home side that can turn pressure and second balls into isolated chances. Monaco and Freiburg present another contest between fast home box runs and sustained visiting pressure. Freiburg's wide attacks and restarts should keep that match active even after an opening goal.
Getafe and Lugano should test each other's first pass before the match settles into longer spells. Getafe can defend the box compactly, while Lugano can find space beyond the fullbacks and return with late wide service. Juventus and Rennes have a different rhythm: Juventus should own more territory, but their next delivery after the first chance is the key test. Rennes have a direct outlet into the space behind the home wingbacks.
Celtic should push play toward the wings and make Celta defend repeated deliveries at Celtic Park. Celta's back three and right-side rotations give it a way to escape that pressure. Second balls and the space behind Celtic's advancing wide players should shape the match.
Celtic's wide pressure and second contacts meet a Celta back line that has recently allowed repeated box entries. Celta's first clean release can still find Rodríguez, Jutglà or a later Aspas spell behind Celtic's advanced flank. This should be a contest of repeated home regains against the quality of those away exits. The next ball after a clearance may matter more than the first shot.
Olympiacos can press from wide areas and collect second balls at home. Sparta can answer with crosses, corners and runners beyond the first challenge. The match looks more like a contest of sustained territory against recurring outlets than a straightforward procession.
Beşiktaş's home press meets a Palace side that can play through pressure with Wharton and its wing backs. Both teams have ways to enter the box even after conceding. The decisive contest is whether repeated home attacks reach Palace's back three before Palace can use the space behind the full backs.
Ajax's renewed high pressure meets an Atalanta defence short of its usual central cover. The first pass out of the away half and the next loose ball should decide who controls the box. Atalanta can still escape through De Ketelaere and attack behind Ajax's wide players. Both sides have enough attacking changes to make the second phase as lively as the first.
Beşiktaş can make Palace defend successive attacks if they interrupt the first central pass. Palace also have a sharp direct route from Wharton through the wingbacks into their forwards. The contest should move between home pressure, loose balls near the box and quick releases into the space behind it. Fresh runners and second deliveries could become decisive after the interval.
Marseille should spend long stretches working the ball toward both flanks, while Sturm seek the first regained pass into their front line. Territory alone may not decide it: Sturm's second contact after a direct ball or restart is central to their attack. Both teams have changes that can alter the delivery later in the match. The contest turns on whether Marseille's wide volume produces cleaner box contact than Sturm's shorter routes.
Lech can make this a contest at the first midfield pass, before either side settles into long spells of possession. Their quick combinations through Rodríguez and Ishak meet a Sunderland side that has needed later midfield and wide changes in Europe. Sunderland can still create sustained pressure through Xhaka and the flanks. The first regain and the next ball into the box should shape the match.
This match comes down to which defensive hole costs more. Atalanta arrive with one fit senior centre-back, against the Ajax side that produces more shots, crosses and second balls than anyone they have faced. Atalanta's way in is Ajax's shaky build-up from the back. Both teams should score, but the structure leans toward the home side.
Two favourites that look weaker than their price suggests. Juventus have lost exactly the players who build a winning margin, and they now face a deep block. Bournemouth's strong recent numbers came against weaker sides, and their high line has been opened early by every top team they have played.
Two European matches where the defensive weakness is clear. Hoffenheim keep losing the same way: lots of the ball, few clean chances, then goals conceded on the break and late. In Istanbul, a Palace side that keeps failing on dead balls meets a Besiktas high line that direct runners have repeatedly got behind.
Two matches where the second half should matter most. At Bournemouth, the hosts' early press is a real threat, but Milan's bench and Bournemouth's habit of conceding late give the visitors a route back. In Sinsheim, a Hoffenheim side that keeps conceding after the hour meets a rotated Lyon team built for counter-attacks.
This match looks like a tight, low-chance game rather than the mismatch the names suggest. Sturm Graz defend a compact home block that has hardly been broken at the Merkur-Arena lately. Marseille will have the ball, but in Europe they have struggled to turn possession into clear chances. One goal, or none at all, is likely to decide it.
Two Europa League matches that should be decided late. At Celtic Park the first goal looks close to even, but the last half hour favours the side with the deeper bench. In Istanbul, both teams' attacks line up against weak spots in the other's defence, so neither side should be able to shut the game down.
Two European nights where both teams keep their attacking routes and the defences are the weak part. In Amsterdam, Atalanta arrive with a broken centre-back line against an Ajax side that lives on set pieces and box pressure. At the Vitality, Bournemouth's press meets a rotated Milan build-up, while Milan's runners have space to attack behind a high line.
This looks like a tight, low-event match in which the first goal carries a lot of weight. Marseille will have the ball, but against organised blocks they have struggled to turn possession into real chances. Sturm sit deep at home, concede very little and look for transitions and set pieces. The long Sturm absence list grabs the headlines, but most of it was already missing from the side that played their last two matches.
Three Europa League matches on this slip, and each one comes down to what a team does by itself, not to who is missing on the other side. Ferencvaros and Juventus both control their games through their own patterns, against opponents whose routes to goal are thin. In Sinsheim the picture is different: two sides that each carry a working attack into a defence with a clear weak spot.
