Who Will Qualify for the Europa Conference League Last Eight?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
Last Eight Places On the Line in the Europa Conference League
This week sees the start of the Europa Conference League last 16 ties. There are some great games to look out for including Lazio v AZ and AEK Larnaca v West Ham United. Here's the draw for the last 16:
- AEK Larnaca v West Ham United
- Fiorentina v Sivasspor
- Lazio v AZ
- Lech Poznan v Djurgardens
- Basel v Slovan Bratislava
- Sheriff Tiraspol v Nice
- Anderlecht v Villarreal
- Gent v Istanbul Basaksehir
Strong Italian Challenge
IIaly has two representatives in the last 16 of the Europa Conference League. Fiorentina take on Sivasspor and will be hoping for more goals from Arthur Cabral (pictured above) who scored three goals in the last round. They are in the bottom half of Serie A but are in good form at present with recent wins over Verona and at the weekend a 2-1 home victory over Milan.
Fiorentina finished second behind Istanbul Basaksehir in their group but seven points clear of third place. That took them into the knockout play-off round where they beat Braga 7-2 on aggregate including a 4-0 away leg. 10 goals have been scored in their last three home Europa Conference League games. More should be on the way against Sivasspor who are 13th in the Turkish Super Lig and conceded four goals at the weekend.
The other Italian team left in this competition is Lazio who play AZ with the first leg on March 7. They are third in Serie A and have a good chance of qualifying for the 2023/24 Champions League. They've won their last three league games without conceding a goal. That includes winning at leaders Napoli last Friday.
Lazio finished third in their Europa League group though all four teams ended on eight points. Away form is a worry though with no wins so far in European competition this season. Home form is good though with two wins and two draws and eight goals scored. AZ are third in the Dutch Eredevisie. They won a weak group to reach the last 16 but it looks as if Lazio can progress to the last eight.
Hammers Out to Reach the Last Eight
West Ham United were the only club to win all six of their Europa Conference League group games and two play-off matches. Contrast that with the fact they have only won six of their 25 English Premier League games. They are in relegation trouble and lost 4-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion last Saturday. Last season they reached the last four of the Europa League. Their only route into European competition next season is to win this Europa Conference League.
The Hammers have a terrible away record in the Premier League but have won all four of their games on the road in this competition with nine goals scored. With Danny ings (pictured above), a recent signing and already scoring goals for them, West Ham should progress to the last eight. They take on AEK Larnaca who finished third in their Europa League group and only earned five points . The Cypriot team beat Dnipro-1 in the knockout play-off round.
Villarreal Looking Good for the Last Eight
Villarreal head the Spanish challenge in the Europa Conference League. They are sixth in La Liga and after a bad spell have recovered with two successive wins. The Spanish side won their group by five points and scored 11 goals in their three home games. They travel to Anderlecht for the first leg of their last 16 tie. Two of their three away group matches were won Anderlecht finished second in their group (ten points behind West Ham) and then needed penalties to get past Ludogorets Razgrad. Villarreal can make it to the quarter finals.
Second in Villarreal's group were Lech Poznan who beat the Spaniards 3-0 at home. They beat Bodo/Glimt 1-0 on aggregate in the knockout play-off round. The Poles are unbeaten at home in this season's Europa Conference League with just one 4-3 loss to Villarreal on the road. Their last 16 opponents are Djurgardens from Sweden. They won their group by eight points from Gent, Molde and Shamrock Rovers. Poznan can win this tie, especially if putting in a good home performance in the first leg against a side that only won one away group match.
Gent take on Istanbul Basaksehir and it's the Turkish side we believe will qualify. They earned 13 points when winning their group and scored nine goals in three home games, including a 3-0 win over Fiorentina. Sheriff Tiraspol take on Nice and the French side are our tip here. They won their group and are unbeaten in their last nine games. Finally, we have Basel v Slovan Bratislava who were in the same group. Slovan won that on head-to-head results, drawing 3-3 at home (after leading 3-1) and winning 2-0 in Basel. Bratislava can edge their way into the last eight.
