Europa League fixtures on Thursday: West Ham vs Sevilla (8pm), Crvena Zvezda vs Rangers (5.45pm); Europa Conference League fixtures: Rennes vs Leicester (5.45pm); quarter-final and semi-final draws on March 18
Thursday 17 March 2022 13:38, UK
As the 2021/22 Europa League and Europa Conference League round of 16 second legs approach, we bring you the state of play, upcoming fixtures, team news and the schedule for the remainder of the tournaments...
The Europa League last-16 stage comes to a conclusion on Thursday, with Rangers and West Ham enduring opposite first-leg fortunes last week.
David Moyes' Hammers have plenty of work to do after losing their first-leg 1-0 away at Sevilla - though the Premier League side have home advantage for the all-important return fixture on Thursday.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers, meanwhile, have one foot in the last eight after dispatching Red Star Belgrade 3-0 at Ibrox. Only an incredible Serbian slump would deny the Glasgow club from continuing their European journey,
The Europa Conference League last-16 stage also continues on Thursday night, with Leicester City holding a 2-0 advantage over free-scoring Rennes.
Here's all you need to know...
West Ham have confirmed that Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell, who both went off injured against Aston Villa on Sunday, are back in light training and will be assessed ahead of kick-off against Sevilla.
Moyes also confirmed in his pre-match press conference for the match that Jarrod Bowen will not be fit until after the international beak.
The Hammers will be desperate to get both Antonio and Bowen in their matchday squad, given they are their two top goalscorers this season.
Rangers expect to have a strong squad for Thursday's Europa League match away to Red Star Belgrade as Van Bronckhorst's side bid to protect their 3-0 first-leg advantage.
Scott Arfield is set to return after missing the last two matches, meaning Ianis Hagi and Steven Davis are the only absentees alongside those who are not registered to play in the competition.
"We have only two players not available through injury - Hagi and Davis - plus the ones who are not eligible to play in the Europa League," said Van Bronckhorst. "The others will all train today before we travel."
Leicester will include Wesley Fofana in their squad for their Europa Conference League trip to Rennes.
The defender has not featured since breaking his leg in pre-season last summer but will travel for the last-16 second-leg trip, with the Foxes 2-0 ahead.
Danny Ward has undergone knee surgery and is out for several weeks and Jamie Vardy (knee), Jonny Evans (hamstring), Timothy Castagne (thigh) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) are out.
The eight group winners from the UEFA Europa League group stage face the eight winners from the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs.
Thursday March 17
The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Sevilla final.
The quarter-final and semi-final draws are both 'open' so, unlike in the two previous rounds, anyone can face any team in both stages, irrespective of their country of origin or previous fixtures this season.
Each quarter-final tie will be given a number between one and four, with those four balls being used to draw out the semi-final draw that succeeds the last-eight pairings.
German club RB Leipzig are the only club assured of a place in the Europa League quarter-finals after their last-16 opponents Spartak Moscow were kicked out of European competition in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The rest will be decided after the last-16 stage ties, with West Ham and Rangers flying the British flag in this stage of the competition.
The first-legs of the quarter-final ties will be played on April 7 with the return fixtures on April 14. The semi-finals will start on April 21 and 27 with the second legs on May 5. The final is on May 18 at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla.
All dates are provisional and subject to change by UEFA.
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.
The eight winners from the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage face the eight winners from the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs.
Thursday March 17...
The Europa League Conference quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12.30pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Tirana final.
How the quarter-final and semi-final draw works...
The quarter-final and semi-final draws are both 'open' so, unlike in the two previous rounds, anyone can face any team in both stages, irrespective of their country of origin or previous fixtures this season.
Each quarter-final tie will be given a number between one and four, with those four balls being used to draw out the semi-final draw that succeeds the last-eight pairings.
The first legs of the Europa Conference League quarter-finals will take place on April 7, with the second-legs a taking place seven days later. The semi-finals take place on April 21 and May 5, with the final on May 26 at the Arena Kombetare, Tirana, Albania.
All dates are provisional and subject to change by UEFA.
