JAN 13: EUROPEAN BETTING PREVIEW

TEAM news as I've said so often is key before backing any team in cup contests and I'll look to gather as much info as possible in the morning.

Valencia have a 2-1 lead over Espanyol as they travel to Barcelona for the second leg and coach Nuno will be feeling good after signinga three-year contract extension on Monday.

Levante square off against Malaga needing to overturn a 2-0 deficit to reach the quarter-finals of the competition.

Athletic Bilbao grabbed the upper hand against Celta Vigo with a 4-2 triumph and will look to seal the progression on Wednesday back home at the San Mames stadium.

David Moyes's Real Sociedad trail 1-0 against Villarreal heading into Wednesday's home match with Denis Cheryshev's goal handing the Valencian outfit the edge.

Sevilla hold a 2-1 lead ahead of Wednesday's home game against Granada who are at the foot of the La Liga standings while Almeria head to Getafe with all to play for after being held to a 1-1 home result in last week's opener.

AC Milan say they won't underestimate minnows Sassuolo when the two sides meet in tonight's Coppa Italia last-16 clash at the San Siro.

Sassuolo won 2-1 at Milan in Serie A in their opening game of 2015 and head into the contest having held Udinese to a 1-1 draw at the weekend to climb to 11th in the standings.

Milan drew 1-1 at Torino on Saturday to see their winless run extended to three games and players say they are motivated for revenge.

Roma head into thier home match against Empoli hoping captain Francesco Totti can produce another magical night. They trailed 2-0 against derby rivals Lazio on Sunday before two second-half goals from Totti earned Rudi Garcia's side a valuable point.

Empoli travel to the Stadio Olimpico without a win since November 23 and lost 1-0 at Sampdoria last time out to drop to 15th in the standings.

Fiorentina host Atalanta on Wednesday with the Viola having celebrated their first win in 2015 in Sunday's 4-3 home triumph over Palermo.

Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic is unlikely to hand new signing Luis Muriel his debut at Inter Milan as the Colombian forward only joined from Udinese on Monday.

Cagliari travel to Parma on Wednesday invigorated by last weekend's 2-1 triumph over Cesena, their first home win of the season. Parma, who like Cagliari are in the relegation zone, lost 3-1 at Verona last time out.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has insisted there are no issues with team spirit at Paris St Germain as they prepare for the latest instalment of their defence of the Coupe de la Ligue.

PSG face a tough-looking trip to St Etienne in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, three days after a humbling Ligue 1 collapse.

Lauren Blanc's men led Bastia 2-0 before slumping to a 4-2 loss – an outcome that prompted questions about unity in the squad and which were denied by super Swede Ibra.

Bastia will be confident ahead of their home clash with Rennes tonight after that incredible comeback.

My best European selections will feature on the top tips after I go through the latest team news.

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