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Europa League Round of 16 Playoffs Leg 2 Odds & Picks

Gary Gowers

by Gary Gowers in Soccer News

Updated Feb 23, 2022 · 11:08 AM PST

Dortmund's Marco Reus
Dortmund's Marco Reus reacts disappointed after his team received the 4th goal by Rangers' Alfredo Morelos during the Europa League Play-off, 1st leg soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Rangers in Dortmund, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
  • It is the second leg of the UEFA Europa League’s Round of 16 Playoffs on Thursday, February 24
  • With most games finely balanced, some enthralling second legs await, including Rangers leading 4-2 against BVB
  • We list the odds for all nine games and preview three, offering our best picks

It is the second leg of the UEFA Europa League’s Round of 16 Playoffs this Thursday, February 24, with some of the ties involving European giants still on a knife-edge after leg one.

In particular, all eyes will be on Glasgow, where Rangers take a 4-2 lead into their second leg with Borussia Dortmund, on Napoli where they are tied 1-1 with Barcelona, and in Rome where Lazio face a 2-1 deficit against Porto.

Europa League Odds

Matchup Home Draw Away
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sevilla +260 +240 +108
Lazio vs FC Porto +125 +255 +200
Olympiakos vs Atalanta +250 +245 +108
Real Sociedad vs RB Leipzig +170 +245 +155
Napoli vs Barcelona +180 +240 +145
Rangers vs Borussia Dortmund +325 +340 -143
Real Betis vs Zenit St Petersburg +100 +285 +230
Braga vs Sheriff Tiraspol -245 +340 +700

All odds as of February 23 at Barstool

See all the Europa League odds above and read on for three soccer best bets for these Round of 16 Playoffs second legs. With some massive ties to come where, for some, a draw will be good enough, the draw comes into play for the bettors.

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Rangers vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction

Rangers sprang the surprise of the round when they beat BVB 4-2 in the Signal-Iduna-Park and, as a result, have set up a titanic battle in this second leg. The Germans were one of the favorites to land this trophy but now face an uphill task to make it to the last eight, with Rangers enjoying some good form at Ibrox this season.

Rangers head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst may, however, set his side up to be compact and hard to beat, with all of the onus to attack falling on BVB. For the Scottish champions, Balogun, Hagi, and Ofoborh all miss out. While for the visitors Meunier, Akanji, Haaland, Morey Bauza, and Schmelzer are out, although Emre Can is back from suspension.

This promises to be a cracking tie with the visitors in nothing-to-lose mode, which, in itself, will give Rangers chances to hit BVB on the counter-attack. The Germans start as massive favorites but, for me, the value here is with the draw.

Picks: Rangers and BVB to draw  (+340) 

Napoli vs Barcelona Prediction

The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona will be electric on Thursday as the Neapolitans go in search of their first European success since their glory days of the late-80s and early-90s. They also are in with a shout of winning the Scudetto but their focus right now is overcoming a current European giant to advance from the playoffs and advance to the final round of 16 of this competition. There are currently eight other teams awaiting the eight winners of this playoff round.

The 1-1 draw in the Camp Nou was a heroic effort from the Italians but they have a few injury problems ahead of the second leg with Lobotka, Anguissa, Lozano, Politano, and Tuanzebe all missing out. Barca, by contrast, will have Memphis Depay, Lenglet, Dani Alves and Gerard Pique all available again to rejoin a star-studded squad that includes January signing from Arsenal, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.

Barca comes into this in great form – they won 4-1 away at Valencia on Sunday – and have years of European experience in their squad to fall back on. With Napoli struggling with injuries and Barca still in plus money, there is value in the away win.

Pick: Barcelona to win  (+145)

Lazio vs FC Porto Prediction

Despite taking the lead at the Estadio do Dragao last week, Lazio succumbed to an impressive Porto team who came back with two quickfire goals to win 2-1. It was not a huge surprise though as Maurizio Sarri’s team has struggled away from home in Europe, winning just once in their last 13 European away games. Their home form, however, is the total opposite, and they have lost just once at Stadio Olimpico in all competitions this season.

Porto, managed by former Lazoi legend Sergio Conceicao, have been simply brilliant in 2022, winning eight of the nine games they have played since the turn of the year. They have now opened up a six-point league at the top of the Primeira Liga and head to Rome bursting full of confidence.

This a really tough one to call but Porto’s great form suggests they can earn themselves a draw in Rome, which will be enough to see them through to the next round.

Pick: Lazio and Porto to draw (+255) 

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