Italian teams have shone in European competition in recent years. Current Serie A league leaders Inter have reached two Champions League finals in three seasons, while Fiorentina have two Conference League finals under their belt, and Roma have reached two European finals as well. However, it looks as though no Italian outfit will be reaching a final this term.

All four of the country’s Champions League participants were dumped out by the Round of 16, with reigning champions Napoli eliminated after the initial league phase and last season’s beaten finalists Inter shockingly beaten by Norwegian minnows Bodø/Glimt in the knockout phase playoffs.

It’s a similar story in both the Europa League and the Conference League, with just Bologna remaining in the former and Fiorentina in the latter. And both of them have mountains to climb if they are to reach the semifinals of their respective competitions.

Bologna and Fiorentina Have Mountains to Climb

Bologna were given a tough task when they were drawn to play tournament favourites Aston Villa, and the English outfit duly swept them aside by three goals to one in the first leg in Emilia-Romagna. Two-time finalists Fiorentina find themselves in an even worse position in the Conference League after also losing to a Premier League side, slumping to a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Online betting sites now make both English teams the clear favourites not just to progress, but also to end the season with continental silverware.

Popular betting outlet Ozoon sportsbook makes Aston Villa a 5/4 favourite to win the Europa League, while Crystal Palace find themselves in the same position in the Conference League. For Bologna and Fiorentina, a quarterfinal exit appears likely, and should that ultimately come to fruition, it would mark the first time in seven years that Italy hasn’t had a semifinalist in any European competition. So, what happened the last time around? Let’s take a look.

2018/19: Cristiano Ronaldo Unable to Bring Glory to Turin

The biggest news in the summer of 2018 was Cristiano Ronaldo’s blockbuster arrival in Turin, with Juventus forking out €112m to sign the Portuguese legend from Real Madrid. CR7 was supposed to finally deliver the Champions League to the Bianconeri at long last, and because he had won the tournament in each of the last three seasons with Los Blancos, the possibility seemed very real. Shockingly, however, Juve wouldn’t even reach the semifinals.

Max Allegri’s men pulled off a stunning comeback against Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16, overturning a two-goal first-leg deficit after Ronaldo’s stunning second-leg hat trick. However, in the quarterfinals, an upstart Ajax would continue their surprising march. The Amsterdam outfit had just knocked off reigning champions Real Madrid in their second round clash, eliminating Los Blancos from the tournament for the first time since 2015. And in the quarters, they would send Juve packing as well, winning 2-1 in the Allianz Stadium despite Ronaldo’s early opener.

But Juventus weren’t the only team to endure misery that term. Both Inter and Napoli would drop into the Europa League after finishing third in their UCL groups, then went on to lose to Eintracht Frankfurt and Arsenal, respectively. Roma did make the Champions League knockout round but were immediately eliminated in the Round of 16 by FC Porto. Milan would exit Europe’s secondary competition at the group stage, while Lazio were handily beaten by Sevilla in the Round of 32.

2015/16: Juventus Can’t Replicate Previous Season’s Heroics

In 2015, three years before Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival, Juventus reached the Champions League final, becoming the first Italian club to do so in five years. While they were ultimately beaten in the Berlin showpiece by a Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar-powered Barcelona, hopes were still high that the Bianconeri could build upon their shock run to the final. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case.

Juve would exit the 2015/16 Champions League at the Round of 16 after losing a thrilling two-legged tie to Bayern Munich. After a 2-2 draw in Turin, it looked as though the Italian giants would get the job done in the second leg in Bavaria, leading by two goals to nil with less than 20 minutes remaining. Then, goals from Robert Lewandowski and a last-gasp Thomas Müller header forced extra time, where the Germans would complete the comeback, winning 4-2.

Roma were also eliminated at the same stage, having been beaten 2-0 home and away by eventual champions Real Madrid. The Giallorossi’s eternal rival, Lazio, meanwhile, didn’t even reach the group stage after losing to Bayer Leverkusen in the playoffs.

That saw the Eagles drop into the Europa League. They would fare somewhat better in the continent’s secondary tournament, but ultimately fell to Slavia Prague in the Round of 16 after a shocking 3-0 home defeat in the Stadio Olimpico. Fiorentina also progressed to the knockout round of that season’s UEL, but their journey was also short-lived, losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the Round of 32.

For the first time in 131 years, the Merseyside Derby will not be contested at Goodison Park.

