Union, Anderlecht and A. a. Gent their next opponents in Europe. For Al-Ittihad, the 1/8 finals of the Europa League will be a meeting with Union Berlin, which is also the opponent of the team from Brussels in the group stage. Anderlecht will be presented with Spain’s Villarreal as the next contender in the Conference League and AA Gent can compete with Turkish Basaksehir.
look. Union Bormans CEO on the new confrontation with Union Berlin: “A bit of a shame”
Union Berlin – Union SG
Still a downer for the union. Just like in the group stage of the Europa League, they will meet Germany’s namesake: Union Berlin. In Berlin, the Brussels side won 0-1 in September thanks to a goal from Senne Lynen. But the Bundesliga team took revenge at the beginning of November, winning 0-1 thanks to a goal from Sven Michel.
Union Berlin is certainly not an obvious draw from a sporting point of view. The club has 43 points in the league, just like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and is therefore joint at the top. In the Europa League, Union Berlin fought well past Ajax in the play-offs. Coach Karel Geraerts clearly knows Union Berlin well after last year’s double tie and talks about a “very strong opponent” (see video below). Al-Ittihad will play its home match at Lotto-Park in Anderlecht.
look. Karel Gerarts on the draw: “A very difficult opponent”
Anderlecht Villarreal
The Union plays first away from home, Anderlecht and AA Gent play first at home (on March 9). The Purple & White gets a visit from Villarreal. In the Spanish league it is El Submarino Amarillo Currently ninth place with 31 points. In the Conference League, the team, including Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Dani Parejo and Jeremy Pino, easily won its group. Lech Poznań (Pool), Hapoel Hapoel Beersheba (Israel) and Austria Vienna (East) were the opponents. Last season, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, but with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), Pervis Estupinian (Brighton) and Arnaut Danjuma (Tottenham), some strong players left.
AA Ghent – Basaksehir
A double confrontation with Istanbul Basaksehir, currently ranked fourth in Turkey, awaits AA Gent. In preparation for it, Hein Vanhaezebrouck may turn to Mark van Bommel, because Antwerp lost its teeth against the Turks in the Conference League preliminary round. Basaksehir then finished first in a group with Fiorentina, Scottish Hearts and RFS from Latvia, and with red devil Adnan Januzaj, Stefano Okaka (ex-Anderlecht) and Ahmet Topa (ex-FC Brugge) some Belgian football acquaintances in the ranks. Because of the severe earthquakes that struck Turkey, Basaksehir has not played any matches since the beginning of this month.
UEFA reported on Wednesday, March 15 that AA Gent will finalize its comeback in Istanbul, as compatriot Fenerbahçe is also active in the Europa League.
Anderlecht and AA Gent have given the European labs a huge boost, and the competition is failing completely
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