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Lens have beaten Arsenal and Sevilla in France
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Milan and Rennes have plenty of firepower
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In-form Gala forward worth considering
French fancy makes sense against ailing Freiburg
Lens v Freiburg
Thursday 15 February, 20:00
Freiburg have done incredibly well to qualify for the knockout phase of the Europa League in back-to-back seasons, an historic achievement for a club that has never won a major trophy and has even been relegated from the Bundesliga in the 21st century. For much of this season, they have been in the mix for yet another European qualification, but the wheels are starting to come loose.
Freiburg have lost three in a row in the Bundesliga, and they are missing key personnel in central defence. Matthias Ginter has been struggling with an Achilles injury, while his usual defensive partner Philipp Lienhart is still recovering from groin surgery. The out-of-form Attila Szalai is likely to feature alongside youngster Kilian Sildillia, and the pair struggled in Friday's 3-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund.
Lens are still living the European dream after dropping out of the Champions League, and they have hit a purple patch in Ligue 1, winning three straight games. In the UCL they won at home against Arsenal and Sevilla, and I think they are worth backing here at 1.845/6 to win the first leg.
Shots fired at San Siro
Milan v Rennes
Thursday 15 February, 20:00
This could still be an exciting season for Rennes. They are on the fringes of the battle for European spots in Ligue 1, they have a very winnable Coupe de France quarter-final on the horizon against National 2 side Le Puy Foot, and they have won eight games in a row in all competitions.
Milan look to be out of the title race in Serie A, as they trail city rivals Inter by eight points, and the leaders have a game in hand. That said, Milan have won seven of their last nine in all competitions. Interestingly, both teams have scored in 14 of Milan's last 20 games in all competitions.
With both teams playing well and scoring goals, I'd recommend a BTTS bet at 1.8810/11.
Les Violets to suffer pain in Portugal
Benfica v Toulouse
Thursday 15 February, 20:00
Considering Toulouse are battling the drop in Ligue 1, they have done remarkably well in Europe. They defeated Liverpool on a famous night in France (the celebrations were so loud they disrupted Jürgen Klopp's post-match press conference) and they beat LASK home and away to edge out Union Saint-Gilloise in the race for second spot.
However, this is where things might get tricky for Les Violets, because they are running into a very dangerous and in-form Benfica. In the Primeira Liga, the champions lead city rivals Sporting on goal difference, and they booked their place in the Europa League with a 3-1 win at Salzburg in their final Champions League game.
Toulouse have raised their game in the UEL, but this might be a bridge too far. Benfica have won their last four Primeira Liga home games by two goals or more, and they'll be keen to try to end this tie before they go to France next week.
I'll back Benfica -1.5 on the Asian Handicap at 2.1411/10.
Amazing Shakhtar run can continue
Shakhtar v Marseille
Thursday 15 February, 17:45
Given the horrendous situation in their Ukrainian homeland, Shakhtar have represented their region and their country superbly in Europe this term. They beat mighty Barcelona in the Champions League, and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the last 16, taking the race with Porto down to the wire.
There's a concern about rustiness (Shakhtar are in their winter break, but have played lots of friendlies), but I think Shakhtar can cause problems for a Marseille team that is winless in five competitive games and only won once on the road in the UEL group stage.
We can back Shakhtar/Draw and Over 1.5 Goals on the Bet Builder at 2.021/1.
Unheralded name can strike for Gala
Galatasaray v Sparta Prague
Thursday 15 February, 17:45
When you think about a likely goalscorer for Galatasaray, your mind understandably drifts to Mauro Icardi, but the goals have dried up of late for the Italian. He has scored in just three of his last 16 games in all competitions. Conversely, 23-year-old Turkish striker Baris Alper Yilmaz has made the opposite journey, scoring in each of his last three appearances having not scored all season.
It's a small sample size, but I can't ignore Yilmaz's price of 16/5 to score at any time against a Sparta Prague team that leaked five goals across its three away games in the UEL group stage.