Europa Conference League round of 16 first legs: Game-by-game preview

Ajax vs Aston Villa is among the early games as the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 begins. Get the lowdown on every game.

Thursday 7 March

Ajax vs Aston Villa

Ajax boss John van't Schip was not sparing in his praise for Aston Villa after the round of 16 draw, calling the Birmingham team "the strongest side left in the competition" and touting Unai Emery as "an experienced coach who knows what it takes to win trophies in Europe". Reliant on young talent, the current Ajax side have not always been at their best this season, but former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson will hope to make his immense amount of Premier League experience bear on his less experienced team-mates.

Did you know?
Ajax (1971, 1972, 1973, 1995) and Aston Villa (1982) are the only former European Cup winners left in this season's Europa Conference League.

Olympiacos vs Maccabi Tel Aviv

Hired in February, Spanish coach José Luis Mendilibar has overseen a marked upturn in Olympiacos's fortunes and may be just the tonic they need as they look to end a five-match wait for a win against Israeli opponents (D2 L3). Defender David Carmo underlined the good vibes when he said: "In football, to get results, you need to have a really good family in the dressing room – and we have that." Robbie Keane's Maccabi have clearly established a similarly positive group vibe: they are on a four-game winning run in Europe.

Did you know?
The sides met in the 2010/11 Europa League third qualifying round; Olympiacos progressed on away goals, winning 2-1 at home but losing 1-0 in the return leg.

Sturm Graz vs LOSC Lille

The Austrian side have made it to the spring phase of a UEFA competition for the first time since 2000/01, and breezed through the last round with a 5-1 aggregate win against Slovan Bratislava. Lille look like sterner opponents on paper, but Paulo Fonseca's Dogues have been warned by sporting director Sylvain Armand to take Sturm seriously. "We'll have to be careful," he said. "We have to do our best to go as far as possible in a competition that is close to our hearts."

Did you know?
Sturm are unbeaten in three home matches against French sides (W2 D1).

Molde vs Club Brugge

"They will be two tough and tight matches, but they are perhaps the team in the competition that we know the most about," said Molde boss Erling Moe after his side were drawn against a side coached by Norwegian Ronny Delia. Their players' Norwegian league experience might explain how Club Brugge managed to beat Bodø/Glimt home and away in this season's group stage, but Molde forward Fredrik Gulbrandsen said: "We have got into a good rhythm now and are feeling confident."

Did you know?
Molde are unbeaten in their three previous home games with Belgian sides (W1 D2) but have also lost all three of their previous fixtures in Belgium.

Maccabi Haifa vs Fiorentina

A 2-0 home win against Juventus in last season's UEFA Champions League has shown Maccabi Haifa they have what it takes to stand up to Italian opponents, but Fiorentina were undoubtedly not an easy draw for Mesaye Degu's charges, who have lost only once in all competitions since early December (W18 D6). Vincenzo Italiano's side were runners-up in last season's Europa Conference League final in Prague, and they made it through this season's group stage unbeaten: W3 D3.

Did you know?
This will be Fiorentina's fifth trip to Budapest (W2 D1 L1), and their second successive European game in the Hungarian capital: they drew 1-1 at Ferencváros on Matchday 6.

Dinamo Zagreb vs PAOK

Midfielder Martin Baturina's spirits were high after Dinamo's play-off success against Real Betis, when he told UEFA.com: "I believe Dinamo go even further in Europe, but I don't want to jinx us." To do so they will need to get the better of PAOK, who beat the Croatian champions 1-0 home and away in the 2010/11 Europa League. The Greek side were the joint-top scorers in this season's Europa Conference League group stage with 16 goals having eliminated Dinamo's Croatian rivals Hajduk Split in the third qualifying round.

Did you know?
Dinamo are without a win against Greek opposition in their last eight meetings (D2 L6), a run that stretches back to a 5-1 defeat of Olympiacos in the UEFA Cup first round in 1977.

Union SG vs Fenerbahçe

Having spent a short time at Antalyaspor during his playing career, Alexander Blessin felt he had some idea of what to expect from Fenerbahçe. "There will be a great atmosphere," said Union SG's German boss. "I also think that there will be plenty of Turkish fans in Belgium." Visiting coach İsmail Kartal, meanwhile, will be able to get some local knowledge from Fenerbahçe's Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi, who was born in Union SG's home city of Brussels.

Did you know?
Fenerbahçe are unbeaten in their last six matches against Belgian opposition (W4 D2).

Servette vs Viktoria Plzeň

This is Servette's first European last-16 tie in 22 years, but while fans are celebrating, coach René Weiler has been wondering how his side can maintain their push for the Swiss title, Swiss Cup and Europa Conference League with modest resources: "I'm a little nervous when I look at the upcoming games with our squad, which isn't very big." With the top two in Czechia having a title race of their own, third-ranked Plzeñ may be able to put a little more emphasis on their mission to be quarter-finalists in a UEFA competition for the first time.

Did you know?
Plzeñ were the only team to finish with a 100% record in the group stage, conceding just one goal to qualify for this stage of a UEFA competition for the first time since reaching the Europa League round of 16 in 2017/18.