The 2021/22 Europa League is already preparing for the last 16 stage after the preliminary knockout round playoff ties concluded on Thursday night.

Due to the addition of the Europa Conference League to the UEFA club calendar, this is the first season that has seen a reshuffled format in the knockout stages.

The eight Europa League group stage winners from the first half of the season earned byes straight into the last 16, with the eight group runners-up contesting two-legged ties this week and last against the eight clubs who dropped out of the Champions League – including Barcelona.

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UEFA will make the last 16 draw at 11am (GMT) at their headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland (12:00pm local time) on Friday 25 February 2022.

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The last 16 draw will be streamed live on the official UEFA website. In the UK, it will also be broadcast live by BT Sport.

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The Europa League group winners are seeded for this draw, while every club that has progressed from the preliminary knockout round is unseeded.

The draw will randomly pair each seeded team against an unseeded team. However, country protection remains in place and no two clubs from the same national association can be drawn together at this stage of the competition.

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Seeded (Europa League group winners)

Unseeded (knockout round playoff winners)

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Europa League last 16 ties this season will be played in March, with first leg matches to take place on Thursday 10 March and second leg matches a week later on Thursday 17 March.

The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, mapping out the full tournament bracket for the remainder of the competition, will be made the day after the last 16 ties conclude – 18 March.

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The 2022 Europa League final will be played at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, home of record winners Sevilla, on Wednesday 18 May. As has been the case for several years, whichever club wins will automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League group stage.

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