Europa League draw: Liverpool handed tricky quarter-final tie as West Ham face Bayer Leverkusen

Liverpool and West Ham have have found out who they will play in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

The last two remaining British sides in the competition were handed tough ties when the draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.

Liverpool will face Italian side Atalanta in the final eight, with the first leg to be played at Anfield.

West Ham, winners of the Europa Conference League last season, will take on runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The first legs of the quarter-final ties will be played on Thursday 11 April, with the return fixtures taking place a week later on Thursday 18 April.

Liverpool have played Atalanta twice before, with both games coming in the group stages of the 2020/21 Champions League.

West Ham have never previously faced Bayer Leverkusen in a competitive fixture.

Jurgen Klopp's side lost 2-0 at Anfield before winning 5-0 in Italy.

Liverpool breezed into the final eight of the competition with a 11-2 aggregate defeat of Sparta Prague, with Mohamed Salah breaking yet another record in the 6-1 second leg victory.

After a 1-0 defeat in the first leg, West Ham made light work of Freiburg on Thursday with a 5-0 win at the London Stadium.

Should Liverpool advance to the semi-finals, they will face either Benfica or Marseille, while West Ham would come up against one of AC Milan or Roma.

There is a possibility of a final showdown between Liverpool and Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, the former Reds star who is being tipped to replace Klopp as Liverpool manager at the end of the season.

The Europa League final will take place at the Dublin Arena (Aviva Stadium) in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, at 20:00 BST on Wednesday 22 May.

Liverpool will be looking to reach a European final for the fourth time in seven years, while West Ham are looking to win a second major European trophy in as many years.

Full quarter-final draw

AC Milan vs Roma

Liverpool vs Atalanta

Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham

Benfica vs Marseille

Semi-final draw

Benfica or Marseille vs Liverpool or Atalanta

AC Milan or Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham

Final

Winner of semi-final 1 vs winner of semi-final 2

Topics: Europa League, Liverpool, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Football

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton