Rangers beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in first leg of Europa League knockout round play-offs; Celtic lose 3-1 to Bodo/Glimt and Leicester beat Randers 4-1 in Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs first leg; Round-of-16 draws to take place on Friday
Thursday 24 February 2022 22:44, UK
As the 2021/22 Europa League and Europa Conference League return for the knockout round play-off stage second legs, we bring you the state of play, upcoming fixtures and the schedule for the remainder of the tournaments.
The group stage of the Europa League came to a conclusion in early December, with Celtic and Leicester both dropping into the Europa Conference League as a result.
There are some big-hitters who missed out on reaching the last 16 of the Champions League who have joined the Europa League at the newly-formed knockout round play-off stage, with Rangers taking a 4-2 lead against Borussia Dortmund into the second leg at Ibrox.
Erling Haaland has not travelled to Glasgow with the Borussia Dortmund squad for their knockout round play-off stage second leg with Rangers.
The Norwegian striker - who has scored 28 goals for club and country this season - has been out for weeks with adductor problems.
Rangers defender Leon Balogun, who has recovered from a knock, was asked if that was a bonus for him and Rangers and said: "Yes and no.
"In these competitions, you want to compete against the best and he is one of the best at the moment. So from that perspective, it is a sad thing.
"But if you look at what he means to Dortmund then surely it is a disadvantage to them, he is going to weaken them up front a little bit but then again they have enough to compensate, not at the same level probably - so mixed feelings. But definitely not going to complain about it."
Dortmund left on Wednesday morning without Haaland, but Thomas Meunier did make the plane having returned from a knock.
Rangers will also be missing a key player with Aaron Ramsey unable to recover from a minor knock which ruled him out of their match against Dundee United last Sunday.
Gers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst otherwise has a fully fit squad apart from Ianis Hagi, who was ruled out for the season with a knee injury last month.
Van Bronckhorst, whose side lead 4-2 from the first leg of the knockout round play-off, said: "Aaron won't be in the squad tomorrow and apart from him and Ianis (Hagi) we have everyone available for the match."
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has reported no fresh injury concerns following their Premiership win over Dundee last Sunday as they bid to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Bodo/Glimt. January signing Yosuke Ideguchi is not registered to play in the Europa Conference League.
Brendan Rodgers has Harvey Barnes available for selection when Leicester, leading 4-1, take on Randers. The winger has recovered from a hamstring injury while defender Wesley Fofana returned to training after suffering a broken leg in pre-season, although he is still some weeks from a return to competitive action.
Ricardo Pereira is likely to be left at home for the tie as part of his recovery plan from a broken leg. The 28-year-old full-back has played 90 minutes in the past two Premier League matches, but has been kept out of Leicester's European games.
Starting from this season, the Europa League group stage has been truncated to eight groups. Instead of a round of 32, the eight second-placed teams will meet one of the eight sides finishing third in their respective Champions League groups in a two-legged play-off round in February.
Thursday February 17
Thursday February 24
Group winners who have already qualified
Plus the eight winners from the Europa League knockout round play-offs.
Draw scheduled to take place on Friday February 25 at 11am in Nyon, Switzerland.
First legs scheduled to be played on 10 March and the second legs will be played on 17 March.
Draw scheduled to take place on Friday March 18.
First legs scheduled to be played on Thursday April 7; Second legs on Thursday April 14.
Draw scheduled to take place on Friday March 18.
First legs scheduled to be played on Thursday April 28; Second legs on Thursday May 5.
Scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 18 at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla.
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.
Thursday February 17
Thursday February 24
Group winners who have already qualified
Plus the eight winners from the Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs.
The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 25 February at 12pm.
First legs scheduled to be played on 10 March and the second legs will be played on 17 March.
How the Round of 16 draw works
The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on 18 March.
First legs scheduled to be played on 7 April and the second legs will be played on 14 April.
The draw for the semi-finals will be held on 18 March after the quarter-final draw.
First legs scheduled to be played on 28 April and the second legs will be played on 5 May.
Scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 25 at the Arena Kombetare, Tirana.
