The upsets that occurred in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 set the stage for an intriguing next step to the competition's finish line.

A handful of notable names are still in the field, like Manchester United and AC Milan, but plenty of underdogs remaining have proved they can defeat clubs from Europe's biggest leagues.

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal lead the largest single-country delegation in the 16-team field, but the Red Devils have an edge over the two north London clubs based on their recent form.

Italy, Spain and Ukraine are all represented by two teams. Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Scotland and Switzerland each has a single club remaining.

While England has the best statistical chance to have a team win the Europa League, Italy may top the chart when it comes to contenders, and if the draw plays in their favor, Sunday's Serie A match between AC Milan and Roma could be an early final preview.

The rankings took into account each team's form, as well as their performances in the round of 32, including the quality of their wins. 

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16. Molde

Molde deserves credit for dusting off the monthslong competitive rust between the end of the Eliteserien in December and the start of the Europa League knockout rounds in February.

The Norwegian club battled back from a two-goal deficit at home to tie Hoffenheim in the first leg and then shut out the German side in the return leg at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena to win 5-3 on aggregate.

While it is significant for a Norwegian side to upset a German Bundesliga club, Hoffenheim is stuck in the middle of the league table and has won seven of its 22 league contests this term.

Molde also benefited from an easier draw in the group stage, as Austrians Rapid Vienna and Irish side Dundalk were coupled in with it and Arsenal.

Molde should be an underdog no matter which team it is drawn against in the round of 16, and any further advancement would be a massive shock.

15. Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb followed a similar formula as Molde to secure safe passage into the round of 16.

The Croatian club put up three goals in the first leg versus Krasnodar and then held a clean sheet to move on by a 4-2 aggregate score.

Dinamo Zagreb could follow the same path to a quarterfinal berth. Forward Bruno Petkovic has four goals in his past four Europa League games and netted a brace in the first leg with Krasnodar.

Defensively, the 1. HNL Liga leader has earned a clean sheet in its past three league games and conceded just twice over its past five contests in all competitions.

If that translates for the rest of the competition, Dinamo Zagreb could make a deep run, but it has not faced the toughest opponents yet. Wolfsberger AC was the other club to make it out of its group, and the Austrians were trounced by Tottenham Hotspur. Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow combined for eight points in Group K.

14. Dynamo Kyiv

Dynamo Kyiv ground out a pair of results against Club Brugge, the second of which was a 1-0 win in Belgium on Thursday to secure a 2-1 aggregate victory.

In both matches, the Ukrainian side was tough to break down and benefited from a goal from Vitaliy Buyalskyi, whose 83rd-minute winner on Thursday sent his team through to the last 16.

But to make a deeper run in Europe, Dynamo likely has to defeat a team from a top-tier league for the first time this season.

In the UEFA Champions League group stage, Dynamo Kyiv was outscored 11-1 in total by FC Barcelona and Juventus, and it only mustered one win against Hungarian side Ferencvaros.

13. Olympiacos

Olympiacos confirmed its spot in the last 16 in the waning stages of its second leg against PSV Eindhoven. Ahmed Hassan's 88th-minute goal put it ahead 5-4 on aggregate and ensured progression for the competition's lone remaining Greek representative.

Just like Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos' Champions League form may suggest it will struggle against the bigger clubs left in the competition. It did not score in its four matches with Manchester City and FC Porto and stayed alive in Europe through a win over Marseille.

Winning at home could be the key for Olympiacos to stay alive in the Europa League. The Greeks have beaten AC Omonia in Champions League qualifying, Marseille and PSV in home legs of their matchups in European competition this season.

12. Slavia Prague

Slavia Prague slots in above some of the other mid-tier European league teams because it produced one of the best round-of-32 results of the lot.

The Czech side held the Premier League's third-place side, Leicester City, without a goal over 180 minutes, scoring two of its own Thursday to move on to the next round. Shakhtar Donetsk and Manchester United were the only other sides to record shutouts across both legs of their matchups.

