UEFA Europa League knockout phase 2017-18

The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League knockout phase will begin on 13 February and end on 26 May 2018 with the final at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Décines-Charpieu, France, to decide the champions of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. A total of 32 teams compete in the knockout phase.

Times up to 24 March 2018 (round of 32 and round of 16) are CET (UTC+1), thereafter (quarter-finals and beyond) times are CEST (UTC+2).

Round and draw dates
The schedule of the knockout phase is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).

Matches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

Format
The knockout phase involves 32 teams: the 24 teams which qualify as winners and runners-up of each of the twelve groups in the group stage, and the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

Each tie in the knockout phase, apart from the final, is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advance to the next round. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out. In the final, which is played as a single match, if scores are level at the end of normal time, extra time is played, followed by penalty shoot-out if scores remain tied.

The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
 * In the draw for the round of 32, the twelve group winners and the four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage with the better group records are seeded, and the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
 * In the draws for the round of 16 onwards, there are no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association can be drawn against each other.

Bracket
The full bracket will be known after the semi-final draw.

Round of 32
The draw for the round of 32 will be held on 11 December 2017, 13:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The first legs will be played on 15 February, and the second legs will be played on 22 February 2018.


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Round of 16
The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 23 February 2018, 13:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The first legs will be played on 8 March, and the second legs will be played on 15 March 2018.


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Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on 16 March 2018, 13:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The first legs will be played on 5 April, and the second legs will be played on 12 April 2018.


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Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals will be held on 13 April 2018, 13:00 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The first legs will be played on 26 April, and the second legs will be played on 3 May 2018.


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Final
The 2018 UEFA Europa League Final will be played at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Décines-Charpieu on 16 May 2018. The "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes) will be determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw.