UEFA Europa League Round of 16: What to Look Out for in the First Legs
The remaining teams in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League will be beginning to dream of May’s final in Bilbao as eight intriguing round of 16 ties get under way.
UEFA.com previews all the action ahead of the first legs on Thursday 6 March.
AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham
Tottenham will be all too aware of the stern test that lies ahead after they only narrowly edged a closely-fought 1-0 win over AZ in the league phase in October. The Dutch side were highly impressive as they overcame a heavily-fancied Galatasaray with a 6-3 aggregate win in the knockout phase play-offs, while another fascinating addition to the narrative pits in-form AZ forward Troy Parrott against his former side.
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
These two sides have become familiar opponents in the Europa League, with Manchester United winning a round of 32 tie in the 2020/21 season 4-0 on aggregate before each claimed a 1-0 away victory in the group stage of the following campaign. La Real demonstrated the firepower at their disposal with a 7-3 aggregate triumph over Midtjylland in the knockout phase play-offs, but United remain the only unbeaten side in this season’s competition.
FCSB vs Lyon
European Cup winners in 1986, FCSB have never gone all the way in this competition, their best performance reaching the 2005/06 UEFA Cup semi-finals. The Romanian champions took a step closer to surpassing that by defeating PAOK and now come up against a Lyon team who were only beaten once in their eight league phase games. After being knocked out of the quarter-finals in their most recent appearance in 2022/23, Les Gones will be hoping for better this time round.
Fenerbahçe vs Rangers
A master of European knockout football, Fenerbahçe coach José Mourinho took a step closer to reaching a seventh major UEFA final after guiding his team to a 5-2 aggregate play-off win against Anderlecht. He will now face a first game against Rangers, who squeezed into an automatic spot in the round of 16 after finishing eighth in the league phase on goal difference. Mourinho will be hoping Fenerbahçe’s famously passionate home support can inspire a first-leg win.
Viktoria Plzeň vs Lazio
After reaching the Conference League quarter-finals last season Plzeň are hungry for more European adventures, and roared into the round of 16 after overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to defeat Ferencváros 3-1 on aggregate in the play-offs. Their next test is a Lazio team that finished top of the league phase with 19 points with the Italian side are looking to win a first UEFA trophy since the 1999 Super Cup.
Bodø/Glimt vs Olympiacos
The Norwegian champions are fast becoming one of the big stories of this season’s competition and they progressed to this stage after winning a thriller which required extra time against Twente in the knockout phase play-offs. Olympiacos, though, are eyeing consecutive European trophies following last season’s Conference League triumph, and have this season’s top scorer leading the line in Ayoub El Kaabi, who managed seven goals in the league phase
Ajax vs Frankfurt
A heavyweight meeting between two former champions, 1992 winners Ajax are yet to show their sparkling best in this season’s competition and required extra time to edge past Union SG in the play-offs. Frankfurt won the 1980 UEFA Cup and 2022 Europa League and finished fifth in the league phase, but have lost top scorer Omar Marmoush, who joined Manchester City in January. Will they be able to replace his goals?
Roma vs Athletic Club
After reaching the final in 2022/23 and the semi-finals in 2023/24, Roma will be determined to ensure this is finally the season that they win their maiden Europa League title. But they will be facing an Athletic Club who may also believe in destiny, with the final to take place in their home stadium at San Mamés. An enthralling round of 16 tie lies ahead between two teams who prioritise attacking football.
Road to Bilbao
Round of 16: 6 & 13 March
Quarter-finals: 10 & 17 April
Semi-finals: 1 & 8 May
Final: 21 May
