West Ham draw Cyprus outfit AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League last-16

West Ham will play AEK Larnaca in the last-16 of the Europa Conference League next month.

Having topped their group with six wins from six matches, seeded West Ham will first travel to Cyprus to face AEK Larnaca in the first leg before returning to the London Stadium a week later.

The last-16 matches are scheduled for Thursday March 9 and Thursday March 16, the same dates as the Europa League round of 16 fixtures. 

David Moyes‘ side, who have endured a stumbling Premier League campaign despite their excellent form in Europe, avoided drawing Serie A outfits Lazio and Fiorentina, as well as Moldovan outfit Sheriff Tiraspol, who beat eventual winners Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage last season.

Lazio will take on Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Fiorentina have drawn a tie with Turkish club Sivasspor and Sheriff will play Nice, who are currently eighth in Ligue 1.

 West Ham will play AEK Larnaca in the last-16 of the Europa Conference League next month

West Ham’s team name was drawn quickly by the competition’s ambassador Vladimir Smicer

The Irons’ selection came directly after AEK Larnaca, who were the first team out of the hat

Meanwhile, Polish club Lech Poznan will host Djurgardens in the first leg before heading to Sweden for the second match, and Swiss outfit Basel have drawn Slovan Bratislava, who are leading the Slovak top flight.

Ex-Arsenal star Mesut Ozil will travel to Belgium with his side Istanbul Basaksehir to play Gent.

Finally, in what could well be the drawn of the round, Anderlecht take on last season’s Champions League semi-finallists Villarreal.

West Ham, who are the last English team left in the Europa Conference League, will hope to carve out a fruitful knockout journey and win the competition in the summer, having suffered a below-par campaign in the league.

The Irons sit inside the relegation zone after 23 matches and are only two points off rock-bottom Southampton.

However, Moyes’ side are still only one positive result away from jumping out of the relegation zone, with just three points separating them from Bournemouth, Everton and Wolves.

David Moyes’ side have struggled in the Premier League so far this term but are still in Europe

AEK Larnaca celebrating after beating Ukrainian side SC Dnipro-1 in their play-off on Thursday

Unlike the rest of their relegation rivals, West Ham are still in multiple competitions and must navigate through a heavily congested schedule, rather than focusing entirely on matters in the Premier League.

After hosting Nottingham Forest in a crucial six-pointer this weekend, Moyes’ side travel to Old Trafford to face Erik ten Hag’s in-form Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round.

The Red Devils, who yesterday came from behind to carve out a historic 4-3 win on aggregate against Barcelona in the Europa League, drew Real Betis in the competition’s last-16 stage on Friday.

Meanwhile, Premier League leaders Arsenal drew Sporting Lisbon, who sit fourth in the Portuguese top flight.