Europa Conference League draw LIVE: West Ham United discover last-16 opponents
West Ham will also find out who they face in the Europa Conference League knockout rounds
The draw for the Europa League last-16 takes place this morning as the group stage winners are paired against the play-off winners in the knockout rounds.
Arsenal were among the eight clubs to top their respective Europa League group so are seeded for the draw which takes place at 11am.
Manchester United are also through after defeating Barcelona in the two-legged play-off. Erik ten Hag’s men played out a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp in the opening leg before coming from behind to win 2-1 at Old Trafford last night. Fred cancelled out Robert Lewandowski’s penalty before Antony came off the bench to send the Red Devils into the last-16.
As United came through the play-offs they are unseeded for this draw meaning they will face one of the group winners – except Arsenal who are from the same country – in the next stage of the competition.
Following the Europa League draw will be the draw for the Europa Conference League last-16. West Ham are involved in that one after finishing top of their group and despite struggles in the Premier League this year the Hammers have been solid competitors in Europe.
Follow along for the Europa League and Europa Conference League last-16 draws:
Belief is growing that Manchester United’s season will end with multiple glories
It was a comparison designed to go down well with the Manchester United support. The scoreline from Anfield had scarcely escaped their notice but Erik ten Hag felt he would reference it anyway. “Barcelona are the leader of La Liga, eight points ahead of Real Madrid,” he said. “We have seen what Real Madrid did this week.”
There has been an Anglo-Spanish double bill between the two most decorated clubs in each country. Real Madrid scored five at Anfield. Barcelona exited the Europa League at Old Trafford.
And if that reflects the very different halves of their record, departing two European competitions while conceding an average of two goals a game while runaway leaders in their homeland after letting in only seven all season, it scarcely detracted from the feat.
“We have the potential to beat good teams,” Ten Hag said. “We can beat [Manchester] City, we can beat Arsenal, we can beat Liverpool.”
Indeed, his United have beaten each. Defeating the probable Spanish champions, however, ranked as his biggest win so far. “Oh yes, I think so,” said Ten Hag.
Belief is growing that Manchester United’s season will end with multiple glories
Faith is growing that something special may be taking shape at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag
The Europa Conference League draw
David Moyes will be pleased with that draw.
The West Ham boss must be looking at this competition as one his team can win, it’ll be a big scalp if the Hammers bring a European trophy home this season.
All three English sides will be fairly pleased. Arsenal have the trickiest tie as Sporting CP have progressed from each of their previous six ties against English sides in the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup/Europa League.
The Europa Conference League draw
Here is the Europa Conference League draw in full:
AEK Larnaca vs West Ham
Fiorentina vs Sivasspor
Lazio vs AZ Alkmaar
Lech Poznan vs Djurgardens
Basel vs Slovan Bratislava
Sheriff Tiraspol vs Nice
Anderlecht vs Villarreal
Gent vs Istanbul Basaksehir
The Europa Conference League draw
Sheriff Tiraspol are drawn against Nice,
Anderlecht take on Villarreal
And finally, Gent will face Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Europa Conference League draw
Polish side Lech Poznan take on Djurgardens,
Basel face Slovan Bratislava.
The Europa Conference League draw
Fiorentina are drawn against Sivasspor,
Lazio will face AZ Alkmaar.
The Europa Conference League draw
AEK Larnaca are the fist team out of the pot and they face West Ham United.
That’s a nice draw for David Moyes’ side.
The Europa Conference League draw
Vladimir Smicer, a former Czech professional footballer who played as a midfielder, is introduce to draw out the balls for the last-16 fixtures.
The Europa Conference League draw
All the remaining teams are introduced in a video that rounds up the group stages before Deputy General Secretary of Uefa, Giorgio Marchetti, is introduced to oversee the draw once again.
The Europa Conference League draw
Now it’s time for the second European draw of the day as we find out the fixtures for the Europa Conference League round of 16. Here’s a reminder of which teams are in the draw:
Seeded: West Ham United (ENG), Nice (FRA), AZ (NED), Slovan Bratislava (SVK), Villarreal (ESP), Djurgardens IF (SWE), Istanbul Basaksehir (TUR), Sivasspor (TUR)
Unseeded: Anderlecht (BEL), Lazio (ITA), Gent (BEL), Lech Poznan (POL), AEK Larnaca (CYP), Sheriff Tiraspol (MOL), Fiorentina (ITA), Basel (SUI)
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