After Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen secured a reasonably simple passageway to the Europa League spherical of 16, the listing of contenders vying for the continent’s second largest membership prize will solely get longer due to the Champions League third place groups who drop right down to the competitors.

The pair are nonetheless the favorites to elevate the trophy subsequent spring and are arguably probably the most notable sides to advance to the knockouts as group stage winners. After an entertaining group stage in each the Champions League and the Europa League, a number of high-profile matchups may very well be within the playing cards for the knockout spherical playoffs, the place Europa League group stage runners-up face off with the Champions League third-place sides. The winners within the playoffs will then meet up with the Europa League group winners, which may imply robust competitors as quickly because the spherical of 16 for the likes of Liverpool and Leverkusen.

Here is a have a look at the golf equipment to control from the group winners, runners-up and UCL dropdowns:

Group winners to observe

Bayer Leverkusen: Alongside Slavia Prague, Leverkusen are the one aspect to depart the Europa League group phases with an ideal six wins out of six and are flying excessive with a 4 level lead atop the Bundesliga. Xabi Alonso’s aspect loved a European marketing campaign that was as clean as any, leaving them within the prime three amongst Europa League contenders in nearly all superior statistical classes, together with targets for and targets in opposition to. That stated, their wins got here in opposition to unmatched opposition — they performed Qarabag, Molde and Hacken within the group stage, so the duty for Alonso and firm will likely be to show that they will dominate in opposition to top-tier opposition, additionally.

Liverpool: Like Leverkusen, Liverpool additionally rank within the prime three in these tactical classes, which is spectacular contemplating Jurgen Klopp opted for some rotation all through the group stage. The Reds did hit some roadblocks on the way in which to their first place end, although — they misplaced 3-2 at Toulouse on a day the place they received possession and had extra pictures however weren’t significantly scientific in entrance of purpose. The query for Klopp will likely be whether or not or not his depth choices can go toe-to-toe with extra aggressive sides or if he might want to depend on his prime stars within the knockouts — and the way simple that will likely be to handle throughout a run for the Premier League title.

Runner-up that may win all of it

AS Roma: This season has been removed from good, however final season’s Europa Convention League winners appear to be turning issues round and will likely be one of many groups the Champions League contingent will wish to keep away from. As is the case with Jose Mourinho groups, the protection has been the important thing to Roma’s success in Europa League — they let in simply 4 targets in six video games, a feat solely bettered by Leverksuen. Inconsistency in assault is one thing they must work on for a deep run within the competitors, however Romelu Lukaku will function an amazing chief up prime after scoring 4 targets within the group stage.

UCL third-place groups finest positioned to win all of it

AC Milan: It has been an up-and-down season for Milan, however they picked up two wins in a really aggressive Champions League group and sit third place within the Serie A desk so prospects stay excessive for Stefano Pioli’s aspect. The offensive trio of Rafael Leao, Olivier Girod, and Christian Pulisic imply the Italian group has loads of potential to make a deep run — they ranked fifth within the Champions League for probabilities. For them, the duty will likely be residing as much as the hype since they ranked thirtieth out of 32 for targets scored throughout that marketing campaign.

Galatasaray: The Turkish champions have a star-studded lineup that features Mauro Icardi and Wilfried Zaha and a notable capability to attain after notching 10 targets in the course of the Champions League group stage. In addition they have an above-average capability to let in targets after conceding 13 occasions in the course of the group stage, so they’re poised to entertain even when they can not all the time win. Contemplating they have been up in opposition to gifted sides like Bayern Munich and Copenhagen within the Champions League, they could fare higher within the second-tier Europa League.