Europa League matchday 4 preview: Benfica host Lech, Milan need points against Ferencváros, Juventus go to AZ

The fourth round begins on Wednesday afternoon with one match, Rennes against Olympiakos, one of five clubs with nine points from nine. The other seventeen are on Thursday. Benfica, top on goals scored, host Lech Poznań; Bayer Leverkusen, the only side yet to concede, host Marseille, who have no points; and Bournemouth, also perfect, go to Sparta Praha. AC Milan, 24th with three points, host unbeaten Ferencváros, and Juventus travel to AZ.

Wednesday

Rennes v Olympiakos (15:30 UTC, Roazhon Park). Rennes are 13th with five points, after 0–0 in Graz, 2–1 against OFI and 2–2 in Turin, and lost 5–2 at Nice on Friday. Olympiakos are fifth, with three 1–0 or 2–1 wins: 2–1 against Jagiellonia, 1–0 in Marseille and 1–0 against Sparta. The API has no previous meeting.

The early kick-offs

AC Milan v Ferencváros (17:45 UTC, San Siro). Milan lost 2–0 at home to Benfica, won 4–0 in Salzburg and lost 3–0 at Bournemouth, but beat Inter 3–1 in the derby on Saturday. Ferencváros are fourth with nine points: 3–1 at Celtic Park, 2–1 against Plzeň and 4–1 against Torreense. UEFA notes that K. Zachariassen has three goals and an assist. No previous meeting in the API.

Anderlecht v Red Bull Salzburg (17:45 UTC, Lotto Park). Anderlecht, 22nd with three points, won 3–0 in Białystok; Salzburg, 21st with four, drew 2–2 in Celje. No previous meeting in the API.

Crystal Palace v Hoffenheim (17:45 UTC, Selhurst Park). Crystal Palace are 15th with four points after 2–2 in Istanbul, and lost 2–0 at Tottenham on Saturday. UEFA notes that Yeremy Pino has scored in each of Palace's three matches. Hoffenheim, 23rd with three, beat Lyon 3–0 on matchday 3. No previous meeting in the API.

Levski Sofia v Jagiellonia (17:45 UTC, Vasil Levski National Stadium). Levski, 17th with four points, won 2–1 in Plzeň; Jagiellonia, 27th with three, lost 3–0 to Anderlecht. No previous meeting in the API.

Lillestrøm v Plzeň (17:45 UTC, Åråsen). Lillestrøm, 31st with one point, lost 6–0 to Real Sociedad; Plzeň, 33rd, have none. No previous meeting in the API.

NEC Nijmegen v Omonia Nicosia (17:45 UTC, Goffert). NEC, 20th with four points, won 4–2 in Zagreb; Omonia, 11th with six, lost 4–1 to Benfica, and L. Diony leads the scorers with four. No previous meeting in the API.

Real Sociedad v Lyon (17:45 UTC, Anoeta). Real Sociedad are 14th with four points and won 6–0 at Lillestrøm on matchday 3, a performance their coach, Pellegrino Matarazzo, called "incredible", according to UEFA. Lyon, 12th with six, lost 3–0 at Hoffenheim, which Paulo Fonseca put down to a "lack of aggression", UEFA reports. They met in the 2013 Champions League play-off, when Real Sociedad won 2–0 in Lyon and 2–0 at home in August 2013.

Sparta Praha v Bournemouth (17:45 UTC, Letná). Sparta are 16th with four points and lost 1–0 in Piraeus. Bournemouth have won all three, 2–1 at Real Sociedad, 3–0 against Sturm and 3–0 against Milan, and beat Leeds 2–0 on Saturday. No previous meeting in the API.

