The UEFA Europa League resumes on Thursday 18, February with the Round of 32. Premier Bet’s Jonathan Shkurko takes a look at the Ghanaian football players who will feature in the knockout stage of the competition and sees what chances their teams have to go through.
Sion v Sporting Braga – Thursday, February 18
Kick-off: 20:05pm
Young Ghanaian promise Ebenezer Assifuah will face Portuguese club Sporting Braga with his Sion side. Assifuah has featured in all six Europa League 2016 games for the Swiss team so far. The highlight of his season was certainly a second-half goal against Liverpool at Anfield back in October, which set the team on their way to a 1-1 draw.
Assifuah has played 18 games in the Swiss Super League so far and has scored three goals. The striker also netted against Basel to help Sion win the Swiss Cup semi-final.
Sion are currently sixth in their league, only one point behind Luzern and Thun, their main contenders for a Europa League spot next year. They’ve been inconsistent lately as they won two, drew one and lost two in their last five league games. On the other hand, their opponents are fourth in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, seven points behind giants Porto.
Assifuah will try to get the most out of this Europa League fixture to impress the Ghana national team coach Avram Grant, as he has only featured in the Under 20 squads so far. Can he help Sion grab an important win at the Stade Tourbillon? Click here to get the latest odds on this game.
Anderlecht v Olympiakos – Thursday, February 18
Kick-off: 18:00
The other Ghanaian player who will be involved in a Europa League 2016 game is Anderlecht’s Frank Acheampong, who will try to help the Belgian team get past Greek champions Olympiakos.
Acheampong has already scored three times this month, which included a double in Anderlecht’s away draw at Mechelen. Earlier this season he helped his side defeat French team Monaco away in the Europa League Group Stage, with a crucial goal ten minutes from the final whistle to seal a 2-0 win.
Anderlecht are having a relatively good season. They are currently third in the Belgian Pro League, and are only four points behind leaders Brugge and Gent. They haven’t lost a single league game at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium since March 2015! Olympiakos, as expected, are leading the way in Greece and hold a huge 16 point advantage over second place AEK Athens. With the league essentially secured, they will be now focused on going through in Europe, so Anderlecht will have to be very wary of the Greek powerhouse when they lock horns in Brussels.
Augsburg v Liverpool – Thursday, February 18
Kick-off: 20:05
Augsburg will face Premier League giants Liverpool in the Europa League knockout stage, but it is highly unlikely that Ghanaian right-back Daniel Opare will play, as he is still to make a single appearance for the German club this season.
Midtjylland v Manchester United - Thursday, February 18
Kick-off: 18:00
Ghanaian Francis Dickoh is in a similar situation to Daniel Opare. His team, Danish club Midtjylland, will face Manchester United in the Europa League knockout stage at home in the first leg. However, the 33-year-old defender has little chance of featuring in the game, as he has only made one appearance in the whole season.
By Jonathan Shkurko