🖐️ things to look out for in Thursday’s European action | OneFootball

With matchday five of the Champions League now concluded, it is time to turn our attention to Thursday’s Europa and Conference League action.

This is what to watch out for.

Brighton on brink of glory

In their first ever season in European football, Brighton are closing in on making more club history.

Things didn’t start well for Roberto De Zerbi’s side when they were brought down to earth by AEK Athens but having picked up seven points from nine on offer since then, they are now on the verge of qualification.

Now heading to Athens, the Seagulls can book their place in the knockout stages with victory and come in on the back of a breathtaking 3-2 win away to Nottingham Forest last weekend.

However, if the Greek champions can do the double, it will blow the group wide open heading into the final round of fixtures.

Record books beckon for Spanish legend

Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina is set to make history on Thursday night when he lines up between the posts for Villarreal in the Europa League.

His first ever appearance in European competition came 24 years ago for Barcelona in the UEFA Cup.

Since then he has made 187 more and when he plays in Group F against Panathinaikos, the 41-year-old will move above compatriot and goalkeeping colleague Iker Casillas on 189 European appearances – putting him second on the all-time list.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo on 197 has more – a record that will very much be in the former Liverpool man’s sights over the next 18 months, or even this season (Reina could equal it if he played in every game en route to another final for the Yellow Submarine).

Can Klaksvík inject fresh hope?

There is no doubt that Klaksvík have done the Faroe Islands proud with their exploits as the country’s first ever representative in group stage competition.

They enjoyed one of the greatest nights in Faroese footballing history when thrashing Olimpija 3-0 at home and also claimed an historic draw with French giants Lille.

All of that means that going into their final two games, they are still in with a chance of qualifying but would need to overcome Slovan Bratislava, who they sit three points behind ahead of kick-off.

Klaksvík are unbeaten at home in the group stage and were only narrowly beaten on their visit to Slovakia. The dream is still alive.

Lukaku aims to start new streak

Roma’s 2-0 loss at Slavia Prague on matchday four was extra disappointing for their striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Europa League is a competition he has a special affinity with, having enjoyed a run of 14 straight games over nine years prior to that loss in which he found the net.

Things unfortunately came to an end for the Belgian in the Czech capital but he has the chance to kickstart a new run in Switzerland against Servette.

The Giallorossi are all but through so it remains to be seen if José Mourinho will risk Lukaku, but in this competition, he’s a near-guarantee of goals.

Three fight for two spots

In the Conference League, Group F boasts one of the most intriguing qualification battles of any group in Europe this season.

Three sides are unbeaten and still in with a shot going into the penultimate fixtures, with Fiorentina, Genk and Ferencváros all having beaten Čukarički and drawn with each other.

That means the Viola top the group ahead of their clash with Genk, who are level with Ferencváros on six points, and who twice battled back to claim a draw with the Italians in their earlier meeting.

A repeat of that result combined with a likely win for the Hungarians when they meet Čukarički would have fans scrambling for the calculators ahead of matchday six.