Europa League favourites Wolfsburg face a tricky tie against Napoli on their quest to become the first German winners of the tournament since 1996-97, when Schalke prevailed.

Friday’s quarter-final draw also pitted Sevilla against Zenit Saint Petersburg in another tasty tie. After such a long and gruelling competition, we are now at crunch time.

You can view the full draw below, per the competition’s Twitter feed:

All first-leg matches will be played on April 16, with the return legs happening on April 23, detailed by UEFA.com.

Unlike the draw for the Champions League last eight, all sides will complete their matches on the same days. It’s also worth noting that Russian side Zenit couldn’t be drawn against Ukrainians Dynamo Kiev or Dnipro due to the tense political relationship between the two nations, per UEFA.com.

 

Quarter-Final Round-up

Wolfsburg remain favourites to secure the trophy, per Oddschecker.com, but Friday’s draw did little to help their chances. Dieter Hecking’s men overcame Italian opposition in the round of 16, thrashing Inter Milan 5-2 on aggregate after winning 2-1 at the San Siro on Thursday.

Hecking called the result a “big step” for his developing team, reported by Michael Huguenin of Goal.com. He now faces a tactical challenge against Rafa Benitez’s Napoli, who beat Dinamo Moscow 3-1 on aggregate in the last round. Football writer Cristian Nyari thinks this will be an interesting clash:

New ground is being set for both teams, per the Europa League feed:

The same can’t be said for Sevilla and Zenit, who have previous history in the competition:

Sevilla have won three of the last nine Europa League trophies and possess a healthy habit of making it beyond seemingly tricky ties. Unai Emery’s side are fearless and well-drilled, but travelling to Russia to face Zenit is something of a daunting proposition.

Andre Villas-Boas’ men beat Benfica, drew with Monaco and lost to Bayer Leverkusen at home before being eliminated from the Champions League. They are capable of blitzing opponents with pace and power on the attack, shown during the 2-0 win over Torino, but have a tendency to clam up when travelling away from the cold.

As such, Sevilla’s chances will be dictated by whether they can rack up a decent haul in the Spanish-based first leg.

Dynamo Kiev have proven to be an endlessly prolific prospect in Ukraine this season, summarised with their 5-2 demolition of Everton on Thursday.

Sergei Rebrov’s men have won all of their European home games by two goals or more this season, playing swash-buckling, ambitious football with the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko leading the charge.

Fiorentina have improved massively since January—largely thanks to the loan capture of Chelsea’s Mohamed Salah—and will need to continue working hard defensively to come through this one. The Italians have conceded two or more just once in 10 matches, per WhoScored.com, suggesting they are capable of dousing a Dynamo side who threaten to go all the way.

Both Dnipro and Club Brugge have shown themselves to be resilient throughout the tournament, highlighted by their aggregate wins over Ajax and Besiktas. Their last encounter was memorable, per the tournament’s feed:

Friday’s draw ensures all teams know exactly which challenges lie ahead. Big guns are destined to fall, a danger Wolfsburg and Napoli will fear the most, suggesting an outside club could make a run for the silverware.

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