BUY EVERTON VS. LIVERPOOL TICKETS

Instead, Everton will host Liverpool at their magnificent new 52,888-capacity waterfront home, the Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on 19th April.

Adding to the historic weight of the occasion are the massive Premier League stakes.

With both clubs navigating vastly different campaigns, this clash promises to be fiercely competitive.

Everton, revitalised under David Moyes, sit comfortably in 8th place and are eager to win the first-ever Merseyside derby at their new stadium.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool find themselves in 5th place, desperately chasing Champions League qualification amid a highly inconsistent spring.

Everton have been formidable lately, highlighted by a commanding 3-0 demolition of Chelsea and a comfortable 2-0 victory over Burnley. A hard-fought 2-2 draw away at Brentford last time out showcased their newfound defensive resilience.

Liverpool, meanwhile, arrive down the Mersey in desperate need of momentum. Slot’s men recently snapped a bruising losing streak with a 2-0 win over Fulham, but the scars of a heavy 4-0 defeat to Manchester City and a 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion remain fresh.

BUY EVERTON VS. LIVERPOOL TICKETS

How Everton could line up against Liverpool

The Toffees will heavily rely on the creative spark of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who leads the team with seven goals and three assists, alongside goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who boasts an impressive 10 clean sheets this term.

Jack Grealish is out for the season for Moyes’ side and they will miss his creativity against their city rivals.

Everton predicted line-up: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Garner, McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, Beto.

How Liverpool could line up against Everton

Liverpool travel to the waterfront with a severely depleted squad. Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, and Stefan Bajcetic are all ruled out through injury.

In Alisson’s absence, Giorgi Mamardashvili will continue in goal. The Reds’ attack will be spearheaded by striker Hugo Ekitike, who leads the club with 11 league goals, supplied by the creative brilliance of Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool predicted line-up: Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Salah, Wirtz, Ngumoha, Ekitike.

How to buy Everton tickets

The Everton tickets page can be found on the club’s official website, though it might not be the most convenient option if you don’t hold a season ticket or maintain an active paid membership.

Because of this, it’s worth exploring our recommended link, which provides a reliable and budget-friendly alternative for purchasing match tickets.

BUY EVERTON VS. LIVERPOOL TICKETS

How to buy Liverpool tickets

Liverpool fans usually go directly to the club’s official ticket portal, which can be accessed here, but it’s sensible to review other options as well in case more attractive deals can be found elsewhere.

For example, we recommend using our link if you want to avoid extra membership costs simply to bypass long queues for a big match, while our easy-to-use platform also offers reassurance through a 150% money-back guarantee.

Everton vs Liverpool Head-to-Head Record

This fixture has produced countless dramatic moments over the decades. In the Premier League era, the two sides have now met 66 times.

Historically, Liverpool hold a dominant upper hand with 31 victories compared to Everton’s 9, alongside 26 draws.

As the rivalry officially transitions to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton will be desperate to rewrite the script.

There’ll surely be huge demand for Manchester City vs Arsenal tickets as this weekend’s game at the Etihad Stadium looks like potentially deciding the Premier League title.

BUY MAN CITY VS. ARSENAL TICKETS

The Gunners have had a bit of a blip recently, while Man City have looked back to their best, and now they go head-to-head in this huge six-pointer.

If Arsenal win, then defeat in the last game against Bournemouth will quickly be forgotten, and they’ll be major favourites again, but a win for City will confirm what we appear to be seeing now, with Mikel Arteta‘s side perhaps bottling it again. A draw leaves us all guessing.

Years from now you’ll surely wish you’d been there, so read on for our Manchester City vs Arsenal tickets guide.

How to buy Manchester City tickets

Manchester City fans looking for tickets to this game will likely make the official site here their first port of call, but it’s not necessarily the best way to guarantee you’ll grab a seat.

We can also recommend following the link here for another dedicated ticket portal that is easy to navigate, reliable, and backed by a 150% money-back guarantee if, for whatever reason, you’re not satisfied.

How to buy Arsenal tickets

Arsenal’s official ticket page can be found here, but we would again recommend having a backup plan in place, as you’ll struggle to get ahead of season-ticket holders and club members for such an in-demand fixture.

You could also try following our link here for a better chance to make sure you get a seat in the Etihad Stadium away end, for what could end up being an unforgettable game that ends up taking a place alongside Anfield in 1989, Old Trafford in 2002, and White Hart Lane in 2004 in the club’s history books.

