Trying to predict the Europa League winners?

A tricky task indeed. With the Last 16 ties going into their second legs tonight none of the ties are over although both Torino and Villarreal do have a lot of work to do if they are to emerge from their ties. The rest of the ties are more or less in the balance. Who will emerge victorious in Warsaw?

   

  I'm going to go out on a limb and put forward Sevilla to go on and retain the title they won last year. They are in a great position going into tonight's home leg with fellow La Liga side Villarreal courtesy of last week's smash and grab 3-1 win at El Madrigal. They have a rich recent history in this competition and it's predecessor the UEFA cup with 3 titles in the last decade. They have quality littered throughout with names such as Carlos Bacca, Éver Banega, Krychowiak and the evergreen José Antonio Reyes, backed up by the likes of Stephane Mbia, Kevin Gameiro, Vitolo and Deulofeu they have the squad to juggle both this competition and the league. Currently Sevilla are four points off Atlético in La Liga who have slipped to the 4th and final champions league spot via the league, the Andaluz club could see this competition as the best possible route into the champions league next season especially if they are unable to bridge the gap between themselves and both Atlético and Valencia in the race for the champions league via the league. 

   With the winners now getting a champions league place as a thank you for going all the way through what is a marathon on a competition its given this year's competition an extra edge. Sevilla won't be walking to the title, they will face stiff competition from the remaining sides, all of which would have legitimate cases of going on to win the title themselves. A particularly strong case can be put for Napoli to go on and win the title. You only have to look at Rafael Benítez to see they have a manager who has history in this competition like Sevilla do. Benítez was victorious with Valencia in 2004 and Chelsea in 2013 and combined with the fact that only the top 3 in Italy get champions league football this is a route that could be looked at as a good alternative. The Italians are currently 4th and three points off Lazio so its not an insurmountable gap to close but certainly Napoli will be contenders. 

 In fact Italy have four other sides left with two facing each other in Roma v Fiorentina. Both sides are contenders and again in Fiorentina's case this is the best chance of getting into the champions league next season. Roma's fall from the title race has left them in a position where they are looking over their shoulders in Serie A but this is their only chance of a trophy so it makes for an interesting battle tonight. Add in the fact that both sides are level at 1-1 from the first leg in Florence and who have potentially the game of the night on your hands. 

   As for dark horses well take your pick really. Wolfsburg are Germany's sole rep at this stage and boast a striker in lethal form in Bas Dost plus being 3-1 up on Inter Milan gives them a great chance of reaching the last 8. What about Everton, now England's only rep in both European competitions. The have pretty much nothing but this competition to go for so could be a dangerous side to play. 

Club Brugge are an interesting shout, the only Belgians left in Europe but have a good chance of making it to the last 8 tonight as they have a slender 2-1 lead from the first leg with fellow dark horses Besiktas. Should they progress against a side that sent Liverpool packing in the last round then they could be in with a shout. Either way it's going to be exciting as 16 teams becomes 8 tonight.