Europa League draw LIVE: Liverpool and West Ham learn quarter-final fate
Liverpool have drawn Italian side Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals while West Ham face Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen
Liverpool will face Italian opposition in the Europa League quarter-finals in the form of Atalanta, while fellow Premier League side West Ham will take on one of the toughest teams remaining in the competition – Bayer Leverkusen – after the draw took place at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon this afternoon.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are the slight favourites to win the tournament after thrashing Sparta Prague 11-2 in the last 16 and will play Atalanta in the quarter-finals with the first leg at Anfield, while West Ham overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to down Freiburg this week but now face another German side, with the mammoth task of Xabi Alonso’s all-conquering Leverkusen in front of them.
The first quarter-final drawn out was a tasty all-Italian clash between AC Milan and Roma, where the sides will renew a rivalry that has seen them both climb into Serie A’s top five this season, while Benfica of Portugal and French side Marseille will also do battle for a spot in the semi-finals.
If Liverpool were to beat Atalanta, they would take on the winner of Benfica-Marseille for a place in the final, while the Hammers’ reward for upsetting the odds against a Leverkusen side that haven’t lost a single game this season would be a semi-final against AC Milan or Roma.
Follow live updates from the Europa League draw below.
Europa Conference League draw
The quarter-final draw for UEFA’s third European competition, the Europa Conference League, is coming right up!
The 8 teams involved are:
- Aston Villa
- Club Brugge
- Fenerbahce
- Fiorentina
- Lille
- Olympiacos
- PAOK
- Viktoria Plzen
Here we go....
Recap: Europa League draw
Liverpool were drawn against Italian side Atalanta in the last eight of the Europa League.
The sides’ only previous encounters were in the Champions League group stage in 2020-21, with the Reds beating Atalanta 5-0 in Bergamo but then losing 2-0 to them at Anfield.
West Ham face a tough challenge against Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in 37 matches in all competitions this season under their highly-rated coach Xabi Alonso.
Liverpool and West Ham cannot meet until the final in Dublin after the semi-final draw also kept the Premier League teams apart.
The last-eight ties will be played on April 11 and 18, with the final scheduled for Wednesday, May 22.
Recap: Champions League draw
Paris St Germain and Barcelona will go head to head in the last eight, as will Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
The quarter-final first legs will be played on April 9 and 10, with the second legs the following week. The semi-finals take place on April 30 and May 1, with the return legs on May 7 and 8. Wembley will host the final on Saturday, June 1.
Recap: Champions League draw
City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain is relishing the clash with Real and said: “We have been playing them a while now in the last few seasons. We all remember when we beat them in the semi-final last year - it was amazing. Last season when we played them at home in the second leg we played a top, top game.
“We know how strong they are - they are top of the league. They have good players, play good football and they have one of the best players in the world.”
Asked if City could retain their title, Begiristain said: “Yes, why not? We are doing very well in this competition and winning the games. Mentally, we are strong and top in confidence.
“We are going to need it to beat Real Madrid. We are confident - in the last years we’ve been fighting for this competition and last year we won it. We hope we can keep the winning run going.”
Recap: Champions League draw
A reminder of what happened earlier in the Champions League draw, where Manchester City were handed a Champions League quarter-final blockbuster against 14-time European champions Real Madrid.
The teams have met at the semi-final stage in the last two seasons, with City hammering Real 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium last season on their way to winning their first Champions League title.
Arsenal have been drawn against six-time European champions Bayern Munich, whose star striker Harry Kane is the former talisman of their bitter north London rivals Tottenham.
The Gunners have lost each of their last three meetings with Bayern 5-1, so will be hoping for much better this time around.
City and Arsenal will meet in the semi-finals if they can negotiate their tricky quarter-final ties.
Conference League draw
So that concludes the Champions League and Europa League draws, with just the Conference League to come, where Aston Villa have made it to the last eight.
Europa League – key dates
Teams drawn first will host the first leg of the knockout ties.
Quarter-final ties:
First legs: 11 April
Second legs: 18 April
Semi-final ties:
First legs: 2 May
Second legs: 9 May
The final:
22 May, Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Europa League draw in full
So, here are our quarter-finals:
- AC Milan v Roma
- Liverpool v Atalanta
- Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham
- Benfica v Marseille
And the semi-final line-up:
- Benfica or Marseille v Liverpool or Atalanta
- Milan or Roma v Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham United
Europa League semi-final draw
The semi-final draw sees Liverpool get a pretty good route to the final in Dublin. Going by the odds before the draw, it doesn’t get much easier than that for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
That of course means that it doesn’t get much harder for West Ham, other than the fact that they would not meet Liverpool until the final. David Moyes’s team are going to have to do it the hard way.
Benfica or Marseille v Liverpool or Atalanta
Milan or Roma v Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham United
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