Europa League 2023/24: Who Liverpool can get in the quarter-final & when is the draw

Liverpool are into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, having downed Sparta Prague emphatically across their two-legged last-16 tie.

The Reds won 5-1 last Thursday in epet Arena, with goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai, as well as a double from Darwin Nunez. 

On Thursday, they took no time at all to rule out a comeback. The Reds were 4-0 up inside 14 minutes, eventually winning 6-1 and 11-2 on aggregate.

With the last-16 tie wrapped up, attention will then turn to the quarter-finals. The draw for the last eight takes place later this week. 

When are the Europa League quarter finals?

The Europa League quarter-final AND semi-final draws will be held at 13:00 CET [12:00 GMT] on Friday, 15 March.

The nominated "home side" for the final will also be decided.

The first legs of the quarter-final ties will be held on 11 April with the return legs taking place a week later on 18 April. 

The Europa League semi-finals are scheduled for 2 May and 9 May, and this year’s Europa League final will take place at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on 22 May. 

Ties will be decided by most goals over two legs, and there are no longer away goals in effect with that rule scrapped in 2021/22.

The weekend before the quarters, Liverpool play Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League and in between legs, on 14 April, they host Crystal Palace in the same competition. 

There is a Premier League game against Fulham scheduled for the weekend of 20 April, but the FA Cup semi-finals will take place instead that weekend, should Liverpool get past United in the quarter-finals. 

It promises to be a busy spell for the Reds as they seek to achieve a quadruple, fighting for honours in the league, the FA Cup and Europa League with the Carabao Cup already in the bag. 

Klopp will be hoping to sign off as Liverpool manager with another European trophy in his cabinet. 

And the Reds are heavily fancied to take home the prize this season, favoured with the bookmakers ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan and Roma. 

For the quarters, Liverpool can play any of the remaining sides, including potential Premier League opponents West Ham United and one coached by a very familiar face. 

Who could Liverpool play in the Europa League quarter finals?

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen needed a last-gasp brace from Patrik Schick to rescue a 3-2 win at home against Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in the second leg, duly preserving their record-breaking unbeaten run. 

But the Bundesliga table-toppers will be very happy they finished off a team that caused them enormous trouble in Qarabag. They're through - and amongst the favourites.

They are the team to avoid at this stage of the competition with some of Europe’s best-performing players in their ranks, including wing backs Alex Grimaldo and the Liverpool-linked Jeremie Frimpong, as well as Germany schemer Florian Wirtz. 

Milan, meanwhile, beat the other Prague side in the draw, Slavia Prague. They are out of the Serie A title race and are intent on claiming Europa glory this term. 

Brighton were demolished by Daniele de Rossi’s Roma at the Stadio Olimpico last week, but did claim a bit of revenge with a 1-0 win at home. The Italians are through, however.

Their form has completely turned around since the departure of Jose Mourinho in January and things are looking up in the Italian capital. 

Marseille enjoyed a similar scoreline against Villarreal at the Stade Velodrome in their first leg, winning 4-0 with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang hitting a brace ahead of the return in Spain. That meant that losing 3-1 in Spain didn't cost them and they're in the quarters.

Sporting CP, coached by another reported Liverpool managerial target Ruben Amorim, are the shock exit. They drew their first leg with Atalanta 1-1 at home and then lost in Italy. They're out, Atalanta march on.

West Ham, winners of last season’s Conference League, were 1-0 down to Freiburg having lost away from home in the first leg. But they mounted a second-leg comeback and are through to the quarters.

Rangers, meanwhile, enjoyed a great result in Portugal last week, drawing 2-2 with Benfica. They couldn't repeat the magic at home, however, losing 1-0 to the Portuguese giants.

Here's an easy-to-grasp list of who Liverpool could face in the quarter finals:

• Bayer Leverkusen
• AC Milan
• AS Roma
• Atalanta
• Marseille
• West Ham United
• Benfica