The evening

AZ v Juventus (20:00 UTC, AFAS Stadion). AZ are tenth with six points, after a 1–0 defeat at Sunderland, then 2–1 against Hapoel Beer Sheva and 4–0 in Yerevan, and lost 1–0 at Ajax on Saturday. Juventus are seventh with seven: 5–0 against NEC, 2–1 at Celta and 2–2 with Rennes, and they beat Napoli 2–0 on Sunday. Sky Sport reports that Weston McKennie, who has muscle fatigue after the Napoli match, will not be available, while Kerim Alajbegovic and Juan Cabal will be. No previous meeting in the API.

Bayer Leverkusen v Marseille (20:00 UTC, BayArena). Leverkusen have won all three without conceding, 2–0 against Celje, 4–0 in Poznań and 2–0 at OFI, but lost 4–2 at home to Stuttgart on Saturday. Marseille are 34th, without a point after 4–1 in Istanbul, 1–0 to Olympiakos and 1–0 in Graz, though they beat Toulouse 2–0 on Sunday. UEFA notes that Facundo Medina could face the club he left for Leverkusen in the summer. The only meeting in the API is a 2–1 Leverkusen win in a friendly in Marseille in August 2023.

Benfica v Lech Poznań (20:00 UTC, Estádio da Luz). Benfica top the table with nine points and ten goals, the most in the competition: 2–0 at San Siro, 4–1 against Celtic and 4–1 in Nicosia. Lech are 32nd with one point and have scored once. Benfica won both meetings in the 2020/21 Europa League group stage, 4–2 in Poznań in October 2020 and 4–0 in Lisbon in December 2020.

Celta Vigo v Union Saint-Gilloise (20:00 UTC, Balaídos). Celta, 25th with three points, won 2–1 at Celtic Park and lost 3–0 at Rayo on Saturday. Union are sixth with seven, after 3–0 in Plzeň, 1–1 with Real Sociedad and 4–0 against Hapoel Beer Sheva, with seven different scorers, UEFA notes. No previous meeting in the API.

Celtic v Beşiktaş (20:00 UTC, Celtic Park). Celtic are 35th without a point, after 3–1 to Ferencváros, 4–1 in Lisbon and 2–1 to Celta, and lost 2–0 at Falkirk on Sunday. "We're still in with a chance," Martin O'Neill said, as UEFA quotes him. Beşiktaş are eighth with seven points: 4–1 against Marseille, 3–2 at Hoffenheim and 2–2 with Palace. No previous meeting in the API.

Hapoel Beer Sheva v OFI (20:00 UTC, Giulești, Bucharest). Hapoel Beer Sheva, 30th with one point, play their home match in Bucharest; OFI, 26th, have three. No previous meeting in the API.

Sturm Graz v Celje (20:00 UTC, Graz-Liebenau). Sturm, 19th with four points, beat Marseille 1–0; Celje, 29th with one, drew 2–2 with Salzburg. No previous meeting in the API.

Sunderland v Dinamo Zagreb (20:00 UTC, Stadium of Light). Sunderland, ninth with seven points, drew 1–1 in Poznań; Dinamo, 18th with four, lost 4–2 at home to NEC. No previous meeting in the API.

Torreense v Ararat-Armenia (20:00 UTC, Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria). Torreense, 28th with three points, lost 4–1 in Budapest; Ararat-Armenia are bottom without a point and have conceded 11. No previous meeting in the API.

The table after three rounds

Five clubs have nine points: Benfica, Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Ferencváros and Olympiakos. Union, Juventus, Beşiktaş and Sunderland follow on seven. Four have none: Plzeň, Marseille, Celtic and Ararat-Armenia, who are bottom. The top eight go straight to the round of 16, and ninth to 24th go to the knockout play-offs.

Numbers to know

• 166 goals in the first three rounds, 63 of them on matchday 3.
• Leverkusen are the only side yet to concede.
• L. Diony (Omonia) leads the scorers with four; six players have three, among them Pino, Zachariassen and Juventus's N. Woltemade.
• Benfica have scored ten, the most; Ararat-Armenia have conceded 11, the most.

The full round, with kick-offs in your time zone, is on the Europa League page.

Sources for the context: UEFA, Sky Sport.