Europa League last-16 draw simulated with Liverpool landing glamour tie and Rangers set for horror clash
LIVERPOOL have landed an iconic European tie against AC Milan in SunSport’s simulated Europa League draw.
The Reds sailed through to the last-16 after winning a group containing Toulouse, Union Saint-Gilloise and LASK.
That meant they bypassed the play-off round contested between the group runners-up and the teams that were knocked out of the Champions League.
Milan were one of those teams after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
And they already have one foot in the next round after demolishing Rennes 3-0 at the San Siro last week.
They face the Ligue Un side in the return leg this week and if they win they could set up a meeting with Liverpool in the next round.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are one of eight seeded teams Milan could face along with West Ham, Brighton and Rangers – all of whom won their groups.
SunSport has simulated the draw for the next round and Liverpool vs Milan is the pick of the ties, though Rangers have also been handed a tricky test against Benfica or Toulouse.
There is plenty of European history between Liverpool and Milan with the two giants facing off twice in the Champions League final in 2005 and 2007.
Liverpool famously came back from 3-0 down to beat the Italians in Istanbul in 2005 before the Rosseneri took revenge two years later, winning 2-1.
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The pair met more recently in the Champions League in 2021 with Liverpool winning the second round clash 5-3 on aggregate.
Elsewhere in our simulated draw West Ham face an eye-catching clash against Sparta Prague or Galatasaray, who won at Manchester United this season.
Brighton also have another exciting European adventure on the cards, with Rome or Rotterdam the next destination for travelling Seagulls.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side picked up results at Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens already this campaign, and could fancy their chances despite the pedigree of Roma and Feyenoord, who met in the 2022 Europa Conference League final.
Marseille finished second in their group behind Brighton and have been given a dreaded tie against Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen – as long as they beat Shakhtar Donetsk.
Elsewhere Atalanta will take on Sporting Lisbon or Young Boys while Villarreal play Braga or Qarabag.
Slavia Prague vs Lens or Freiburg rounds up SunSport’s simulated draw, with the actual draw set to take place on Friday at 11am.