Europa League & Europa Conference League state of play: Fixtures, results & schedule | Football News
As the 2021/22 Europa League and Europa Conference League return for the round of 16 ties, we bring you the state of play, upcoming fixtures, team news and the schedule for the remainder of the tournaments…
The Europa League last-16 stage gets underway this week, with West Ham and Rangers flying the British flag in this stage of the competition.
David Moyes’ Hammers face Spanish club Sevilla away from home in the first-leg on Thursday night, while Rangers host Red Star Belgrade at Ibrox on the same evening.
The Europa Conference League last-16 stage also kicks off on Thursday night, with Leicester City facing French side Rennes in the first-leg at their King Power Stadium.
Here’s all you need to know…
Team news
West Ham have named Declan Rice in their squad for Thursday’s round of 16 first-leg tie.
The Hammers’ England international midfielder missed Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat at Liverpool through a non-COVID illness.
“He trained today [Wednesday] for the first time,” said boss David Moyes. “He didn’t train yesterday [on Tuesday]. He trained today and he’s sort of been really unwell with it, whatever he’s had, a bug of some sort. But he’s with us and if Dec is fit and available then he’ll certainly play.”
Moyes will be without Jarrod Bowen, who suffered a heel injury at Anfield on Saturday, and long-term absentee Angelo Ogbonna, who underwent surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Rangers have injury concerns ahead of their last-16 tie with Red Star Belgrade.
Amad Diallo and Steven Davis, who both missed last weekend’s 1-0 win over Aberdeen, remain doubts for the first leg clash at Ibrox, while Aaron Ramsey and Filip Helander will both be assessed ahead of the match after just returning from a spell on the sidelines.
Leicester will be without Jamie Vardy for Thursday’s Europa Conference League last-16 first leg against Rennes after the forward suffered a knee problem.
James Maddison and James Justin are set to return after injury lay-offs, but Wesley Fofana, who has been nearing a comeback from a broken leg sustained in pre-season, is unavailable after testing positive for coronavirus.
It is thought the game will come too soon for Ricardo Pereira (hamstring), while Jonny Evans, Timothy Castagne and Ryan Bertrand remain sidelined.
EUROPA LEAGUE
Europa League round of 16…
The eight group winners from the UEFA Europa League group stage face the eight winners from the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs.
The fixtures…
Wednesday March 9…
- FC Porto vs Lyon (5.45pm)
- Real Betis vs Eintracht Frankfurt (5.45pm)
Thursday March 10…
- Sevilla vs West Ham (5.45pm)
- Rangers vs Red Star Belgrade (8pm)
- Braga vs Monaco (8pm)
- Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
- Barcelona vs Galatasaray (8pm)
- RB Leipzig vs Spartak Moscow (8pm)
Thursday March 17
- Bayer Leverkusen vs Atalanta (5.45pm)
- Red Star Belgrade vs Rangers (5.45pm)
- Galatasaray vs Barcelona (5.45pm)
- Monaco vs Braga (5.45pm)
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs Real Betis (8pm)
- Lyon vs FC Porto (8pm)
- West Ham United vs Sevilla (8pm)
When is the Europa League quarter-final draw?
The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Sevilla final.
How the quarter-final and semi-final draw works…
The quarter-final and semi-final draws are both ‘open’ so, unlike in the two previous rounds, anyone can face any team in both stages, irrespective of their country of origin or previous fixtures this season.
Each quarter-final tie will be given a number between one and four, with those four balls being used to draw out the semi-final draw that succeeds the last-eight pairings.
Which teams are in the Europa League quarter-final and semi-final draws?
German club RB Leipzig are the only club assured of a place in the Europa League quarter-finals after their last-16 opponents Spartak Moscow were kicked out of European competition in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The rest will be decided after the last-16 stage ties, with West Ham and Rangers flying the British flag in this stage of the competition.
When are the remaining knockout ties?
The first-legs of the quarter-final ties will be played on April 7 with the return fixtures on April 14. The semi-finals will start on April 21 and 27 with the second legs on May 5. The final is on May 18 at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla.
All dates are provisional and subject to change by UEFA.
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Remind me… what is the Europa Conference League?
The Europa Conference League is the third UEFA club competition and runs alongside both the Champions League and Europa League.
The idea behind the Europa Conference League is to give more clubs a taste of European football, particularly sides from countries that struggle to qualify for the other two UEFA competitions. The winners will enter next season’s Europa League group stages.
Tottenham were eliminated after UEFA confirmed their postponed fixture against Rennes would be deemed as a forfeit.
The eight group winners automatically go through to the last 16. Additional knockout round play-offs will then be played before the round of 16 between the eight group runners-up and the third-ranked teams of the Europa League groups.
Europa Conference League round of 16…
The eight winners from the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage face the eight winners from the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs.
The fixtures…
Thursday March 10…
- PAOK Salonika vs AA Gent (5.45pm)
- Partizan Belgrade vs Feyenoord (5.45pm)
- Slavia Prague vs Linz ASK (5.45pm)
- Vitesse Arnhem vs Roma (5.45pm)
- Bodo/Glimt vs AZ Alkmaar (8pm)
- Leicester City vs Rennes (8pm)
- Marseille vs Basel (8pm)
- PSV Eindhoven vs FC Copenhagen (8pm)
Thursday March 17…
- AZ Alkmaar vs Bodo/Glimt (5.45pm)
- Basel vs Marseille (5.45pm)
- FC Copenhagen vs PSV Eindhoven (5.45pm)
- Rennes vs Leicester City (5.45pm)
- AA Gent vs PAOK Salonika (8pm)
- Feyenoord vs Partizan Belgrade (8pm)
- Linz ASK vs Slavia Prague (8pm)
- Roma vs Vitesse Arnhem (8pm)
When is the Europa League Conference quarter-final draw?
The Europa League Conference quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12.30pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Tirana final.
How the quarter-final and semi-final draw works…
The quarter-final and semi-final draws are both ‘open’ so, unlike in the two previous rounds, anyone can face any team in both stages, irrespective of their country of origin or previous fixtures this season.
Each quarter-final tie will be given a number between one and four, with those four balls being used to draw out the semi-final draw that succeeds the last-eight pairings.
When are the remaining knockout ties?
The first legs of the Europa Conference League quarter-finals will take place on April 7, with the second-legs a taking place seven days later. The semi-finals take place on April 21 and May 5, with the final on May 26 at the Arena Kombetare, Tirana, Albania.
All dates are provisional and subject to change by UEFA.
