Liverpool will play at Czech side Sparta Prague in the first leg of the Europa League round-of-16 on March 7, just three days before a huge Premier League match against Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp’s league leaders learned their opponents in Friday’s draw made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.
Liverpool and the other seven teams that topped their groups will host the second-leg matches a week after their openers away from home.
Avoiding a long round-trip journey to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in midweek will be a relief for Liverpool, who host City on Sunday, March 10.
Instead, German league leaders Bayer Leverkusen have again been paired with Qarabag after they also met in the group stages. Leverkusen won 5-1 at home and 1-0 in Baku.
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is one of Europe’s most in-demand strategists with upcoming vacancies at Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
West Ham beat Freiburg home and away in the group stage, and the two teams will also meet again in the last 16.
Roma advanced on Thursday with a penalty shootout victory over Feyenoord in their play-off, and next face Premier League Brighton.
EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND-OF-16 DRAW
(Group winners listed first, playing away on March 7):
Atalanta v Sporting
Bayer Leverkusen v Qarabag
Brighton v Roma
Liverpool v Sparta Prague
Rangers v Benfica
Slavia Prague v AC Milan
Villarreal v Marseille
West Ham v Freiburg