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Galatasaray-Elfsborg and Sporting Braga-Bodo Glimt will open the third round of the Europa League on Wednesday, October 23. Both matches are scheduled for 4:30 PM. The reigning Turkish champions, Galatasaray, are looking to respond positively after their previous draw in Latvia against Rīgas Futbola Skola.
Elfsborg, after their impressive 1-0 victory over Juric’s Roma, quickly rebounded from their opening loss to AZ Alkmaar. Sporting Braga returns to home turf at Estàdio Municipal de Braga, where they debuted with a 2-1 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, but they struggled in Greece, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Olympiacos. They now face an undefeated Bodo-Glimt, fresh off a crucial 3-2 win against Porto and a goalless draw with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
The Europa League's third round continues with Thursday's matches. First up is Eintracht Frankfurt-RFS, with the Germans seeking back-to-back wins following their victory against Besiktas. In Denmark, Midtjylland hosts USG, while Ferencvaros (defeated in both of their first two games) welcomes Nice (who earned one point against Real Sociedad before being thrashed by Lazio).
Another team with zero points, Maccabi Tel Aviv, faces a tough opponent in Real Sociedad (who secured one point against Nice but lost at home to Anderlecht). PAOK, with two defeats in their first two games, is looking for their first win at home against Viktoria Plzen, who have drawn their first two matches along with Manchester United and Twente. Farioli’s Ajax heads to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag (the Dutch side has 4 points so far). Juric’s Roma needs to bounce back after a home draw with Athletic Bilbao and a disappointing narrow defeat in Sweden against Elfsborg. They will be seeking their first tournament victory against Dynamo Kyiv, who were soundly beaten 3-0 by Baroni’s Lazio and are yet to score in the competition, along with Bulgaria’s Ludogorets.
In Athletic Bilbao-Slavia Prague, two teams with identical records (4 points, 3 goals scored, and 1 conceded) will face off. Porto, still winless, hosts Hoffenheim. The Portuguese side has earned the fewest points despite scoring 5 goals in two matches (teams like Galatasaray, Eintracht, Ajax, Steaua Bucharest, Tottenham, Lyon, and Lazio, all with 4 points or more, have scored similarly or less). Porto also boasts the tournament's current top scorer, 20-year-old former Atletico Madrid player Samuel Omorodion, with 3 goals.
On paper, Lazio (top of their group with 6 points, along with Lyon, Tottenham, Steaua Bucharest, and Anderlecht) leads the standings, having scored the most goals (7) and holding the best goal difference (+6). The Biancocelesti, aiming for their third consecutive victory after big wins against Dynamo Kyiv (3-0) and Nice (4-1), will look to conquer De Grolsch Veste in Enschede in their match against Twente.
Fenerbahce-Manchester United is the headline clash of this Europa League round. It’s a high-profile match, with José Mourinho, now coaching the Turkish side, facing his former club (The Special One won the Europa League with the Red Devils in 2017, beating Ajax 2-0, with goals from Pogba and Inter Milan’s Mkhitaryan).
Both Malmö and Olympiacos have recorded one win and one loss each (the Greek side won last season’s Conference League final against Fiorentina). Lyon, still unbeaten, is aiming for three in a row against Besiktas, whose former Lazio player Immobile now plays for them. The Turkish side has the worst defense in the tournament so far, conceding 7 goals and holding the worst goal difference (-6). Anderlecht (6 points) hosts Ludogorets – can the Bulgarians finally score their first goal? Steaua Bucharest faces a tricky away match against the Rangers in Scotland, who impressed away from home (2-0 victory over Malmö) but were fragile at home (1-4 loss to Lyon). Finally, Tottenham, one of the title favorites under Postecoglou, will look to secure a third consecutive win against AZ Alkmaar.
