Arsenal and West Ham United are both due to discover who they will face in the round of 16 in the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
With both sides winning their group stages in each competition respectively, they skipped the play-off knockout rounds of their competitions and will face one of eight winners from the knockout rounds.
With Manchester United winning a Europa League play-off knockout tie, Arsenal can only face seven possible teams, with sides from the same country not permitted to be drawn against each other. As the only English side however, West Ham can face all eight play-off winners from the Europa Conference League.
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The Gunners and the Hammers are due to play away from home first. However, there is a situation where both sides could be heading to the Italian capital of Rome.
In the Europa League, Roma are one of Arsenal’s possible opponents, while Lazio could be drawn against West Ham. Both sides share a home at the Stadio Olimpico, and with each game set to take place on a Thursday evening it could cause a fixture decision.
Rule 23.03 of the current rulebook from the UEFA Champions League state that teams from the same city or sharing the same stadium may have their games altered by UEFA.
It states: "If more than one club from the same city, or within a radius of 50km (31 miles) of each other, is taking part in any of the UEFA club competitions and/or plays in the same stadium, and if the association and the clubs concerned explicitly declare when entering the clubs that their matches cannot be played on the same day or on consecutive days, the UEFA administration may alter or confirm dates and kick-off times in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.”
In the 2019 handbook, section 22.04 suggested that clubs in a higher ranked competition would get priority, therefore meaning West Ham’s game would be reversed and they would host Lazio first instead.
However, football.london understands that should this scenario occur, Lazio will host West Ham on Tuesday, March 7, two days earlier than the first legs are currently due to take place on Thursday, March 9.
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