UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals: What to look out for
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Article summary
José Mourinho's Roma meet their nemesis while Slavia Praha have been paired with the one team their coach wanted to avoid.
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The UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final draw threw up a couple of unwanted reunions and some intriguing sub-plots.
Presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, we pore over the talking points.
Quarter-final ties
Bodø/Glimt (NOR) vs Roma (ITA)
Feyenoord (NED) vs Slavia Praha (CZE)
Marseille (FRA) vs PAOK (GRE)
Leicester City (ENG) vs PSV Eindhoven (NED)
First legs take place on 7 April, with the return fixtures the following Thursday.
New name on a European trophy?
As this is the inaugural season of UEFA's newest club competition, there will be a fresh name on the trophy come 25 May. But could we have a new winner of a major European trophy, full stop?
The quarter-finals pit four teams that have European silverware in their trophy cabinets (Roma, Feyenoord, Marseille and PSV) with four that do not (Bodø/Glimt, Slavia Praha, PAOK and Leicester), so we may soon have a better idea of just how much the UEFA Europa Conference League represents a step into the unknown.
- When is the Europa Conference League final?
- Europa Conference League fixtures and results
- Where to watch the Europa Conference League
Déjà vu for Roma
If Roma fans were unfamiliar with Bodø/Glimt before this season, they need no introduction now. The toothbrush-wielding Norwegian club cleaned up when the Giallorossi ventured to their home near the Arctic Circle during the group stage, the 6-1 scoreline representing José Mourinho's heaviest-ever defeat as coach.
Two weeks later, they proved it was no fluke by earning a point in the Italian capital. Key players Erik Botheim and Patrick Berg have since departed, but Bodø/Glimt have proved there is life after that pair as they dispatched Celtic and AZ Alkmaar.
Goals guaranteed?
Slavia and Feyenoord also met in the group stage, with the Dutch club picking up four points but only courtesy of a last-minute equaliser in the Czech Republic. Slavia coach Jindřich Trpišovský singled out the Dutch side as the draw he wanted to avoid, revealing how impressed he was by Feyenoord's 8-3 aggregate victory over Partizan.
He did not get his wish, but maybe the neutrals did. Slavia's two knockout ties in this campaign have ended 6-4 and 7-5 so goals appear to be pretty much guaranteed.
Key dates
7 & 14 April: Quarter-finals
28 April & 5 May: Semi-finals
25 May: Final (National Arena, Tirana)