The pair of results against the Premier League title hopeful came during a dip in form compared to the rest of Slavia Prague's domestic campaign. Two of its four Czech Liga draws came in the past three games.

If Slavia Prague continues to be difficult to break down, it could be one of the top sleeper picks to advance to the later rounds.

11. Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk is one of the most experienced clubs from a mid-tier European league to have success on the continental level. The 2009 UEFA Cup champion was a semifinalist in the 2019-20 Europa League and could carve a path back to the final four again.

During that run last season, the Ukrainian giant took down Malmo, Wolfsburg and Basel in the knockout rounds before it fell to Inter Milan in a one-off game at a neutral venue because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This season's knockout rounds started with a similar result to the Basel win, as it eliminated another mid-tier side in Maccabi Tel-Aviv by a 3-0 aggregate.

Shakhtar could be the toughest side to break down of all the teams classified as underdogs. It has recorded clean sheets in eight of its past nine games across all competitions.

10. Villarreal

While Shakhtar Donetsk is the team that you should not underestimate, Unai Emery is the manager you should not underestimate as the Europa League gets further into the knockout phase.

The 49-year-old Villarreal manager guided Sevilla to three Europa League crowns in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and has won the joint-most Europa League or UEFA Cup titles alongside Italian manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

Emery also reached the final with Arsenal in 2019, and he took the first step on the road back to that stage with a 4-1 aggregate victory over a Red Bull Salzburg side loaded with young talent.

The Yellow Submarine has just two losses in its 14 games since the calendar flipped over to 2021. In those contests, only three of Villarreal's Spanish foes netted multiple goals.

Like some of the teams listed before Villarreal, it could be a tough out if it plays strong defense and is opportunistic in the final third.

9. Rangers

Rangers have not lost a game across all competitions this campaign, and they have turned into a goal-scoring machine of late.

The presumptive Scottish Premiership champions hit nine goals past Antwerp in the round of 16 and thumped Dundee United, 4-1, in its league contest in between the two continental ties.

Steven Gerrard's side has netted multiple tallies in 10 of the 11 Europa League games it has played in this season, including qualifying.

The one knock against that success is very little of it came against some of Europe's heavy hitters. When Rangers had that chance, they drew twice with Benfica.

8. Young Boys

Young Boys provided us with the most stunning result from the round of 32.

The Swiss side carved up the Bayer Leverkusen defense for six total goals, and it shut out the Bundesliga side on its home turf Thursday to complete the 6-3 aggregate victory.

The victory should boost the managerial profile of Gerardo Seoane, who has won two Swiss Super League titles and a Swiss Cup as the successor to current Eintracht Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter.

Forward Theoson Siebatcheu, who was born in Washington, D.C., is one of the few players eligible for the United States men's national team left in European play. He scored three goals across the two games against Leverkusen.

Siebatcheu has not made an appearance for the USMNT. Nor has he committed his international future (he has French citizenship). But he could be a sought-after commodity like his manager in the summer if he continues to breach opposing defenses.

7. Granada

Granada came into the knockout round with some of the worst form of any club, and it is on a six-game winless streak in La Liga. That did not matter over two legs against Napoli, though, as the Spanish side won 3-2 on aggregate.

Some of Granada's recent domestic results can be credited to difficult matchups, as it faced Barcelona in cup competition and Atletico Madrid in the league over a span of 10 days in early February.

To be a menace in the coming rounds, Granada needs to be more effective in the final third. It only produced six shots in the second leg against Napoli and has scored just nine goals in its eight Europa League games.

If Granada benefits from the confidence gained from beating a top team in a big-five league, it could undergo a resurgence in form just in time for the rest of the knockout round.

6. Arsenal

Ohhh, Arsenal.

In typical fashion, the Gunners did not make life easy on themselves in the round of 32, as they needed a late winner from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to sneak past Benfica by a 4-3 aggregate score.

The result was almost the latest in the line of disappointing results for the English side, which had won just two games in its past eight across all competitions entering Thursday. But despite the poor form, it still has some of the best attacking options in the Europa League.

