Southampton defender Maya Yoshida has called on his team-mates to do everything to ensure the side can progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League as quickly as possible.

Southampton, who are second in Group K on seven points, travel to leaders Sparta Prague today, while third-placed Hapoel Be’er Sheva, of Israel, play struggling Italian side Inter in the fifth round of fixtures.

Hapoel need to win to keep their hopes of qualifying alive, while the Saints are guaranteed to progress if they beat Sparta and the Israeli side lose or draw.

“We are almost through to the next round but these winning points are really important for us... we have to make sure we get them,” Japanese international Yoshida told reporters yesterday.

“We already played against (Sparta) at home, so we know about them.

“I think it’s going to be very, very tough, especially an away game against them... maybe a different atmosphere in the stadium. We have to be ready for that.”

Southampton beat Sparta 3-0 at St Mary’s in September but have found goals hard to come by on their travels in Europe, scoring just once in their last eight away games on the continent.

Sparta, on the other hand, have not beaten an English team since 1983.

Saints midfielder and Northern Ireland international Steven Davies identified the team’s lack of a cutting edge as a cause for concern.

“We haven’t been clinical enough throughout the team and we obviously need to spread that responsibility through the team,” he said.

At Inter, new coach Stefano Pioli has included 19-year-old left-back Senna Miangue in his squad for the trip to Israel.

The Belgian made his debut for Inter this season. He was joined in the squad by another teenager – Italian Andrea Pinamonti, 18.

Pioli has Gary Medel, Marco Andreolli, Rodrigo Palacio and Davide Santon all nursing injuries and missing from the squad.

Elsewhere, Dundalk boss Stephen Kenny is predicting an “epic” battle against AZ Alkmaar which could put the Irish minnows on the brink of a seismic upset in the Europa League.

The County Louth side – the lowest ranked in the tournament – are firmly in contention for a place in the last 32 ahead of their penultimate Group D game tonight.

They are hoping a home crowd in Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium, where they have already beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv and only narrowly lost to Zenit St Petersburg, will spur them on to another famous result.

Kenny says, if they can get through to the KO stages, Dundalk’s trajectory will eclipse even that of shock Premier League title winners Leicester, who have now won their Champions League group.

“I think what we are achieving is on a much greater scale,” the Lilywhites boss said.

“No one gave us a chance of getting a point . We still have a lot to do to get through but this is a journey where we’ve come from nowhere and we understand where we have come from.”

At present, Dundalk lie in second place in the group standings, level on four points with Maccabi, whom they face in Israel in two weeks’ time, and two points clear of AZ Alkmaar.

Today’s fixtures...

Group A
17.00: Fenerbahce vs Zorya.
21.05: Man. United vs Feyenoord.

Standings: Fenerbahce, Feyenoord 7; Man. United 6; Zorya 2.

Group B
17.00: FC Astana vs APOEL Nicosia.
21.05: Olympiakos vs Young Boys.

Standings: APOEL Nicosia 9; Olym-piakos 7; Young Boys 4; Astana 2.

Group C
17.00: FK Qabala vs Anderlecht.
21.05: Saint-Etienne vs Mainz.

Standings: Anderlecht, Saint-Etienne 8; Mainz 5; Qabala 0.

Group D
17.00: Zenit SP vs Maccabi Tel Aviv.
21.05: Dundalk vs AZ Alkmaar.

Standings: Zenit SP 12; Dundalk, Maccabi Tel Aviv 4; Alkmaar 2.

Group E
21.05: Austria Vienna vs Astra Giurgiu; Roma vs Viktoria Plzen.

Standings: Roma 8; Austria Vienna 5; Astra Giurgiu 4; Viktoria Plzen 3.

Group F
21.05: Athletic Bilbao vs Sassuolo; Genk vs Rapid Vienna.

Standings: Ath. Bilbao, Genk 6; Sassuolo, Rapid Vienna 5.

Group G
19.00: Ajax vs Panathinaikos; Celta Vigo vs Standard Liege.

Standings: Ajax 10; S. Liege, Celta Vigo 5; Panathinaikos 1.

Group H
19.00: Gent vs Braga; Shakhtar Donetsk vs Konyaspor.

Standings: S. Donetsk 12; Braga 5; Gent 4; Konyaspor 1.

Group I
19.00: FC Krasnodar vs Salzburg; Schalke vs Nice.

Standings: Schalke 12; Krasnodar 6; Salzburg, Nice 3.

Group J
19.00: Fiorentina vs PAOK; Slovan Liberec vs Qarabag FK.

Standings: Fiorentina 10; Qarabag 7; PAOK 4; S. Liberec 1.

Group K
19.00: Hapoel Beer Sheva vs Inter; Sparta Prague vs Southampton.

Standings: S. Prague 9; Southampton 7; Hapoel BS 4; Inter 3.

Group L
19.00: FC Zurich vs Villarreal; Steaua Bucharest vs Osmanlispor FK.

Standings: Osmanlispor 7; Villarreal, FC Zurich 5; S. Bucharest 3.