Last Word brings you a full preview of the UEFA Europa Conference League Quarter-Final stage.
UEFA Europa Conference League Quarter-Finals Draw Preview
The quarter-finals are confirmed ✅
What's the most exciting fixture? 👇#UECL || #UECLdraw pic.twitter.com/d36PdS0d4d
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) March 15, 2024
Aston Villa vs LOSC Lille
Fourth place in the Premier League Aston Villa faces fourth place in Ligue 1 LOSC Lille. The first match will take place at Villa Park with the second leg taking place at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Villa have won three of their last five games, averaging two goals scored per match. They are currently two points above fifth-place Tottenham and are only five points behind Manchester City in third. Villa striker Ollie Watkins has scored 16 goals so far this season, making him the second joint-top goalscorer with Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke. Yet, Watkins tops the league for most goals and assists combined this season, with 26. In the Europa Conference League so far, Villa topped their group and then beat Ajax 4-0 in the second leg to advance.
Read more: UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals Draw Analysis
As for Lille, they sit fourth in Ligue 1, only four points behind second-place Brest. However, in their last five league matches, they have only won twice, with both wins only being won by a single goal. That being said, Lille have got the best home form in the league, with Paulo Fonseca’s side winning nine of the thirteen home matches they have had this season. So far in the Europa Conference League, they topped their group going unbeaten and only conceding twice in the group stage. In the round of 16, they beat Austrian side Sturm Graz 4-1 on aggregate to advance. Both sides have yet to face each other before this fixture.
Both sides have never faced each other in a domestic competition. They have faced each other in three friendlies, with each match ending in a different result. They met in Lisbon in July 2021, with the result ending 1-1, with all goals coming in the first half.
Olympiacos vs Fenerbahce
Fourth place in the Greek Super League Championship phase Olympiacos take on second place in the Turkish Super Lig Fenerbahce. The first match will take place at the Karaiskakis Stadium with the second leg taking place at the Ulker Stadyumu Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Spor Kompleksi.
Read More: UEFA Europa League Quarter-Finals Draw Analysis
Olympiacos have won four out of their last five league matches, losing their latest against Panathinaikos. So far this season, Olympiacos have averaged 2.3 goals per match, behind both AEK and PAOK and have conceded the third-fewest, with 0.9. They have kept 11 clean sheets this season, and have been awarded the most penalties in the league, also with 11.
In terms of European football, Olympiacos finished third in their Europa League group, therefore dropping into the Europa Conference League. They beat Ferencvaros 1-0 in both legs in the round of 32 and incredibly, came back from a 4-1 defeat at home against Maccabi Tel Aviv to win the second away leg 6-1.
As for Fenerbahce, they are one of two sides in the Turkish Super Lig to have won all of their last five league matches. They have scored 14 goals in their last five league games, yet have only kept one clean sheet. Astonishingly, with eight games of the season remaining, the club sit 30 points above the next place below them.
In their last game, they beat Trabzonspor away 3-2, with Michy Batshuayi scoring a late winner. Yet, most noticeably after the game, Trabzonspor fans horrifically attacked Fenerbahce players, leaving the club to vote on whether they should withdraw from the league altogether. Fenerbahce topped their Conference League group and beat Union St.Gilloise 3-1 over two legs. The two clubs have faced each other on four occasions, with Olympiacos winning the last two occasions when they met in Group D of the Europa League in 2021
Viktoria Plzen vs Fiorentina
Third place in the Czechian top division Viktoria Plzen takes on eighth place in Serie A Fiorentina. The first match will take place at the Doosan Arena with the second leg taking place at Artemio Franchi.
Viktoria Plzen, despite sitting third, are the only team in the league to win all of their last five matches. In doing so, they have kept three clean sheets in the process and have scored 14 goals, which averages to 2.8 goals per match. Viktoria won the Championship phase of the league two seasons ago and were runners-up in the Czechia Cup three seasons ago. As for their European form, they were the only team in the competition to win every single one of their group matches. They faced Swiss side Servette in the round-of-16, where after two goalless draws, Viktoria won on penalties 3 – 1. Servette only scored one out of the four penalties they took resulting in goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka getting man of the match.
As for Fiorentina, they reached the final of the competition last season but lost 2-1 to West Ham United. They sit eighth in the league and have only won one of their last league matches. Due to this, the current manager Vincenzo Italiano is set to move on. Fiorentina topped their group in the Europa Conference League, yet only won three of their matches. They beat Maccabi Haifa 5-4 on aggregate, winning the first away leg 4-3. The two sides have never faced each other.
Club Brugge vs PAOK Thessaloniki
Fourth place in the Belgian First Division Club Brugge takes on second place in the Greek Super League PAOK Thessaloniki. The first match will take place at the Jan Breydel Stadion with the second leg taking place at the Toumba Stadium.
Club Brugge finished fourth in the Belgian First Division, qualifying for the Playoff Championship group of the league phase. Club Brugge finished fourth last season, yet the three seasons prior, they won the league. Despite this poor form in the last eight-teen months, the club had won the past two editions of the Belgian Super Cup. In their last five league matches, they have only won twice, keeping a singular clean sheet in the process. Their next match is away to rivals Cercle Brugge. As for the Europa Conference League, they topped the group with 16 points and beat Molde to advance to the quarter-finals.
As for PAOK Thessaloniki, the Greek side also topped their Europa Conference League group with 16 points. In the round of 16, they lost to Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in the first leg but won the second leg 5-1 at home. As for their league form, they won the Super League, yet due to losing their last game to rivals Aris Thessaloniki, sit second in the Championship group phase of the league. The two teams have faced off twice before, in the Europa League in 2010. Both games in Group D ended 1-1. PAOK qualified in the group in second behind Villarreal, with Club Brugge finishing bottom.
UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final Bracket
Aston Villa/LOSC Lille vs Olympiacos/Fenerbahce
Viktoria Plzen/Fiorentina vs Club Brugge/PAOK Thessaloniki
