Europa League Draw: europa league draw to pair Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace with two possible opponents
The europa league draw takes place on Friday and will set the last-16 pairings for 16 remaining teams, including three Premier League clubs. The draws are scheduled for 12pm ET for the Europa League and 1pm ET for the Conference League, and every team’s potential opponents has already been narrowed down to two possibilities.
Europa League Draw timing and field
The Europa League draw is set for 12pm ET on Friday, with the Conference League draw following at 1pm ET. There are 16 teams left in each competition, and the field includes three Premier League clubs. Live coverage of the draw will be available on a website and an app on Friday.
Which Premier League teams know their two options
Aston Villa will face either Celta Vigo or Lille in the last 16. Nottingham Forest will be drawn against Real Betis or Midtjylland. Crystal Palace will get either Mainz or AEK Larnaca in the Conference League. With the midweek play-offs concluding, English teams know they will face one of two opponents but do not know their individual pathways until the draw is made.
Seeding rules, home legs and potential English clash
Sides that did not require a play-off will be seeded, meaning they get to play the second leg of their last-16 ties at home. Seeded teams are those that finished top eight in the league phase. Teams can play opponents from their own country and opponents they have already faced in the competition. The earliest two English teams could face each other is the quarter-finals of the Europa League between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Crystal Palace do not have any potential English opponents in the Conference League.
Play-off results that set the pairings
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 defeat to win 2-0 at Red Star Belgrade. Robbie Keane's Ferencvaros overturned a one-goal first-leg deficit to win 2-0 at home and knock out Ludogorets Razgrad. Stuttgart, despite losing 1-0 at home to Celtic, progressed 4-2 on aggregate.
Other highlights and the match schedule timeline
Nottingham Forest survived a scare against Fenerbahce to continue their European run, and Bodo/Glimt made history with a stunning victory over Inter. The round-of-16 match schedule will be available on Friday evening. The quarter-final match schedule will be confirmed on March 19, while the semi-final schedule will be communicated on April 16.
