Conference League and Europa League: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace await last-16 draw Friday
The Europa League and conference league draws take place on Friday at 12pm ET and 1pm ET respectively, with 16 teams left in each competition and three Premier League clubs set to learn their last-16 opponents.
Draw times and what the schedule means
The Europa League draw will be held at 12pm ET and the Conference League draw at 1pm ET on Friday; the round-of-16 match schedule will be released on Friday evening. The quarter-final schedule is set to be confirmed on March 19, and the semi-final schedule will be communicated on April 16.
Seedings, two-opponent lists and match restrictions
Every team's potential opponents for the next round has already been narrowed down to two possibilities, and the sides that did not require a play-off will be seeded — labeled as having finished in the top eight in the league phase — meaning those seeded teams will play the second leg of their last-16 ties at home. Teams can be drawn against opponents from their own country and opponents they have already faced in the competition.
Conference League: Crystal Palace's possible opponents
Crystal Palace, one of the three Premier League clubs in the late stages, will face either Mainz or AEK Larnaca in the Conference League last 16. Crystal Palace do not have any potential English opponents in the Conference League. With the midweek play-offs concluding, English teams know they will each face one of two opponents but do not know their individual pathways until the draw is made.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest face two clear possibilities
Aston Villa will be drawn against either Celta Vigo or PAOK in the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest will be paired with Real Betis or Midtjylland. The earliest two English teams could meet one another is the Europa League quarter-final between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
Play-off results that set the last-16 matchups
Recent play-off outcomes produced the final list of possibilities: Celta Vigo beat PAOK 3-1 on aggregate, winning 1-0 in their Europa League play-off second leg. Lille recovered from a first-leg loss to win 2-0 at Red Star Belgrade. Ferencvaros overturned a one-goal first-leg deficit to win 2-0 at home and eliminate Ludogorets Razgrad, and Stuttgart progressed 4-2 on aggregate despite losing 1-0 at home to Celtic. Elsewhere, Newcastle stormed into the last 16 with a triumph over Qarabag, and Bodo/Glimt made history with a victory over Inter.
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The draw on Friday at 12pm ET and 1pm ET will determine the pairings; the round-of-16 schedule follows that evening, with quarter-final dates confirmed on March 19 and semi-final dates to be communicated on April 16.
