By Tim Stannard
 
Wenger looking to avoid damp squib departure
 
Well, this is for Arsene Wenger. One last ‘you shall not past’ stand.
 
Unless Arsenal’s French manager wants his final farewell to the Gunners after 22 years on the bench to be up in Huddersfield for the last game of the Premier League season, the English outfit are going to have to plough through a Ninja Warrior series of obstacles on Thursday. The mission – reach a Europa League final (and a chance of Champions League qualification) by overcoming Atletico Madrid on home turf.

 The challenges – Atletico’s defense is almost impenetrable. There might even be a forcefield in play. The Rojiblancos have not conceded a goal in any competition in the Wanda Metropolitano since the 20th January. That’s 11 games. And with the semi-final tie at 1-1 from the first leg, that streak is going to have be broken. Not conceding is also a must for Arsenal. That’s an issue too with the Emirates outfit finding new and creative ways to leak goals every game.
 
All in all, it doesn’t look good for poor Wenger even with managerial counterpart, Diego Simeone, sitting in the stands serving a suspension for a red card from the first-leg. “At this moment, it is the players who have the leading role and the energy," boomed the Atletico boss. However, the Frenchman is still dreaming of a happy ending for his tenure at Arsenal – “I want to finish this love story well".
 
 

Salzburg Al-pining for another comeback crescendo
 
That’s the first of Thursday’s two semi-finals dealt with. The second is a tad less illustrious in terms of the participants but could be the football-flowing one-to-watch, as opposed to the probable 1-0 Atletico win in the Spanish capital.
 
French side Marseille is in Austria to take on RB Salzburg, the ‘surprise package’ for this year in the Europa League. On paper, matters look good for Marseille, a team that holds a 2-0 advantage from the first leg. But the hills are alive with the sound of a comeback for the Alpine outfit with memories still buzzing of the quarter-finals when a 4-2 deficit against Lazio was reversed with a 4-1 victory. “We want to put in another top performance in front of a full house," was the promise from Marco Rose, Salzburg coach.
 
This soon-to-be-classic encounter is live on beIN SPORTS CANADA from 3PM ET / 12PM PT and don’t forget to tune into the XTRA for all the best of the action from both games at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.

 
Another defender drops for Madrid as Iniesta fights for future
 
Time to move on to some Clasico news and Coach Zizou has been handed a new injury concern with Raphael Varane struggling like an addled dairy farmer by dealing with a troublesome calf. The French stopper missed Thursday’s training. Dani Carvajal is all but ruled out and Isco is still struggling with a shoulder injury.

 
The main injury concern for Barcelona involves Andres Iniesta who is training away from the main group as the midfielder fixes another misbehaving calf as he tries to get ready for what would be his last ever Clasico adventure. Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT where Kevin Egan will bring all you need to know from the streets of the Catalan capital as focus now moves to Sunday’s humungous clash.
 

Jazz on song as LeBron takes on Drake
 
NBA play-off time! The Utah Jazz played some sweet tunes – unusual for most jazz music – to beat the Houston Rockets 116-108 and tie the team’s series at 1-1.
 
A big cheese is back in action on Thursday night with King James and the Cavs taking on the Toronto Raptors (and Drake). With the Cavs already holding a 1-0 lead, a second victory in Canada could well be decisive. The Boston Celtics are looking to go 2-0 up against the Philadelphia 76-ers in another Nor-Easter on Thursday.

 
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