PARIS: On Thursday, Barcelona and a resurgent Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as well as Europa League experts Sevilla, will lead Spain’s challenge in the competition’s final 16.

In two of the more intriguing ties of the round, Sevilla hosts English team West Ham in the opening leg, while Barcelona hosts Turkish club Galatasaray at the Camp Nou.

After tumbling out of the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in 18 years, five-time European champions Barcelona are still adjusting to the strange surroundings of the continent’s secondary championship.

They meet Galatasaray at Camp Nou on the back of their greatest run of the season, which included a 4-2 win away at Napoli in the previous round.

They are currently third in La Liga and have not lost in the league since December, thanks to a busy January transfer window that saw them sign Aubameyang, Ferran Torres, and Adama Traore from Arsenal.

In Barcelona’s last five games, Aubameyang and Torres have combined for seven goals.

“We have four wins in a row and this hasn’t happened for a long time,” said coach Xavi Hernandez on Sunday. “The players believe in what we are doing. We are on the right path.”

Barcelona’s only realistic chance of winning a trophy this season is the Europa League, and there is still a defensive vulnerability that will inspire opponents.

Barca, on the other hand, will be huge favourites against Galatasaray, who have only won twice in their last 15 games.

Sevilla, who have won the Europa League four times in the last eight seasons, will meet a trophy-hungry West Ham.

The Hammers’ prospects of finishing in the Premier League’s top four are dwindling, with Arsenal now the clear favourites to capture the final Champions League ticket, although Tottenham and United are still in contention.

West Ham captain Mark Noble believes his team’s valiant performance in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Liverpool will restore faith after a tough period in which they were also knocked out of the FA Cup.

“That performance will give us a lot of belief and hopefully we can take that into the Europa League now,” Noble said on the club’s website.

“It’s exciting and hopefully we can perform like that because Sevilla are a top team and we are going to need to perform well.”

The match between Spartak Moscow and RB Leipzig has been cancelled due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite the Football Union of Russia filing an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday to reverse UEFA’s ban on its team competing in European competition.

For the latest Sports News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest Sports News on oldsite.bolnews.com