Europa League draw: eyes on Milan, Roma and Atalanta

It’s not the Champions League but it could become the Champions Cup. Liverpool in command in the Premier League, Leverkusen dominating in the Bundesliga: they can win their “scudetto”, they are the big favorites of this Europa League with a very high technical figure if we also consider Brighton, West Ham, Marseille, Benfica, Sporting and all the three Italians still in the running: Milan, Roma and Atalanta. However, from different perspectives: Pioli and De Rossi were forced into the playoffs and in today’s draw (12pm in Nyon) they will be paired with the top seeds, including Klopp’s Reds and Xabi Alonso’s “aspirin”. Gasperini is in the first tier, but the group of rivals is not at all reassuring.

Milan & Rome: the tops

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The imperative is one: avoid Liverpool and Leverkusen. There is no written result, but no one can deny them the front row. Klopp has found enthusiasm and results again: he dreams of one last great European success before dedicating himself to a sabbatical (so he said, at least). The overall favorable aspect is that the calendar is packed with the Premier League, Euroleague, FA Cup and also the League Cup, to be faced with around ten injured players and therefore little chance of turnover. Xabi Alonso is one of the emerging coaches at the center of the transfer market: he was already a coach on the pitch, last year he went out in the quarter-finals against Roma, now it’s a completely different story.

Milan & Rome: the others

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If Liverpool and Leverkusen are terrible, it’s not like the rest is a walk in the park. De Zerbi’s Brighton are also fearsome: they don’t have the names and squads of top clubs, but an offensive and aggressive game and an emerging, courageous coach who knows the Italians very well. West Ham is better in the midst of the crisis: in 2024 they have not won yet, in eight matches between the championship and the FA Cup. He is always English. so it’s better not to trust it, but if there’s a good time to face it, it’s now. Not dissimilar story for Villarreal, just one success in the eight matches of 2024, but against Barcelona. The Spanish ones are always a problem for us, but let’s not talk about Real Madrid and Atletico. Slavia Prague (2nd in the Czech Republic) and Rangers (leading in Scotland) are certainly preferable, but in a lower category than ours. Last detail: Milan and Roma play the second leg away.

Atalanta: Qarabag

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There are no longer the top seedings of the past. Naturally not in the sense that they are weaker, but because the first pot no longer guarantees a smooth draw. Atalanta won the group and therefore avoided the playoffs, they don’t have Champions League champions like Liverpool and Leverkusen on their path, but they still have respectable rivals. All within the reach of the best Atalanta which travels at the Scudetto pace and, from De Ketelaere to Koopmeiners to Ederson, has interpreters of international standing. To be taken with reasonable serenity, despite the long journey to Baku, there is the Qarabag. The rest is a path of pitfalls.

atalanta: the dangers

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Benfica doesn’t have the play and results of last season (interrupted by Inter), but from Di Maria to Rafa Silva many champions who can decide a match. From Portugal comes another well-known threat to Atalanta: Sporting were overtaken in the groups, but they were a technical and non-trivial team. Marseille changed coach and, with Gasset in place of Gattuso, achieved a small feat by eliminating Shakhtar fresh from a Champions League in which they had competed for a place with Barcelona and Porto. There is Grifo’s Freiburg and Hungarian star Sallai, mid-table in the Bundesliga. And finally Sparta Prague: today in command of the Czech championship, they eliminated Galatasaray by overwhelming them 4-1 at home.

Italy objectives

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An overall promising season for Italy which is competing in all the cups like last year. In the Champions League, Inter were superior to Atletico, Lazio hopes to take advantage of Bayern’s crisis and Napoli fueled their hopes of qualifying in the final quarter of an hour with Barcelona. In the Conference there is Fiorentina who dreams of another final. And in the Europa League Atalanta, Milan and Roma have everything to chase success. At this point the draw will also direct the teams’ path. Starting today.