Olympique de Marseille will face Villarreal in the round of 16

The only French club to have survived the Europa League play-offs, thanks to its victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday February 22 at the Vélodrome (3-1, 2-2 in the first leg), Olympique de Marseille now knows its opponent in the round of 16 final: it will be Villarreal, chosen following the draw on Friday February 23 in Nyon (Switzerland).

The first leg at the Vélodrome stadium next Thursday, March 7, and the return match on March 14. Among the favorites, Liverpool will face Sparta Prague, AC Milan will face the other Prague club, Slavia. Bayer Leverkusen will face Qarabag.

OM will try to maintain the precious 5th French place in the UEFA index, since the three other French clubs involved in C3 left on Thursday. Lens, Rennes and Toulouse were eliminated respectively by SC Fribourg, AC Milan and Benfica Lisbon. Olympique de Marseille is therefore the last French club competing in the Europa League, like Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and Lille in the Europa Conference League.

OM finished second in their group in the fall, behind Brighton but ahead of Ajax Amsterdam and AEK Athens. Led by their new coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, chosen to succeed the Italian Gennaro Gattuso, the Marseillais want to regain a positive dynamic thanks to these European deadlines. They will try to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League, which they last experienced in 2017-2018, during their epic journey to the final (lost 3-0 against Atlético de Madrid).