So, 71 days after playing our sixth and final Group A tie, West Ham United’s UEFA Europa League challenge resumes with the round of 16…
The Hammers topped our European group for the third year in succession, with five wins from our six ties ensuring we edged out German side SC Freiburg to take top spot.
We defeated Freiburg and Serbian outfit FK TSC Bačka Topola home and away, and Greek club Olympiacos at London Stadium, with our sole defeat coming in the reverse fixture in Piraeus.
It all meant our 15 points were enough to finish three clear of Freiburg, while third placed Olympiacos transferred to the UEFA Europa Conference League, and FK TSC exited continental competition altogether.
Having topped our group, David Moyes' side was spared the need to contest the knockout play-off round, which saw the eight teams which finished second in their Europa League groups paired with the eight who finished third in their UEFA Champions League groups, and went straight into the round of 16.
The second legs of those knockout play-off round ties were completed on Thursday evening, with the eight victors to be paired with the eight Europa League group winners in Friday's round of 16 draw.
So, how does the tournament work from now on?
It is pretty simple, to be honest!
The eight seeded teams who topped their UEFA Europa League groups will be paired with the eight play-off round winners, and will then face each other over two legs on consecutive Thursdays 7 and 14 March, barring any city clashes which can see fixtures moved.
Ties level after 180 minutes will go to extra time irrespective of the number of goals each team has scored at home and away. If the teams still cannot be separated after the additional 30 minutes, the tie goes to a penalty shootout.
The 16 teams will now be whittled down to two, who will contest the final at the Republic of Ireland’s Dublin Arena on 22 May 2024.
The ground is home to the Republic of Ireland national football and rugby sides and has hosted the Europa League final once before – in 2011, when Porto defeated fellow Portuguese team Braga 1-0.
When will the round of 16 draw take place?
The draw for the UEFA Europa League round of 16 will take place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday 23 February 2024. The draw is scheduled to start at 11am GMT (12pm CET).
Sporting director Mark Noble and Club secretary Andrew Pincher will represent the Club at the draw, while manager David Moyes and his staff prepare the squad for Monday’s Premier League home game with Brentford at Rush Green training ground.
How can I follow the draw?
We will have news of the draw as soon as it happens on whufc.com, our official app and across our social media channels.
You can also watch a live stream via the UEFA website here.
We will then be providing exclusive reaction across our channels too, including live coverage of David Moyes' press conference on whufc.com from 1.30pm.
How will the draw work?
West Ham United and the seven other UEFA Europa League group winners are seeded and will be drawn against the winners of the knockout round play-offs.
The Hammers and our fellow Europa League group winners play the second leg at home, meaning we will be play away from home on Thursday 7 March, before hosting the second leg at London Stadium on Thursday 14 March, barring any city clashes which could see changes to the dates.
It has been confirmed that if we draw Sporting Lisbon, the first leg will be on Tuesday 5 March due to the city clash principles as Benfica are also at home in the first leg.
Confirmation of dates and kick-off times is likely to follow the draw on Friday afternoon.
Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other at this stage of the competition.
So, who could we play against?
West Ham United are seeded, as we've just established, so we can only be drawn against one of the eight unseeded teams.
However, the unseeded teams include two who have dropped into the UEFA Europa League and triumphed in the knockout play-off round after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group.
When it comes to UEFA coefficients, the highest-ranked team left in the competition is Italian side Roma (92.000), followed by Spanish outfit Villarreal (80.000).
Our own coefficient of 65.000, accumulated over the last two-and-a-half campaigns of the five-year counting period, ranks us at sixth of the remaining clubs.
Anyway, here are the 16 teams who will be in the hat on Friday:
| Seeded Teams | Unseeded Teams |
| West Ham United (ENG) | SC Freiburg (GER) |
| Brighton & Hove Albion (ENG) | Marseille (FRA) |
| Rangers (SCO) | Sparta Prague (CZE) |
| Atalanta (ITA) | Sporting CP (POR) |
| Liverpool (ENG) | Benfica (POR) |
| Villarreal (ESP) | AC Milan (ITA) |
| Slavia Prague (CZE) | Roma (ITA) |
| Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | Qarabag (AZE) |
When will our round of 16 ties take place?
We'll travel to the first leg on Thursday 7 March - unless we draw Sporting Lisbon, in which case it will be played on Tuesday 5 March - and welcome our opponents to London Stadium a week later on Thursday 14 March.
Tickets for the home leg are on sale to Season Ticket Holders and Bondholders now and can be bought by clicking here or on the graphic below!
Dates and kick-off times for both ties will be confirmed following the draw.
Without getting ahead of ourselves, when will the later rounds be played?
11 & 18 April 2024: Quarter-finals
2 & 9 May 2024: Semi-finals
22 May 2024: Final (Dublin Arena, Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
