Europa League round of 16: the best match tickets for you

The Europa League round of 16 is upon us after that interesting playoff round, and now is the time to separate the men from the boys.

The favourites like Liverpool, AS Roma, West Ham, and Brighton remain in the competition, so this makes the remaining stage interesting.

The Europa League has become a bigger competition and an important one for most teams that compete in it, thanks to the Champions League ticket the winner gets.

Also, UEFA has introduced the Conference League, which is a level below the Europa League and has teams competing for a Europa League ticket at the end.

This season’s Europa League has several top clubs competing for the crown, and we expect one of the top clubs to emerge as winners.

However, everyone who buys Europa League tickets knows upsets are a part of the competition, and some are still left in this season's edition.

There are many Europa League matches to look forward to in the round of 16, and we have discussed some of the finest tickets to buy and why you should purchase them.

Sporting CP vs Atalanta

Sporting Clube and Atalanta may not seem like two of the top clubs in Europe, but they have pedigree in continental competitions, which makes this game a blockbuster.

Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim is one of the highly-rated coaches on the continent and has been tipped to manage a top European club soon.

As a matter of fact, he is on Liverpool’s shortlist to replace Jurgen Klopp, and Chelsea also considers him a coach to replace Mauricio Pochettino.

His team is competing for the Portuguese league title this season and is one of the finest sides to watch whenever they play.

Atalanta plays one of the most attractive football systems in Italian football under Gian Piero Gasperini, who has consistently evolved his team.

La Dea wants to finish this term inside the top four in Serie A and will want a long Europa League run.

One thing we can be sure of from this fixture is that both clubs will entertain us on the pitch with good attacking and free-flowing football over two legs.

It is difficult to pick the team that will win this game because both clubs are really close in terms of quality and style of play.

Sparta Prague vs Liverpool

Liverpool is still in the running to win four trophies after clinching the Carabao Cup against Chelsea, and their next Europa League opponent would be Sparta Prague.

It shows the quality of the Czech Republic league that they have two teams in the round of 16 of the Europa League.

Liverpool remains one of the favourites to win the competition, but Sparta will be tricky opponents for them to face.

The Czechs eliminated Galatasaray from the last round of the competition, and their performance at home caught the eye.

They trailed 3-2 from the first leg in Turkiye and secured an outstanding 4-1 win in Prague against a Gala side that featured top players like Mauro Icardi and Dries Mertens.

Liverpool cannot underestimate Sparta, especially when they visit Prague for the first leg, as the home side will want to carry an advantage to England for the return leg.

But Liverpool has one of the strongest squads in Europe, and an extra motivation from this being Jurgen Klopp’s last season as their manager, so we expect them to qualify over both legs.

Freiburg vs West Ham

Freiburg eliminated Champions League campaigners Lens in the playoff to reach this round and would be tough opponents for West Ham.

David Moyes’ side suffered a blip in form for some weeks, but they are back to winning, thanks to the return of Lucas Paqueta from injury.

West Ham would be tough opponents for Freiburg to face, and both clubs have already met in the competition this season.

The Hammers and Freiburg were in the same group, with David Moyes’ men winning both fixtures to top the group ahead of the impressive Germans.

West Ham knows it was tough for them to win both matches against Freiburg, and we expect them to take this game even more seriously.

Freiburg is struggling to finish this term inside the European places back home in Germany and will want to stay in the Europa League for a long time.

However, West Ham is the Conference League champions for a reason, and we expect them to show their class in this fixture.

AS Roma vs Brighton

AS Roma faces Brighton in one of the best draws of this stage of the Europa League, and it promises to be a tough game even without Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho helped Roma finish second in their Europa League group, while Daniele De Rossi helped them navigate the last stage of the competition to reach where they are now.

They have looked in good shape domestically in recent weeks and are fighting to finish the season inside the Serie A top four.

Brighton remains close to returning to Europe after surprisingly finishing last season fifth on the Premier League standings.

Roberto de Zerbi’s side did a good job in the Europa League group stage and topped their group which also included Ajax and Olympique Marseille.

Roma will be another tough opponent for them to face, and De Zerbi will want to win this tie at home and in Rome.

This will help enhance his reputation back home, where he is not as respected as it should be despite the fine job he did at Sassuolo.

Roma would also be eager to win the tie and continue the fine start of De Rossi, making this game a fixture nobody should miss.

Benfica vs Rangers

Rangers have hit top form in the last few weeks and are now at the top of the Scottish league table ahead of Celtic.

The Gers have sprung into life at the right time, and they could reach the final of the Europa League again as they did in 2022.

Benfica is their next opponent, and it is a tough draw for the Scottish side as the Portuguese team played in the Champions League group stages.

Benfica is also challenging to win the top-flight title in their country, so this game is between two clubs who are doing well in their respective leagues, and it will be tough to find a winner.

One sure thing is that both legs of the game will be interesting to watch, so we expect a game that will bring out the best in both clubs.

The Europa League round of 16 will be an interesting round of the competition, and these games are the matches you have to do all you can to watch.