UEFA Europa League 2018-19: 10 Matches to look forward to on Match Day 1

#3 Sevilla vs Standard Liege

Sevilla have won the competition five times and are the only team to have retained the trophy twice. But last season, Sevilla were inconsistent, which was evident by the fact that they finished seventh in La Liga behind Villarreal and neighbours Real Betis. They did, however reach the finals of the Copa Del Rey and the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford. Finishing seventh, they could not guarantee Europa league football and already have had to go through a tough qualifying process to get here.

Ever Banega up against Paul Pogba in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League Round of 16

Standard Liege finished second in the Pro-Belgian league behind Club Brugge and will be expected to put a strong fight at Seville. The new Sevilla coach Pablo Machin would be looking to get started with win in Europe after a mixed start in La Liga already this season.

#4 Olympiacos vs Real Betis

Betis surprised a number of people last season when they finished fifth in the La Liga ahead of Villarreal and Sevilla and thus guaranteed themselves of Europa League football. This season too, they have started on a strong note defeating Sevilla and drawing with Valencia.

Real Betis Captain Joaquin is a talismanic figure

Olympiacos finished 3rd in the Greece Super League and will be evenly matched for Betis, but Betis have already shown this season that they can take on quality opponents and look to start with a win in Greece.

#5 Villarreal vs Rangers

This will be a very tough match for both the teams, as both the teams have had a rough start to the season. Villarreal are yet to win a match in La Liga after three games and currently sit in 19th place, whereas Rangers have 8 points from 5 matches and are 5th in the Scottish League.

Gerrard in the Celtic v Rangers clash - Scottish Premier League

Rangers, under Steven Gerrard, will be looking to defeat this vulnerable Villarreal side, but the question for both the sides this season will be whether they can handle multiple domestic and European competitions at the same time.