London club Arsenal will take on CSKA Moscow after being drawn together in a Europa League quarter-final in Nyon on Friday at a time of strained relations between Britain and Russia.
British Prime Minister Theresa May this week expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning of a former spy, and said British royals and ministers would not attend the World Cup in Russia this year.
There was an all Iberian cast in another eye-catching quarter-final draw as capital outfits Atletico Madrid, who many see as the main pretenders to the title, drew Sporting Lisbon.
Former European champions Marseille will take on rising German force RB Leipzig, while exciting Italian outfit Lazio face the draw’s minnows Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg, who knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the last round.
All the matches are played on the same day with the first leg coming on April 5 and the return a week later on April 12.
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