West Ham find out UEFA Europa League last 16 opponents

It's a successful year for Britain in the UEFA Europa League. Four teams from the United Kingdom have reached the last 16 of the competition and they have all now found out who they are set to play in the knock-out stages.

West Ham topped their group with five wins and one defeat. Their home win over SC Freiburg in December was enough to put them first in Group A and thus avoiding any potential need for a play-off fixture. This is the third successive year the Irons have topped their European groups and their five triumphs put Greek club Olympiacos into the UEFA Europa Conference League while FK TSC were forced out of all continental competitions.

West Ham, Liverpool, Brighton and Scottish Premiership giants Rangers now have just a few weeks to prepare for their Europa League last 16 round and following today's draw, they now all know who they are set to face.

Ahead of the last 16, here is all you need to know about who West Ham will take on as the Europa League progresses...

Who will West Ham face?

Well, the Irons may be delighted to know that their upcoming opponents are a side that they have beaten twice in the competition already. West Ham will take on SC Freiburg who beat Lens in yesterday's (23 February) play-off fixtures to reach the last 16.

This will now mark the third time the two sides have played each other in the 2023/24 competition, with the Hammers beating them 2-0 at the London Stadium in December. They also beat them 2-1 back in October in Germany. Lucas Paqueta and Nayef Aguerd scored in the latter to give the Hammers the win while Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez scored in December to put David Moyes' side top of Group A.

When is the Europa League last 16?

The first leg of the round of 16 will take place on Thursday 7 March. Sporting vs Atalanta's fixture, however, will take place on Tuesday 5 March. The second leg will then be held a week later on Thursday 14 March. Kick-off times for the last 16 matches are yet to be determined.

Fans can tune into the Europa League fixtures through TNT Sports and discovery+.

Here are all the last 16 teams and their upcoming fixtures:

• Sporting vs Atalanta
• Roma vs Brighton
• AC Milan vs Slavia Praha
• Sparta Praha vs Liverpool
• Benfica vs Rangers
• Marseille vs Villarreal
• Qarabag FK vs Bayern Leverkusen