So, who can we play against?
The seven other clubs in the UECL quarter-finals draw are:
Anderlecht (BE)
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
Basel (SUI)
Nice (FRA)
Florentine (ITA)
Ghent (BEL)
Lech Poznan (POL)
Can you tell me more about the seven other clubs in the draw?
Yes, here’s a guide to the seven other clubs in the draw and how they made it to the quarter-finals…
Anderlecht (BEL) – The Belgians defeated Estonia’s Paide Linnameeskond and Switzerland’s Young Boys to reach Group B, where they were beaten twice by West Ham United, but collected enough points elsewhere to beat Silkeborg of Denmark and FCSB Romania. The Brussels side then defeated Bulgaria’s Ludogorets Razgrad in the knockout play-offs, before scoring an impressive come-from-behind win over Spanish favorites Villarreal in the round of 16.
AZ Alkmaar (NED) – The Dutch title fighters were in the UECL all along, beating Tuzla City of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dundee United of Scotland and Gil Vicente of Portugal in the qualifiers and then romping through Group E with wins over Dnipro-1 of Ukraine, Apollon Limassol of Cyprus and Vaduz of Leichtenstein. Pascal Jansen’s team continued its good run by beating Italian Lazio 4-2 in the round of 16.
Basel (SUI) – The Swiss side defeated Crusaders of Northern Ireland, Brøndby of Denmark and CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria in the qualifying rounds. They then came through second in Group H with a win on matchday six over Armenia’s Pyunik. A victory in the second leg, after which the Turkish Trabzonspor was eliminated in the knockout play-off round. Basel then came through a rollercoaster round of 16 draw with Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava to win on penalties and reach their sixth major European quarter-final.
Fiorentina (ITA) – The Serie A side snuck past Twente 2–1 on aggregate in the play-off round to finish second in Group A behind İstanbul Başakşehir of Turkey and ahead of Heart of Midlothian of Scotland and RFS of Latvia. The Italians then defeated Portugal’s Braga 7–2 on aggregate in the knockout play-off round. The good form of Vincenzo Italiano’s side continued with a 16th round victory against Turkish side Sivasspor.
Ghent (BEL) – The Belgians bounced back from a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Cypriots Omonia Nicosia in the UEL play-off round to beat Norway’s Molde and Republic’s Shamrock Rovers at home en route to a second-place finish in UECL Group F behind Djurgårdens away Sweden. They then beat Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in the knockout play-off round and then defeated Turkey’s İstanbul Başakşehir in the round of 16 thanks to the goals of young Nigerian striker Gift Orban.
Lech Poznan (POL) – Lech Poznań’s European journey began in July 2022, when they were beaten 5–2 on aggregate by Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in the UCL first qualifying round to fall into UECL qualification. There they beat Dinamo Batumi of Georgia, Víkingur of Iceland and Dudelange of Luxembourg to reach the group stage. After finishing second in Group C behind Villarreal, they defeated Bodø/Glimt 1–0 on aggregate in the knockout round play-offs and then comfortably defeated Sweden’s Djurgårdens in the round of 16. The Poles have played a total of 18 draws to reach this stage!
Nice (FRA) – Nice needed extra time to pass Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UECL play-off round. In Group D, they only won twice, against Czech side Slovácko and home of Partizan of Serbia, but topped the table with nine points to reach the round of 16. France’s Ligue 1 side showed a more ruthless side there, beating FC Sheriff of Moldova home and away.
When will our quarterfinals take place?
The first leg will take place on Thursday, April 13 and the second one a week later on Thursday, April 20, although we will only know after the draw whether we are home or away.
Locations, showtimes and ticket information for both bands will be confirmed in due course.
Without getting into the game, when will the later rounds be played?
May 11 & 18, 2023: Semifinals
June 7, 2023: Final (Eden Arena, Prague, Czech Republic)