The midweek is here, and with it comes the end of the penultimate round of European football. This includes the UEFA Europa League, with the semifinals set to wrap up on Thursday.
Four teams remain in this competition, with Atalanta battling Marseille and Leverkusen facing Roma for a spot in this season's final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in late May, with the two fixtures simultaneously kicking off at 3 p.m. ET. All eyes will be on Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga side as they search for continental glory after winning the German top flight while Atalanta will want to continue their fairy-tale run following their unforgettable victory over Liverpool in the previous round.
However, both sides should face a stern test in the second leg. Which teams will make this season's UEFA Europa League final? Here is everything you need to know about Thursday's decisive fixtures.
Broadcast information for the UEFA Europa League in the USA
CBS Sports offers a multiplatform coverage of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League season, with Paramount+ streaming all the games in this competition — as well as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League — live for fans in the USA. Select matches will also be available on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network, the free 24-hour football streaming network.
TelevisaUnivision also has broadcasting rights for European football, which means fans in the USA will get Spanish-language coverage of the UEFA Europa League through TUDN USA, Univision, UniMás, and ViX.
What are the aggregate score lines?
- Atalanta (1) vs. (1) Marseille
- Leverkusen (2) vs. (0) Roma
Preview
Atalanta vs. Marseille
With the first leg ending in a 1-1 draw, this semifinal tie remains in the air. Atalanta, who unforgettably knocked out Liverpool from the competition in the quarterfinals, avoided defeat at the Stade Vélodrome and will be looking to capitalize on the home advantage in this tie. In fact, the Serie A side took the lead first in the first leg, with Gianluca Scamacca breaking the deadlock after only 11 minutes. Additionally, La Dea find themselves in lovely form ahead of this crucial tie, with Gian Piero Gasperini's side boasting a five-match unbeaten streak. Will they add Marseille to their list of victims?
Marseille remain to this day the only French club to have won the UEFA Champions League – though PSG could end this record this season – and will be keen on adding a UEFA Europa League crown to their trophy cabinet. The Ligue 1 heavyweights have reached the final of this tournament three times before but must win at Stadio di Bergamo if they wish to make it to a fourth final. Fortunately, the visitors boast the competition's top scorer, both this season and of all-time, in the form of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, with the Gabonese ace scoring a whopping 10 times this campaign. On the flip side, form does not favor Jean-Louis Gasset's men, with Les Phoceens winning only two of their last 10 matches across all competitions, including a five-game losing streak between mid-March to mid-April. Do not miss this second leg.
Leverkusen vs. Roma
With every passing day, the number of football fans asking one question grows: will Leverkusen win a treble without losing a single game? While teams have become "Invincibles" before, namely Arsenal in 2003-04 and Juventus in 2011-12, no team in modern history has done this across three different competitions. Many thought the first leg against Roma would be where Xabi Alonso's men slip up but the Bundesliga champions won 2-0 thanks to goals from Wirtz and Andrich. This ended the club's three-game drawing streak and they followed up on that victory with a 5-1 thrashing of Frankfurt, showing no signs of slowing down.
Roma, meanwhile, have seen their fairy-tale run under iconic midfielder Daniele de Rossi suffer a bump. Shortly after being handed the managerial role permanently, the club started dropping points. After winning 11 out of his first 16 games in charge, losing only twice, Roma have now picked up only one win out of their last five fixtures. This includes defeats against Bologna and Leverkusen as well as draws against Napoli and Juventus. However, the Giallorossi did overcome fellow Italian giants AC Milan in the Europa League quarterfinals, winning 1-0 at the San Siro before triumphing 2-1 at home. If Dybala and Co, can triumph at Milan's iconic stadium, then Leverkusen should not underestimate the away side when they visit the BayArena.
Who's in and who's out?
Here are the players unavailable for the UEFA Europa League semifinals:
Atalanta: Sead Kolasinac, Rafael Toloi, and Emil Holm (injured)
Marseille: Valentin Rongier, Bilal Nadir, and Bamo Meite (injured)
Leverkusen: Noah Mbamba (injured)
Roma: Paulo Dybala (doubt)
TV details and live streaming info for the UEFA Europa League semifinals (2nd leg)
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