Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur announced on Friday new host cities and stadiums for their respective Europa League round of 32 ties.
[ MORE: Liverpool – RB Leipzig likely to be moved from Anfield ]
The Gunners and Benfica will face one another in two different countries — neither of which are England or Portugal — due to travel restrictions between the United Kingdom and Portugal.
The first leg, technically hosted by Benfica, will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The second leg, hosted by Arsenal, will be contested at the Karaiskaki Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. UEFA have stated that, despite fixtures being moved to accommodate clubs from various countries, the typical away-goals rules will still apply if Champions League and Europa League ties are level after 180 minutes.
#UEL last-32 venues confirmed ✅
🇮🇹 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗴: Stadio Olimpico
🇬🇷 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗴: Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 12, 2021
[ MORE: UEFA Champions League Power Rankings, pre-Round of 16 (video) ]
Tottenham are also headed to a neutral site — a popular one, at that — for their first leg against Austrian side Wolfsberger. Tottenham have not yet revealed whether or not they will be forced to move the return leg as it pertains to Wolfsberger and their return to Austria following the fixture.
The first leg of our @EuropaLeague Round of 32 tie against @WolfsbergerAC will now take place in Budapest.
The Puskás Aréna will host the match as COVID-19 regulations in Austria mean we can no longer play at the Worthersee Stadion.
Kick-off remains 5.55pm GMT#THFC ⚪️ #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 12, 2021
The Puskas Arena is already set to host the first leg between Liverpool and RB Leipzig in the Champions League next Tuesday, as well as leg no. 1 between Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach. The German clubs are the home side for each of the first legs to be played in Budapest, Hungary.
However, it was reported on Thursday that Liverpool are likely to be forced away from Anfield for the second leg of the same tie as RB Leipzig would be forced to quarantine upon returning to Germany from the UK. Given that Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach hail from the same countries, the second leg of that tie is also likely to be moved.
Manchester United’s trip to Spain to play Real Sociedad in the first leg next week was also moved and will be played at Juventus’s stadium in Turin, Italy.
