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

Liverpool, Leverkusen, West Ham and Rangers all re-enter the fray as the UEFA Europa League round of 16 gets under way. Get the lowdown on every game.

Thursday 7 March

Sparta Praha vs Liverpool

Top of the Czech table, Sparta have won 12 of their last 14 games (D1 L1) and were not cowed by the prospect of facing Liverpool. As their Danish coach Brian Priske put it: "I think every sportsman believes that they can win any game, but of course we are also realistic and know very well that Liverpool are one of the big giants in international football." The sides have met before, in the 2010/11 Europa League round of 32. They drew 0-0 in Prague and Sparta ran the Reds close at Anfield, but Dirk Kuyt's goal in the 86th minute sealed a 1-0 win and progress for the home side.

Did you know?
Liverpool reaching the Europa League final would be big news in the host city, Dublin; according to a 2020 survey, 29% of all Irish football supporters are Liverpool fans.

Roma vs Brighton

Roma boss Daniele De Rossi and his fellow Italian Roberto Di Zerbi, are close friends, as the latter revealed after the draw. "De Rossi is a friend of mine; Our daughters are great friends and I have great respect for him," said the Brighton manager. "He lives and breathes football like me, he has a big heart, he is a passionate person." Friendships will be put on temporary hold in a game that could feature two of this season's Europa League top scorers: Roma's Romelu Lukaku and Brighton's João Pedro are joint-second in the rankings with six each.

Did you know?
In their first season in European competition, the Seagulls have won their last four continental games without conceding and have yet to lose an away game (W2 D1).

Qarabağ vs Leverkusen

The Azerbaijani champions lost 5-1 away and 1-0 at home to Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen in the group stage, so could be forgiven for not being overjoyed at their round of 16 draw. However, as his side revel in reaching the last 16 of a major European competition for the first time, coach Gurban Gurbanov – who previously visited Leverkusen's training base to study Xabi Alonso's coaching methods – could see the positives. "Great teams like this coming to Baku is something to celebrate for everyone in Azerbaijan who loves football."

Did you know?
Leverkusen were the only side to come through this season's group stage with a 100% record; no other side had won all six group stage games in this competition since Arsenal in 2020/21.

Marseille vs Villarreal

Marseille and Villarreal have both had challenging seasons, but seem to have recovered some bounce with the arrival of their third coaches of the campaign. OM's new boss Jean-Louis Gasset has won his first three games in charge, but is eager to keep his side aiming high. "There are still plenty of matches to go and we can't afford to slack off," he said. Villarreal coach Marcelino, meanwhile, knows Marseille well: he was appointed OM coach in June but left for personal reasons in September after only seven matches (W3 D3 L1).

Did you know?
Marseille's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the seven-goal top scorer in this season's Europa League, and the all-time competition top marksman with 31 goals.

Benfica vs Rangers

"I think it will be the first game since I've been here that we will be underdogs," said Rangers boss Philippe Clement as he weighed up the prospect of this double-header against Benfica, but the Belgian remains optimistic: "With the mentality that there is in this group now, we can beat everybody." In the midst of a hectic domestic campaign, Eagles boss Roger Schmidt has had little time to consider the Rangers game, but saw a significant positive as the season reaches the business end: "What is really pleasing me is the lack of injuries at this stage."

Did you know?
Both of these sides' previous UEFA club competition meetings ended in draws: 3-3 and 2-2 in the 2020/21 Europa League group stage. Benfica got late equalisers in both matches.

Freiburg vs West Ham

After his side followed up a 2-1 home reverse against the Hammers with a 2-0 loss in London on Matchday, Freiburg's Ritsu Doan told UEFA.com: "If you look on the positive side you could say tonight was like a test match ahead of the knockout play-off." In fact, it was a rehearsal for another encounter in the round of 16, with West Ham boss David Moyes perhaps unsurprisingly not devastated at the draw: "There are some huge teams in the competition – top of the English league, top of the German league – so you want to avoid them, but it is a tough game."

Did you know?
Europa Conference League winners last season and European Cup Winners' Cup winners in 1965, West Ham are dreaming of winning their third European trophy.

Milan vs Slavia Praha

Rossoneri boss Stefano Pioli has conceded that the Serie A title may be beyond his side this season after an underwhelming run of recent results, but second place and the Europa League remain very much in his sights: "The game against Slavia will be very important, we are studying them," he said. Slavia's Jindřich Trpišovský will hope his side can avoid being too starstruck as they come to San Siro for the first leg. "For me, they are a Champions League-level team," he said. "It is a great honour for everyone at Slavia to get to play them."

Did you know?
Slavia have yet to avoid defeat in eight UEFA club competition games in Italy (D1 L7) but Milan great Franco Baresi reckoned Trpišovský's team put in "a great performance" despite a 2-0 loss at Roma in this season's group stage.