EUROPA LEAGUE
Which teams have qualified for the Europa League round of 16? When is the draw?
Liverpool, Milan and Bayer Leverkusen are among the favourites to win UEFA’s second-tier club competition after the knockout round play-offs.
Following the conclusion of the Europa League’s knockout round play-offs, 16 teams remain in with a chance of winning UEFA’s second-tier club competition, including Liverpool, Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.
Unlike the Champions League, in which the top two teams from each group in the first round qualified for the round of 16, the Europa League had an extra play-off round in between, which saw teams who finished second in their Europa League groups face off against clubs who finished third in their Champions League groups.
Eight two-legged ties took place on 15 February and 22 February, with Milan among those who booked their spot in the last 16 after doing enough to see off an attempted comeback by French side Rennes.
Europa League knockout round play-off results
- Milan (beat Rennes 5-3 on aggregate)
- Freiburg (beat Lens 3-2 on aggregate)
- Benfica (beat Toulouse 2-1 on aggregate)
- Qarabag (beat Braga 6-5 on aggregate)
- Sporting CP (beat Young Boys 4-2 on aggregate)
- Marseille (beat Shakhtar Donetsk 5-3 on aggregate)
- Sparta Prague (beat Galatasaray 6-4 on aggregate)
- Roma (beat Feyenoord 4-2 on penalties, 2-2 on aggregate)
The eight play-off winners are now in the hat for the Round of 16, joining the eight teams who won their groups in the first round of this year’s Europa League, including Premier League leaders Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, who have charged eight points ahead of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga under Xabi Alonso.
2023-24 Europa League group winners
- West Ham
- Brighton
- Rangers
- Atalanta
- Liverpool
- Villarreal
- Slavia Prague
- Bayer Leverkusen
When is the round of 16 draw? How does it work?
We don’t have long to wait for the draw for the Round of 16, which will take place on Friday 23 February at 6:00 a.m. ET / 3:00 a.m. ET. You can follow live text coverage of the draw on AS USA.
The eight teams who won their Europa League group will be seeded and will face one of the eight play-off winners, who are unseeded. Teams from the same country can’t play each other in the Round of 16, but will be able to from the quarter-finals onwards.
The group winners will host the second leg of each tie, which will be played over two legs of 90 minutes. If tie is level after 180 minutes, extra time (two periods of 15 minutes) will be played, followed by a penalty shootout if the teams still can’t be separated. As is the case in other UEFA competitions, away goals no longer count.
Teams in the hat for the 2023-24 Europa League round of 16 draw
Seeded teams
- West Ham
- Brighton
- Rangers
- Atalanta
- Liverpool
- Villarreal
- Slavia Prague
- Bayer Leverkusen
Unseeded teams
- Milan
- Freiburg
- Benfica
- Qarabag
- Sporting CP
- Marseille
- Sparta Prague
- Roma
When are the Europa League round of 16 matches?
The first leg of the Round of 16 ties will take place on Thursday 7 March, with the return matches following a week later on Thursday 15 March.
The quarter-finals (11 and 18 April) and semi-finals (2 and 9 May) will also be played over two legs, with the one-off final to be held at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 22 May.
Europa League specialists Sevilla, who have won the tournament seven times, are the reigning champions after defeating Roma in a penalty shootout in last season’s final in Budapest. The Spanish side, however, are already out of European competition this term.