Aubameyang has found some form through a hat-trick against Leeds United and a brace versus Benfica, and he has some talented running mates in attack in Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka, while midfielder Thomas Partey has also been impressive.

If the Gunners can just tighten up somewhat defensively, their attacking options could make them a difficult matchup against the toughest opponents remaining.

5. Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur should be grouped in with its north London rival in the same ranking.

Spurs have been inconsistent to a maddening degree in the English Premier League. In their past eight league games, the only two wins Spurs have picked up came against West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United, respectively the 19th- and 20th-place sides in the division.

However, they somehow looked like an in-form side in an 8-1 aggregate victory against Wolfsberger. 

Most of that can be credited to the dip in competition from England's top tier to an Austrian side making its first foray into the knockout round, but it is still astonishing to see Spurs struggle at the level they are given the abundance of talent they possess in the final third.

The key to creating more chances for Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and others may be midfielder Dele Alli, who recorded a goal and two assists in the second leg against Wolfsberger.

If Alli emerges from his long stretch on the bench in league play into a Europa League playmaker, Spurs could have the edge over other top contenders.

4. Ajax

Ajax passed the toughest test of any team in the round of 32.

The Dutch champion took care of Ligue 1 leader Lille in a tie that changed shape after two late goals in the opening leg in France secured a 2-1 win for Ajax, and it matched that score Thursday.

Ajax has not lost since its final Champions League group-stage match with Atalanta on December 9, recording seven victories of two or more goals finding the back of the net at least twice in seven consecutive matches across all competitions.

Forward Dusan Tadic has 15 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, and midfielder Davy Klaassen has chipped in nine goals and three assists. If two of the more experienced players in the Ajax squad continue to perform at a high level, the Dutch giants could secure their first European trophy since 1995.

3. Roma

Serie A should have the best odds to produce the Europa League champion since two of its highest-quality sides are still alive.

Roma never gave Braga a chance to get into either leg of the round-of-32 tie, progressing 5-1 on aggregate after a 3-0 home win Thursday. It has five wins, one draw and one loss across its past seven matches.

The Italians have had a knack for scoring in Europa League contests, as they netted multiple times in six of eight matches.

Roma carries plenty of experience within its squad in Edin Dzeko, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pedro, and it has some young exciting stars in Borja Mayoral, Carles Perez and Lorenzo Pellegrini.

If everything continues to click for Roma, it could be considered the favorite to win the tournament.

2. AC Milan

AC Milan did not look like itself over two legs against Red Star Belgrade, only coming through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate tie.

The Rossoneri eked out a victory over their round-of-32 opponent without Zlatan Ibrahimovic starting either leg. He came on for the final 45 minutes of the second leg. AC Milan may have gone through a case of taking an opponent too lightly or its Serie A aspirations were too much to risk the 39-year-old Ibrahimovic's legs during a congested schedule.

Milan sit second in Serie A, four points behind rival Inter after a 3-0 defeat Sunday. Its domestic schedule gets much easier after Sunday's clash with Roma, though, and that could help allow for players to be rested ahead of European competition.

Milan has to be considered a dangerous opponent for anyone left in the tournament because of Ibrahimovic. Despite not having any European goals this season since qualifying, the Swede is still one of the most dangerous forwards in the competition and could be vital to his club's success over the next few rounds.

1. Manchester United

Manchester United turned Champions League heartbreak into Europa League elation.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men dominated a Real Sociedad side that was believed to be a tough matchup, reeling off four away goals in the first leg and keeping a clean sheet at home to enforce its dominance in the competition.

Manchester United is in the best form of any big-five clubs left in the Europa League, unbeaten in seven games and in second place in the EPL, and it turned in the most commanding performance in the round of 32.

If the version of United that showed up in the round of 32 rears its head for the rest of the competition, it should be considered the favorite ahead of Roma and round-of-16 opponent AC Milan.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from FBRef.com.