Previews
WED 22.02.2017
The fates of the three LaLiga Santander sides left in this season's Europa League will be decided on Thursday as RC Celta, Villarreal CF and Athletic Club take part in three very different last-32 return legs.
Celta need to turn around their tie against Shakhtar Donetsk following a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg and are optimistic they can do just that. "We know that we're up against tough opposition, but we're convinced that we can beat them on the road and seal qualification there," said centre-back Andreu Fontas in the pre-match press conference.
Do sol de #Galifornia ao frío de Kharkiv.
— RC Celta (@RCCelta) February 22, 2017
Así foi a nosa viaxe a Ucraína #UEL #ShakhtarCelta #afouteza pic.twitter.com/QyFydMwYtx
"From the sun of 'Galifornia' to the cold of Kharkiv"
The Submarino Amarillo face the toughest match of the evening. After crashing to a 4-0 defeat at home to AS Roma, they travel to the Italy with a mountain to climb having never won there before. However, they have beaten the Italian side before, during the 2004 UEFA Cup campaign.
The Basques, who already beat APOEL Nicosia in the first leg, travel to Cyprus intent on taking a huge step towards lifting a trophy they have yet to win. Neither Aritz Aduriz nor Aymeric Laporte made the squad after both players picked up injuries during last weekend's LaLiga Santander clash with Valencia CF.
VIDEO: Our trip to Cyprus https://t.co/5IVQUSJf1s
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) February 22, 2017
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