Europa League Draw puts Villa, Forest and Palace on brink of last-16 matchups

The Europa League Draw takes place Friday and will decide the round-of-16 pairings that include three Premier League clubs, with the competition’s draw scheduled for 12 p. m. ET and the Conference League draw set for 1 p. m. ET.

Round of 16 draw narrows each side to two possible opponents

There are 16 teams left in each competition, and every team's potential opponents for the next round has already been narrowed down to two possibilities. 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.

Who the Premier League sides might meet

Aston Villa will be drawn to face either Celta Vigo or Lille in the Europa League last 16; Nottingham Forest will be drawn against Real Betis or Midtjylland; and Crystal Palace will get either Mainz or AEK Larnaca in the Conference League. Crystal Palace do not have any potential English opponents in the Conference League.

Seeding, same-country ties and scheduling details

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 clubs are those that finished in the top eight in the league phase. Teams can be drawn to play opponents from their own country and opponents they have already faced in the competition.

Recent play-off results that set up the draws

Celta Vigo beat PAOK 3-1 on aggregate, winning 1-0 in their Europa League play-off second leg. Lille bounced back from losing the first leg 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. Despite losing 1-0 at home to Celtic, Stuttgart went through 4-2 on aggregate.

When schedules and next rounds will be confirmed

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. The earliest two English teams could face each other is the quarter-finals of the Europa League between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

Follow live coverage of the draws on broadcast channels and official competition apps at the scheduled times, with the Europa League draw at 12 p. m. ET and the Conference League draw at 1 p. m. ET; the round-of-16 matchups and the schedule posted Friday evening will set the next confirmed fixtures.