Galatasaray is riding on a spell of fine performance as the Turkish powerhouse looks to stage an upset in the Europa League's last 16 return leg tie against Barcelona on Thursday.

The Lions will be counting on home-turf advantage and their talismanic attacker Kerem Aktürkoğlu, who is in brilliant form ahead of the continental tie.

The Istanbul side comes into the match following a convincing 2-0 win against crosstown rival Beşiktaş over the weekend, with Aktürkoğlu scoring both goals.

The 23-year-old winger has scored 11 goals so far this season, with three of them coming in the Europa League. He also came close to scoring in the first leg against Barcelona which ended in a goalless draw.

Galatasaray goalie Inaki Pena, on loan from Barca, was also in good form against his parent club.

Barca is also a rejuvenated side as it heads to Istanbul. It is riding on a 10-game unbeaten run that has propelled it back up to third in La Liga and seen it emerge as one of the favorites to win the Europa League.

"The fans are enjoying themselves when they come to the stadium, and so are we out on the pitch," said Gerard Pique, who played his 600th game for Barcelona in Sunday's 4-0 defeat of Osasuna.

"The results are coming back and we hope to keep this going through to the end of the season," the veteran center back told the club's website.

However, Xavi Hernandez's side was held 0-0 at home by Galatasaray in the first leg of its Europa League tie last week so still has work to do to reach the quarterfinals.

Spanish clubs galore

Meanwhile, two other Spanish clubs, Sevilla and Real Betis, are also in contention for the quarterfinals of the Europa League, a competition dominated by La Liga clubs in recent years.

Tournament specialist Sevilla is in London to play West Ham United with a 1-0 lead from the first leg given to it by Munir El Haddadi's goal.

Six draws in its last eight league games have effectively ended its domestic title hopes, leaving Julen Lopetegui's charges 10 points adrift of leader Real Madrid.

But it remains on course for more success in the Europa League as it looks to win a trophy it has already lifted a record six times, all since 2006.

Sevilla also has the incentive of trying to reach a final that will be played in its own stadium, the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, on May 18.

It left the injured Marcos Acuna out of the squad for the journey to the United Kingdom to face a West Ham side who see the Europa League as its best chance of a first major trophy in over four decades.

"We need to score and I hope, on Thursday, in front of a full stadium, we show our quality and make the most of the opportunity," said Hammers midfielder Tomas Soucek.

West Ham is the sole English representative still in the Europa League, while Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis is the third Spanish side as it heads to Germany to play Eintracht Frankfurt bidding to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

Spanish clubs have won seven of the last 10 editions of the Europa League, including last year when Villarreal beat Manchester United on penalties in the final.

Rangers are primed to advance to the last eight after winning 3-0 at home to Red Star Belgrade in last week's first leg, while Braga, Atalanta and Lyon will also defend first-leg leads.

RB Leipzig earned a bye to the quarterfinals after last-16 opponent Spartak Moscow fell victim to the ban on Russian clubs.

In the Europa Conference League, Leicester City is well placed to reach the last eight as it defends a 2-0 first-leg lead on its trip to France to play Rennes.

Marseille, Roma and Feyenoord are among the other sides defending first-leg advantages.

Thursday Fixtures

Red Star Belgrade (SRB) vs. Rangers (SCO)

Monaco (FRA) vs. Braga (POR)

Bayer Leverkusen (GER) vs. Atalanta (ITA)

Galatasaray (TUR) vs. Barcelona (ESP)

Lyon (FRA) vs. Porto (POR) (1-0)

West Ham United (ENG) vs. Sevilla (ESP) (0-1)

Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) vs. Real Betis (ESP) (2-1)