Bournemouth Chase Four From Four as Europa League Reaches Halfway Mark

The Europa League reaches the halfway point of its league phase on Thursday night, with 17 fixtures spread across the evening and only one match of the round already played. Bournemouth headline the early kick-offs, taking a perfect European record to Prague for their meeting with Sparta. The Cherries are one of only four sides still holding maximum points after three rounds, alongside Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen and Ferencváros, and victory would keep them among the early pacesetters as the race for the top eight intensifies. Crystal Palace also feature in the early window, hosting Hoffenheim at Selhurst Park, while AC Milan welcome unbeaten Ferencváros to San Siro and Real Sociedad take on Lyon. In the later kick-offs, Juventus travel to AZ Alkmaar, Celtic host Beşiktaş at Celtic Park, Sunderland meet Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadium of Light, and Bayer Leverkusen face Marseille. Rennes and Olympiacos played out a goalless draw on Wednesday night to open the round, a result that took the Greek side to ten points. With the table tightening at the top, Thursday's results will shape the battle for direct qualification to the last 16, with the sides finishing ninth to 24th forced into a play-off round in February.