Form of upcoming Europa League's teams

Nothing short of winning La Liga is satisfactory for Barcelona, yet they trail Real Madrid by 12 points and are 3 points behind Sevilla. Atalanta are not in the best of form either, having lost 2 and drawn 1 of their past 5 games. West Ham shares a similar league position and form to Atalanta and Lyon have only 1 win in their last 5, making RP Leipzig arguably in the most positive frame of mind.

Often, it is the teams that don’t have much to play for in the league that do well, because they can focus their efforts more on the European games. So, Barcelona’s poor performance in La Liga this season may make them more motivated to win Europa for another trophy. Plus, their recent form in La Liga is actually impressive, having won their previous six league games with a 4-0 away win to Real Madrid.