Sparta may have come to Anfield expecting to play against a weakened Liverpool team but Jurgen Klopp had different ideas.

Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai all start as the Reds look to maintain their momentum and rhythm before taking on Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Image source, Reuters

In the first leg, Harvey Elliott became the first English player to register three assists in a Europa League match.

The 20-year-old has been in great form for Liverpool this season and has played himself into contention for the England squad.

However, England boss Gareth Southgate opted to not include the midfielder in the squad named today.

The youngster, although starting on the bench tonight, will be out to show Southgate what he is missing.

Image source, Getty Images

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at The Amex Stadium

The theme from "The Great Escape" echoes around The Amex Stadium and Brighton's fans join in with gusto. The mood is set.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Villa Park

Image source, Michael Emons

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has called on the home fans to help his team beat Ajax and move into the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League.

Villa have not played in the last eight of a major European competition since 1998, when they went out of the Uefa Cup on away goals against Atletico Madrid after it ended 2-2 on aggregate.

"Tonight we have another wonderful opportunity against one of the biggest and most historic clubs in European football," writes Emery in the matchday programme.

"These are the matches we all look forward to, that we all aspire to be involved in and it promises to be a very special night under the lights at Villa Park.

"Two European champions face-to-face. This is what we fought to bring back here for a long time. This is what Villa Park was made for.

"Ajax is an enormous and prestigious club in continental football. Tonight, more than ever, we need out supporters. We need to connect and be strong together. Let's keep dreaming with Europe."

The early games have come to an end and here is a round up of the results from around the Europa League and Conference League:

• Villarreal 3-1 Marseille (Agg 3-5)
• Rangers 0-1 Benfica (Agg 2-3)
• Slavia Prague 1-3 AC Milan (Agg 3-7)
• Fenerbahce 0-1 Union Saint-Gilloise (Agg 3-1)
• Fiorentina 1-1 Maccabi Haifa (Agg 5-4)
• PAOK Salonika 5-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Agg 5-3)
• Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Servette (Agg 0-0)

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Villa Park

Image source, Michael Emons

It has already been a good day for Ajax's Jordan Henderson and Aston Villa duo Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa as they have been named in the England squad for the international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Uncapped Konsa won't be featuring at Villa Park tonight though as he is suspended following a red card in the first leg in the Netherlands.

For Henderson, with 81 England caps, he will be looking to impress as he plays his first match in the country since leaving Liverpool last summer and joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, only to then move to Ajax in January.

It has been a mixed time in the Netherlands for the 33-year-old, who captained Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2019. He has played seven times for Ajax and only won once, but then again he's only lost once with the other five matches drawn.

"They added a very experienced player, a top English player and he knows how we can play, - he played fantastically there," said Villa boss Unai Emery of Henderson.

It promises to be a feisty Scotland v England clash in the middle of midfield, with John McGinn v Henderson set to be one of the key battles.

McGinn was sent off in the 4-0 home thrashing by Tottenham on Sunday, but his suspension only counts for domestic games, meaning he can play a key role tonight.

"It is fantastic to use John and his quality, his power and his spirit," added Emery.

What a sight for Liverpool fans it is to see Mohamed Salah back on the pitch fit and firing.

The Egyptian looked sharp when he came on off the bench against Manchester City on Sunday and is now working towards full fitness ahead of a blockbuster FA Cup tie against rivals Manchester United.

"It's super important we build up Mo, he's ready, top fit," said Klopp.

"I'm not sure he's ready for 90 minutes, I'm not sure we should do 90 minutes, but he's ready to start."

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier today, Liverpool defender Joe Gomez found out he was back in the England squad for the first time since 2020.

Gomez is enjoying one of his best seasons at Anfield playing across all positions in the back line and even stepping into midfield in more recent times.

Image source, Getty Images

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Villa Park

Image source, Michael Emons

Aston Villa's last European campaign was over almost instantly as they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Rapid Vienna in the Europa League play-offs back in August 2010.

The fans have had to be patient before they could get the passports back out to follow their team and tonight is Villa's 10th game in European competition this season. They cruised past Scottish side Hibernian 8-0 on aggregate in the play-offs, but made a poor start to their Conference League group phase with a 3-2 loss in Poland against Legia Warsaw.

John McGinn's 94th-minute winner against Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia-Herzegovina got Villa up and running and they followed that up with away and home wins over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar before a 2-1 win over Warsaw and a 1-1 draw against Mostar took them through as group winners.

Now comes the glamour, in the form of four-time European champions and 36-time Dutch champions Ajax, a side that reached the Champions League semi-finals as recently as 2019.

But this is an Ajax side going through a rebuild and unrecognisable from that of five years ago. Two losses to Brighton saw them come third in their Europa League group to drop down to the Conference League and they needed extra time to scrape past Norwegian outfit Bodo Glimt in the last round, having been 2-0 down in the first leg.

Ajax are fifth in the Dutch Eredivisie, on course for their worst domestic finish since 2000, but looking for the Conference League to salvage a tough season, with it poised at 0-0 after the first leg at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

"We'll need to fight as hard as we can, stay disciplined and hope for a few breakouts. I'm very confident. With this system we can play a solid game," said boss John van't Schip.

It might be fair to say Liverpool got the job done out in Prague last Thursday after coming away with a handy 5-1 win.

Alexis Mac Allister's penalty, Darwin Nunez's brilliant double and then goals from Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai secured the handsome lead.

Jurgen Klopp may well rest players ahead of a huge FA Cup quarter-final tie at Manchester United on Sunday.

Image source, Getty Images

John Southall
BBC Radio 5 Live at London Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

The bubble machine is working overtime at London Stadium.

West Ham go through 5-1 on aggregate on another special European night for the club.

1-0 down after the first leg, they simply swept Freiburg aside. Two up at half time through Paqueta and Bowen, in the second half Cresswell added the third and Kudus with the fourth and fifth.

For the third consecutive season West Ham are in to a European quarter-final, this their 26th win during that time.

It could be a significant result for England in terms of the Champions League next season, earning a fifth place ahead of Germany on coefficient.

That is that in Scotland and Rangers are out of the Europa League after Rafa Silva's second half goal was enough to send Benfica through to the quarter-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win.

• Follow all of the reaction here

Image source, PA Media

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Amex Stadium

The word "miracle" has been doing the rounds a lot at the Amex Stadium and, in sporting terms, this is exactly what Brighton need as they try to claw back a 4-0 deficit from the first leg against Roma in Italy.

One thing we know is that Roberto de Zerbi and his players will be giving it a go - and if they pull this off it will go down in Brighton & Hove Albion history.

West Ham United

West Ham goalscorer Jarrod Bowen to TNT Sports: "We knew we had to take the game to them. We knew there'd be goals if we fully went for it. It's what we needed. We needed a reaction and we got it,

"Everyone thrives off it. The fans want to see it as well. Tonight we played on the fhe front foot from the start. This season we haven't been consistent.

"We got ourselves so far ahead it was pretty comfortable in the end.

"I'm so happy for him [Kudus]. He has that quality in him. He's so sharp. He deserves everything."

On his England selection: "I found out this morning. I haven't scored in the Europa League so that was in the front of my mind."

We'll bring you reaction from London Stadium if we get it, but we'd better start building up to the late games too.

It's all over!

West Ham are in a European quarter-final for the third season in a row.

This was one of their very best performances in that time.

The Soapbox: Huge result pending for The Coefficient

Two minutes added on. Freiburg need to score four...