Europa League last 16 draw: Brighton to face Roma, Liverpool tackle Sparta Prague, West Ham meet Freiburg

Brighton will take on Roma in the pick of the ties in the UEFA Europa League last 16, with Liverpool tackling Sparta Prague and West Ham facing a familiar foe in Freiburg.

Rangers also face a tricky challenge against Portuguese heavyweights Benfica.

All four British teams were seeded for the draw in Nyon and will play the second leg at home.

Ties take place on March 7 and 14.

Three-time competition winners Liverpool were the first British side to come out of the hat.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, bidding to send off the German manager with more European silverware in his final season, topped their group ahead of Toulouse, Union SG and LASK.

Sparta were runners-up to Rangers in the group stage, before earning their spot in the last 16 with a dramatic play-off victory over Galatasaray.

Roberto De Zerbi faces a trip back to his native Italy as Brighton’s first-ever European campaign continues with a trip to Roma.

The Italian side, now led by former midfielder Daniele De Rossi following Jose Mourinho’s sacking in January, finished as runners-up last season, losing on penalties to Sevilla in the final.

But they made no such mistake when they squeezed past Feyenoord in a shoot-out to reach the last 16 on Thursday night.

Brighton earned an automatic spot among the seeded sides after impressively topping the so-called ‘group of death’ which included Marseille, Ajax and AEK Athens.

West Ham will take on a familiar opponent in Bundesliga outfit Freiburg, who they beat home and away during the group stage.

The Hammers claimed a 2-1 win in Germany in gameweek two, before finishing off their group-stage fixtures with a 2-0 victory to top Group A ahead of Olympiacos.

Christian Streich’s side, who sit eighth in the Bundesliga standings currently, knocked out Lens in the play-off round, Michael Gregoritsch scoring an extra-time winner.

Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers impressed in the group stage by winning their section, but they were handed a difficult draw against Portuguese giants Benfica.

The Lisbon club dropped down to the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Real Sociedad and Inter, before beating Toulouse 2-1 on aggregate in the play-offs.

Xabi Alonso’s high-flying Bayer Leverkusen, the only team to finish the group stage with a perfect six wins from six, are up against Qarabag.

Last season’s Champions League semi-finalists AC Milan will take on Slavia Prague.

Villarreal, Europa League winners in 2021, will face French giants Marseille, while Sporting CP face Atalanta.

The Europa League final will be played at the Dublin Arena in the Irish capital on May 22, 2024.

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