What to look out for in the UEFA Europa Conference League knock-out round play-off second legs

Ajax face a tricky trip to Norway, Dinamo Zagreb are looking to complete the job against Real Betis and Eintracht Frankfurt hope to take a step towards further European glory.

In this piece presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, we pick out some key talking points ahead of the second legs. Remember: Every mission matters.

Wednesday 21 February (18:00 CET)

Gent 1-1 Maccabi Haifa (agg: 1-2)

Thursday 22 February

Early kick-offs (18:45 CET)

Ludogorets vs Servette (1st leg 0-0)
Dinamo Zagreb vs Real Betis (1st leg 1-0)
Bodø/Glimt vs Ajax (1st leg 2-2)

Late kick-offs (21:00 CET)

Slovan Bratislava vs Sturm Graz (1st leg 1-4)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Union SG (1st leg 2-2)
Ferencváros vs Olympiacos (1st leg 0-1)
Legia vs Molde (1st leg 2-3)

What to look out for

Ajax hopes still alive
Things weren't looking great for Ajax after they went 2-0 down to underdogs Bodø/Glimt in the first leg in Amsterdam, with the Norwegian side lively in their first competitive match in 2024. But dramatic stoppage-time goals from Branco van den Boomen and Steven Berghuis got the Dutch giants right back in the tie and kept alive their hopes of winning a seventh major European honour.

Ajax will now be all too aware of the threat Bodø/Glimt pose as they travel to Scandinavia hoping to get the job done. "Too few individual players reached their best level," Ajax coach John van 't Schip admitted after the first leg. "But the fighting spirit was good to get it back to 2-2. We've risen from the dead."

Dinamo eye shock
Dinamo Zagreb's 1-0 away victory at Real Betis was perhaps the most surprising result among the first legs, with Bruno Petković's second-half penalty enough to give the Croatian side their first win on Spanish soil at the eighth attempt (L7). 

The last time Dinamo reached the round of 16 in UEFA competition was in the 2020/21 Europa League, their journey eventually ended in the quarter-finals by Villarreal. They will be hoping they can overcome Spanish opposition this time around, and defender Kévin Théophile-Catherine said after the first leg: "We'll see if it is going to be enough next week. [We must] be a unit but I know they are going to come back stronger. It won't be easy, it is never easy."

Frankfurt go for glory again

After winning their second UEFA Cup/Europa League title with a penalty shoot-out win over Rangers in 2022 and reaching the round of 16 in the Champions League last season, Frankfurt are now in the hunt for more silverware in the Conference League, a competition they are participating in for the first time.

The German side put themselves in a good position to make it through to the next stage after drawing 2-2 with Union SG in the first leg in Belgium, although they will be frustrated to have let their advantage slip after going 2-0 up within ten minutes. If they make it through Frankfurt will be considered among the favourites to win the competition and claim their second European trophy in the space of two years. "We have an open game next week, against a good team," coach Dino Toppmöller said. "We're confident because we're playing at home in front of our fantastic supporters."

Where is the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final being played?

SPORTSFILE

The 2023/24 UEFA Europa Conference League season is set to conclude at the Agia Sofia Stadium in Athens, Greece, on Wednesday 29 May 2024.

Opened in September 2022, the new stadium stands on the site of the Nikos Goumas Stadium, which had been home to AEK Athens since 1930 but sustained serious damage during an earthquake in 1999. With a capacity of over 30,000, the new stadium in the north-western suburb of Nea Filadelfia stages Greece international home games as well as AEK matches.