Germany's Bayer Leverkusen to play Qarabag in Europa League, tie still in balance

By Can Erozden

Germany's Bayer Leverkusen will play against Azerbaijan's Qarabag in a Thursday UEFA Europa League Round of 16 match at home as the tie is still in balance after a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Baku.

Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are in a dream season to have a 10-point lead in the German Bundesliga and they are also unbeaten across all competitions, including the European campaign.

Thanks to Czech forward Patrik Schick's stoppage-time header, Leverkusen escaped with a 2-2 draw in a pulsating first leg in Baku on March 7. So, the chances are equal in the second leg at Leverkusen's home BayArena.

The match in Germany will start at 2000GMT.

Olympique Marseille, Roma, and Liverpool have their one foot each in the quarterfinals as these clubs earned big wins in the first leg.

Marseille beat Spanish team Villarreal 4-0 in France. Roma hammered England's Brighton 4-0 in the Italian capital Rome.

Liverpool were rampant to beat Sparta Prague 5-1 in the Czech Republic.

The Rangers vs. Benfica tie will see another battle on Thursday as the first leg in Lisbon ended 2-2. English defender Connor Goldson scored an own goal in the second half to cancel out a Scottish win in the Portuguese capital.

The 2023-24 Europa League quarterfinal draw will take place on Friday.

- Thursday's fixtures:

Villarreal - Marseille (0-4)

Rangers - Benfica (2-2)

West Ham United - Freiburg (0-1)

Slavia Prague - AC Milan (2-4)

Brighton - Roma (0-4)

Bayer Leverkusen - Qarabag (2-2)

Atalanta - Sporting (1-1)

Liverpool - Sparta Prague (5-1)