We’re racing through the football season and the UEFA Europa League teams have been whittled down to the last 16. The draw was held on Friday 24 February and we now know who is playing whom on their hopeful path to the final on 31 May in Budapest, Hungary.
The Round of 16 fixtures begin with the first legs of the 2-leg ties on Thursday 9 March (kick-off times in local time zone):
- Union Berlin vs Union Saint-Gilloise (18:45)
- Leverkusen vs Ferencváros (18:45)
- Sporting CP vs Arsenal (17:45)
- Roma vs Real Sociedad (18:45)
- Sevilla vs Fenerbahçe (21:00)
- Juventus vs Freiburg(21:00)
- Man United vs Betis (20:00)
- Shakhtar vs Feyenoord (21:00 to be played in Warsaw)
The second legs are the following week on Thursday 16 March:
- Fenerbahçe vs Sevilla (20:45)
- Freiburg vs Juventus (18:45)
- Betis vs Man United (18:45)
- Feyenoord vs Shakhtar (18:45)
- Union Saint-Gilloise vs Union Berlin(21:00)
- Ferencváros vs Leverkusen (21:00)
- Arsenal vs Sporting CP (20:00)
- Real Sociedad vs Roma (21:00)
Many of the fixtures are already on sale with tickets from official and secondary sellers available.
This campaign has seen some entertaining matches. Sevilla just hung on to make it through to the last 16 3-2 on aggregate against PSV Eindhoven. Di Maria scored a hat-trick to seal Juventus’ place in the Round of 16. Manchester United’s Antony helped complete a memorable comeback in the second half of their second leg against the daunting Barcelona.
All this leads to some juicy matchups in the Round of 16. Will the 2 remaining old English giants – whose recent form has been winning them success domestically – make it past their respective Iberian opponents? After having 15 points deducted in their Serie A campaign, will the Old Lady make Europe the absolution? Can the loyal fans of Union Berlin make this a fairytale season? Can Shakhtar harness the pride and resilience of their region to make the quarterfinals? Will Ferencváros pull off a miracle run to make the final in the Puskás Aréna a home game?
Take a look at the Europa League fixtures here!