‘I want to win’ Europa League says Romelu Lukaku as Everton could be last Premier League team in Europe

Everton take a 2-1 advantage into Kiev on Thursday night, with Romelu Lukaku in form and looking to book a place in the competition's quarter-finals.

Everton's Romelu Lukaku applauds the fans during his side's Premier League win against Newcastle United on Sunday. Alex Morton / Reuters / Mach 15, 2015

The Premier League's sole Europa League survivors Everton are in Ukraine on Thursday aiming to seal qualification for the quarter-finals against Dynamo Kiev.

Romelu Lukaku’s late penalty at Goodison Park last week gave Roberto Martinez’s men a slender 2-1 first-leg lead, and the Belgian striker could once again prove the key to furthering Everton’s European adventure.

Everton warmed up for their 5,500-kilometre away day by brushing aside Newcastle United 3-0 on Sunday.

Lukaku, with seven goals, is the leading scorer of the 16 teams left in the Europa League. He was again on the mark to lift Everton six points clear of the relegation zone.

“Everybody knows I want to win the Europa League and I also want us to finish as high as we possibly can in the league, so I will do my best to achieve my own objectives and the team’s objectives,” he said.

“Now we have to do the business in Kiev. That will not be easy but I’m very confident in my teammates. Hopefully, we can do the job there.”

Martinez on Sunday welcomed back his left-back Leighton Baines, who managed the full 90 minutes against Newcastle after missing the previous four games with a leg injury.

“Newcastle was a massive game,” Baines told his club’s website.

“We were on the front foot defensively and Rom and Arouna (Kone) were a handful up front, caused them plenty of problems and we were good value for the win in the end.

“So we’ve got the first of what we want to be three wins in a week. We know we can get away with a draw in Kiev but we want to go out there and try to win that game and the same at QPR.”

Dynamo drubbed Mariupol 5-0 in their domestic warm-up on Sunday to leave the side coached by former Tottenham and West Ham United forward Serhiy Rebrov seven points clear of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian first division.

Uefa have ordered part of Kiev’s stadium to remain closed as punishment for crowd trouble during Dynamo’s last-32 clash with French side Guingamp.

Elsewhere Thursday, Napoli will fancy their chances of featuring in Friday’s quarter-final draw after Gonzalo Higuain’s hat-trick inspired the Serie A side to a 3-1 home win over Dynamo Moscow.

Holders Sevilla also have one foot through to the last eight door after a 3-1 win over La Liga rivals Villarreal, helped by the competition’s quickest goal, by Vitola 13 seconds into the match.

Andre Villas-Boas’s Zenit St Petersburg hold a 2-0 advantage in Torino, while Bundesliga side Wolfsburg take a 3-1 lead to the San Siro to face three-time champions Inter Milan.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini called for fans to support his side after Sunday’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Serie A strugglers Cesena.

“It’s understandable the fans are angry or disappointed, because we’re not doing well. But we need them at the stadium on Thursday,” Mancini said. “We need a special night where we make things happen. Wolfsburg are a good team, it’s no surprise they are second in the Bundesliga.

“But if we put in a great performance we can get through to the next round.”

In other ties, Club Brugge (2-0 first-leg winners) are in Turkey to tackle Besiktas, former continental kings Ajax trail Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0, and the all-Serie A clash between AS Roma and Fiorentina is poised at 1-1.

The draw for the two-legged quarter-finals will be held at Uefa headquarters in Nyon on Friday.

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