Football: Europa League last-16 draw on Friday

By Fatih Erel

ISTANBUL (AA) – The draw for the Europa League’s round of 16 is set to be held this Friday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

There are no seedings and no country protection, which means that teams may face opposition from their own countries.

The first and second legs of the last 16 fixtures will be played on March 12 and 19, respectively.

- Round of 32

Contenders for Friday’s draw will be finalized after the second-leg games of round of 32 on Thursday night.

Turkey’s Medipol Basaksehir will host Portugal's Sporting Lisbon in Istanbul.

The Turkish club’s chances of progressing to the last 16 are hanging by a thread after their 3-1 defeat in the first leg.

Basaksehir are the only Turkish team still competing in European football this year.

The match will kick off at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium in Istanbul at 8:55 p.m. local time (1755GMT).

Thursday’s complete fixtures are:

Manchester United vs Club Brugge

Arsenal vs Olympiacos

Espanyol vs Wolves

Malmo vs Wolfsburg

Gent vs Roma

Porto vs Bayer Leverkusen

Basel vs APOEL

LASK vs AZ Alkmaar

Istanbul Basaksehir vs Sporting CP

Inter vs Ludogorets

Salzburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Benfica vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Ajax vs Getafe

Celtic vs Copenhagen

Sevilla vs CFR Cluj