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 League quarter-final draw
Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham United
Ooof, that’s a brutal tie for the Hammers.
Europa League quarter-final draw
Milan v Roma
A tasty Italian derby to kick us off.
Liverpool lead Leverkusen as favourites to win Europa League
Xabi Alonso agrees.
Europa League quarter-final draw
Here we go then, the draw is almost upon us. Today’s special draw guest is the handsome face of Fernando Llorente. A dreamboat.
Liverpool lead Leverkusen as favourites to win Europa League
Xabi Alonso agrees.
Liverpool lead Leverkusen as favourites to win Europa League
The bookies are in no doubt over who are the favourites to win the Europa League. Liverpool are in the hunt for four trophies, having already won the Carabao Cup, and this competition might just be their most likely source of more silverware.
Leverkusen, though, are on an extraordinary unbeaten streak of 37 games and are almost certain to win the Bundesliga. No one will want to face them in the quarter-finals. It would make some good #narrative if Xabi Alonso was drawn against the club he has been so heavily linked with.
Liverpool 6/5
Leverkusen 3/1
Milan 6/1
West Ham 12/1
Roma 12/1
Atalanta 14/1
Marseille 20/1
Benfica 20/1
via oddschecher
How they got here: Kudus scores stunner as five-star West Ham ease through
David Moyes took the handbrake off West Ham and watched them race into the last eight of the Europa League with a 5-0 win over Freiburg.
Hammers boss Moyes uncharacteristically named an attacking line-up in a bid to repair the damage of the 1-0 first-leg defeat in Germany last week.
He was rewarded with a sparkling display as goals from Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Cresswell and two from Mohammed Kudus – including a sensational solo effort – secured a 5-1 aggregate win and a place in a European quarter-final for a third-successive season.
Full story:
Kudus scores stunner as five-star West Ham ease to Europa League quarter-finals
Hammers boss Moyes uncharacteristically named an attacking line-up in a bid to repair the damage of the 1-0 first-leg defeat in Germany last week
How they got here: Liverpool crush Sparta Prague to progress
Jurgen Klopp’s combination of youth and experience was too much for the visitors as Liverpool completed an 11-2 aggregate win with six more goals at Anfield.
Full story, by Richard Jolly:
Liverpool’s old and new combine in whirlwind start to forge Jurgen Klopp’s legacy
Liverpool 6-1 (11-2) Sparta Prague: Jurgen Klopp’s combination of youth and experience was too much for the visitors
Europa League quarter-final draw
Now our attention turns to the Europa League quarter-final draw, around 20 minutes away.
Liverpool and West Ham saw off Sparta Prague and Freiburg respectively last night to earn their spots in the last eight.
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