Europa League: Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen Discover Challenging Round-of-16 Opponents
In an eagerly awaited draw, Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen have learned their opponents for the round of 16 in the Europa League. The upcoming knockout phase promises thrilling matchups, adding to the excitement of the competition.
The draw results are as follows:
- Sparta Prague vs Liverpool
- Marseille vs Villarreal
- Roma vs Brighton
- Benfica vs Rangers
- Freiburg vs West Ham
- Sporting vs Atalanta
- AC Milan vs Slavia Prague
- Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen
The round of 16 will unfold over two legs in March.
First legs are scheduled for March 7th, followed by the second legs a week later on March 14th. However, due to a potential city clash between Benfica and Sporting, one of their first-leg matches will take place on Tuesday, March 5th.
In the draw process, the 16 teams were divided into seeded and unseeded groups. Seeded teams, comprising group-stage winners, were not eligible to face each other, and the same rule applied to unseeded teams, consisting of first knockout stage winners.
Furthermore, teams from the same national federation were kept apart in the draw, ensuring diverse and competitive matchups in the round of 16.