How Manchester City could line up vs Arsenal

City are in fine form at the moment, so will surely take the game to Arsenal with an attacking approach and as many of their stars on the pitch at once.

Pep Guardiola can’t fit everyone in, but he has plenty of good options that can cause the Gunners problems, as they did in the Carabao Cup final recently.

Expect something like the below…

Man City predicted line-up: Donnarumma; Nunes, O’Neill, Guehi, Khusanov; Rodri, Silva, Cherki, Semenyo, Doku; Haaland.

How Arsenal could line up vs Manchester City

Injuries continue to be a problem for Arsenal as they have been for so much of the season, with doubts over Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, and Riccardo Calafiori going into this game.

That makes it hard to predict Arsenal’s starting XI, but based on recent reports it’s probably more likely that Saka and Timber will be back than the other two.

We’ll go with this line-up for now…

Arsenal predicted line-up: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Rice, Zubimendi, Eze; Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres.

Fine line between success and failure

Two wins, or even two draws for Arsenal this week will have them in the Champions League semi-finals and probably as title favourites. Two defeats and it’s likely they’re heading for another trophyless season.

These are the fine margins for Arteta now, whose own future as Arsenal manager will surely come into question if this project once again yields a second-place finish and failure to lift any of the other three trophies despite for so long this season looking like they might genuinely be in the running for a quadruple.

Quite simply, this is an absolutely massive game for Arsenal in their modern history – can their players rise to the occasion or will the pressure get to them again? Give us your predictions in the comments!

Chelsea face Manchester United this weekend in what could be the Blues’ last real chance to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive.

BUY CHELSEA VS. MAN UNITED TICKETS

Liam Rosenior’s side are on an awful run of form at the moment, winning just one of their last six games in all competitions, and losing three in a row without even scoring a goal in the Premier League.

Still, there are five Champions League places up for grabs now and the gap with Liverpool is not insurmountable just yet, so can Chelsea pick up a vital win against Man Utd this weekend?

The Red Devils have been much-improved under Michael Carrick and are looking reasonably sure of Champions League qualification, but could that mean they end up taking their eye off the ball a little bit?

Either way, it should be an unmissable game between two big clubs who always put on a show when they meet, whether it’s been in title races or in top-four battles like this.

How to buy Chelsea tickets

Chelsea fans can find the club’s official ticket page via the link here, but there can be issues with both affordability and availability if you go down that route.

It’s well worth trying our alternative here as it allows you an easy-to-use site with direct access to the games you care about, without the extra cost and hassle of becoming a season ticket holder or club member.

How to buy Manchester United tickets

Manchester United supporters looking for the club’s official ticket page can use the link here, but we’d again suggest keeping an alternative in mind as well.

To make sure you don’t miss out on this big game and others, our link lets you follow your club without extra costs or getting stuck behind season-ticket holders in the queue.

BUY CHELSEA VS. MAN UNITED TICKETS

How Chelsea could line up vs Manchester United

Chelsea fans will no doubt be keen to see if Enzo Fernandez returns to Rosenior’s line up for this game after the club suspended him for two games.

If the Argentina international does make it back, it should give CFC a much stronger-looking side to take on United, though there are clearly still issues in this team.

It remains to be seen if Rosenior will be tempted to rotate some of the players who performed so poorly against Man City, but one imagines his lack of options probably means there won’t be too much rotation.

Chelsea predicted line-up: Sanchez; Gusto, Cucurella, Fofana, Hato; Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer; Garnacho, Neto, Pedro.

How Manchester United could line up vs Chelsea

Man United’s team more or less picks itself these days, but Matthijs de Ligt and Patrick Dorgu remain long-term absentees from the squad.

Still others, like Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, should be fit again for this game, while Harry Maguire will be back from suspension and will probably be back in the team.

Man Utd predicted line-up: Lammens; Dalot, Shaw, Maguire, Martinez; Casemiro, Mainoo, Fernandes; Mbeumo, Cunha, Sesko.

BUY CHELSEA VS. MAN UNITED TICKETS

Chelsea vs Manchester United head-to-head record

This fixture has tended to be quite close down the years, though going further back through history, it’s United who have the upper hand overall.

MUFC have won this fixture 84 times in total, drawing 57, and losing 57.

In more recent history, there’s been very little between them, with Chelsea winning three of their last twelve meetings, United winning the other three, and six draws.

At Stamford Bridge, however, United have a pretty poor record, having failed to win there since February 2020.