Athletic, Celta and Villarreal look to bounce back in the Europa League

Athletic Club, RC Celta and Villarreal CF, the three Spanish sides competing in this year's Europa League, go into Matchday 4 intent on bouncing back after failing to win in LaLiga Santander at the weekend.  

Athletic will be the first team to take to the pitch on Thursday (19:00 CET). After losing to KRC Genk (2-0) last time out in the Europa League, the Leones face the Belgians in a must-win match. They will be banking on raucous home support to lift them off the bottom of Group F and maintain any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. Genk took all three points at home to KVC Westerlo at the weekend, whilst the Basques were held to a 1-1 draw by At. Osasuna.

Valverde " It's an european match, it's like a final for us." #athlive #UEL

— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) November 2, 2016

Meanwhile, Celta also have a crunch match against AFC Ajax (21:05 CET). Following their 2-2 draw on Matchday 3, the Galicians lie second in their group and could leapfrog the Dutch side into top spot with a win at the Amsterdam Arena. Celta could only manage a 3-3 draw away to UD Las Palmas at the weekend, despite leading 3-0, whilst Ajax ran out 1-0 winners at home to Excelsior Rotterdam.

Hallo Amsterdam!  #EstamosDeVolta #uel #ajacel pic.twitter.com/NSN5mOTyzo

— RC Celta (@rccelta_oficial) November 2, 2016

Villarreal, who welcome Osmanslispor FK to El Madrigal for a 21:05 CET kick off, will be looking to remain top of their group and take a huge step towards the last 32. The Yellow Submarine crashed to their first LaLiga Santander defeat of the season last weekend (2-1 away to SD Eibar), but remain undefeated in this year's Europa League with a record of a win and two draws. They will be hoping to capitalise on their opponents' poor run of form in the Turkish Super League following two straight defeats to Gaziantepspor (3-1) and Kasımpaşa SK (1-2).

#CVFEnglish |  Escribá: "Everyone knows it's a tough match because they saw the 1st leg. And I think our fans know that we need it". #UEL

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) November 2, 2016