[Albion] All I want in the Europa League knockout round is...

[nicko31]

How many flights on a Wednesday are there to Baku?

Options may be very limited for some games....

Qarabag only 55 hours by car, road trip via Eastern Ukraine, easy...

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Confusingly the Champions League draw for the same stage did take place today

Typical UEFA

Because there is no play off round in the Champions League, they go straight into the last 16. The games are spread over a month with first legs taking place on 13th-14th Feb and 20-21st Feb and the away legs taking place on 5-6th and 12-13th March. This means Champions League last 16 games will be taking place the same weeks as the Europe League play off round and the last 16 round.

 

[Milano]

They could easily change that though and make the draw in advance with the associations restriction in place - such that if Roma/Milan can't play Atalanta in R16 then whoever is drawn against them in the PO can't either. Makes it so that Feyernoord and Rennes can't face 2 teams from the same country in succession as well, which improves things. I think?

They can’t really can they. The outcome of who could play who could look very different, e.g. what if Atalanta get knocked out in the R32. It needs to happen like this due to UEFA’s own over complicated R16 draw rules.

 

[MattBackHome]

They can’t really can they. The outcome of who could play who could look very different, e.g. what if Atalanta get knocked out in the R32. It needs to happen like this due to UEFA’s own over complicated R16 draw rules.

Atalanta aren't in the R32, they're already qualified with us, non?

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

How many flights on a Wednesday are there to Baku?

Options may be very limited for some games....

 

[BrightonCottager]

Braga please, northern Portugal is nice

It's an odd stadium with seating only on 3 sides I think.

 

[BrightonCottager]

I did Roma and Hamburg away in the Europa League with Fulham - both are ace awaydays. Good luck.

 

[Stat Brother]

How many flights on a Wednesday are there to Baku?

Options may be very limited for some games....

But none will be sold out, so the options will still be the same.

You could always just buy tickets to Turkey now and gloat come February!!!

 

[Garyoldfan]

I did Roma and Hamburg away in the Europa League with Fulham - both are ace awaydays. Good luck.

I got my brown wings on a trip to Hamburg many years ago. I was the giver and she received with some aplomb. Maybe our paths could cross again

 

[peterward]

 

[Mr Bridger]

I got my brown wings on a trip to Hamburg many years ago. I was the giver and she received with some aplomb. Maybe our paths could cross again

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[Bakero]

This draw should come with a NSFW warning. I just Googled 'Young Boys Sporting' and now the boss wants to see me

For god's sake don't Google the stadium name.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

This a very honest post. Fair play.

I found Baku incredibly interesting, a strange mix of cultures (mainly post Soviet Union and Muslim) plus the oil money, friendly people etc. One of my favorite restaurant stories is struggling to order so the waiter took me into the kitchen where I perused the work stations and the fridge and pointed to what we wanted. At the end the owner joined us with free pints of lager which he kept topped up with vodka.

Similar restaurant experiences (without the vodka) in rural China back in the early 90s. Invited into kitchen, picked stuff out of cupboards and fridge. 20 minutes later, something delicious would turn up at the table.

 

[kevo]

Can we play a team we had in our group - ie can we get Marseille again? Presumably not..

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Can we play a team we had in our group - ie can we get Marseille again? Presumably not..

Yes, we can play Marseille again.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Can we play a team we had in our group - ie can we get Marseille again? Presumably not..

Yes, last year USG played Union Berlin both in the Group Stages and the Last 16.

 

[Wozza]

Yes, last year USG played Union Berlin both in the Group Stages and the Last 16.

Terrible rule (or non-rule).

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Terrible rule (or non-rule).

To be fair, if they added any more restrictions on who can play who in the next round, half the teams probably wouldn't be able to be drawn against anybody.

 

[London Irish]

Any one of the French clubs not Marseilles please

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Any one of the French clubs not Marseilles please

We need Marseille to go out against Shakhtar. Doubly good news. Hamburg should be relatively easy to get a ticket for + the RDZ connection + it’s a party city. My preferences are still Benfica and Milan. I hear what people are saying about Baku but a mad scramble for flights isn’t what I want.