The Europa League round of 16 draw is now complete and it has thrown up some mouthwatering ties. There are four British teams still in the competition with Liverpool, Brighton and West Ham representing the Premier League and Rangers representing the Scottish Premiership.
With the race now firmly on to reach the final in Dublin in May, here are the pick of the matches from the Europa League round of 16 draw.
Europa League round of 16 draw: Three must-watch ties
Roma vs Brighton
Brighton fans would have been hoping for a glamour tie before the draw was made and they have been given exactly that as they have been drawn to play Italian giants, Roma in the round of 16. Brighton fans can now look forward to a trip to the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital and they should also fancy their side's chances of coming through the tie.
Roma haven't had a great season domestically, and they've recently been through the turmoil of a Jose Mourinho sacking. What's more, they needed penalties to get past Feyenoord in the Round of 32 to make it this far. Roma's record against English teams is far from impressive, either. In 45 matches against English opponents over the years, they have won on just 14 occasions.
Projected market and odds
- Brighton to qualify – 11/10
Key duel – Joao Pedro vs Romelu Lukaku
The two matches between Roma and Brighton will see two of the Europa League's top scorers go head-to-head. Joao Pedro and Romelu Lukaku both have six goals to their name in the competition this season and will be looking to add to their individual tallies over both legs.
Freiburg vs West Ham
West Ham will be delighted with their draw as David Moyes looks to win another European competition for the Hammers. West Ham and Freiburg have already played each other twice this season as they were in the same Europa League group so both teams and managers will know the other inside out which makes this a fascinating tie.
West Ham did the double over Freiburg in the group stages, beating them 2-1 in Germany before winning 2-0 at the London Stadium to finish top of Group A. However, the Hammers' form has dipped in recent months which should give Freiburg more confidence this time around.
Projected market and odds
- Freiburg to win at home – 8/11
Key duel – Mohammed Kudus vs Noah Atubolu
Mohammed Kudus has shown flashes of his brilliant best for West Ham this season but arguably his best performance for the Hammers came against Freiburg in the group stages. The Ghanaian finished nicely to put West Ham 1-0 up in London but Freiburg goalkeeper, Atubolu, will perhaps feel he could have been more decisive in coming out to prevent the shot.
Benfica vs Rangers
Scotland's remaining representatives in Europe are once again Rangers and the rest of the SPL will be cheering them on with the nation's Europe coefficient starting to lag. If Rangers get knocked out by Benfica in the round of 16 then Scotland could fall out of UEFA's top ten rankings which will have ramifications about how many teams in Scotland qualify for future European competitions.
With that in mind, Rangers will have perhaps been hoping for a kinder draw as Benfica are currently leading the Portuguese Primeira Liga. One positive for the Scottish side is their record against Portuguese clubs – in 20 meetings over the years, they have only lost three games to teams from Portugal which should give the current group of players some degree of confidence going into the first leg.
Projected market and odds
- Rangers to qualify – 2/1
Key duel – Angel di Maria vs James Tavernier
The most fascinating matchup in this tie will be the left-wing duel between Angel di Maria and James Tavernier. Di Maria has flourished since returning to Benfica, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists so far this season but he will have his work cut out against Tavernier.
The Rangers full-back will force the Argentinian to remember his defensive duties due to his attacking abilities which will make this duel a real cat-and-mouse battle.
