Aston Villa among three Premier League clubs awaiting Europa and Conference League last-16 draws
aston villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are among the three Premier League clubs left in European competition as both the Europa League and Conference League move to their last-16 draws on Friday. The draws will determine pairings from a set of two possible opponents for each side and set the schedule for the knockout phase.
Aston Villa's last-16 possibilities
Aston Villa will face either Celta Vigo or Lille in the last 16. The club is one of three English teams still in continental competition and, with the midweek play-offs now concluded, knows its possible opponents but not its precise pathway through the bracket until the draw is made.
Nottingham Forest to draw Real Betis or Midtjylland
Nottingham Forest's last-16 opponent will be Real Betis or Midtjylland. Every team’s potential opponent for the next round has already been narrowed down to two possibilities, and the draw will formalize which of those two each side will meet.
Crystal Palace's Conference League options and English matchups
Crystal Palace will be drawn against Mainz or AEK Larnaca in the Conference League. Palace do not have any potential English opponents in that competition, meaning their path to the later rounds cannot include a domestic tie at this stage.
Draw timing, seeding and scheduling for the knockout phase
The Europa League draw will take place on Friday at 12pm ET, and the Conference League draw will follow at 1pm ET. Both competitions have 16 teams remaining. Sides that did not require a play-off will be seeded, and seeded teams — those that finished in the top eight in the league phase — get to play the second leg of their last-16 ties at home.
The round-of-16 match schedule will be available on Friday evening. The quarter-final match schedule will be confirmed on March 19, and the semi-final schedule will be communicated on April 16. Follow live coverage of the draw on Friday for real-time updates and the official pairings once they are announced.
Play-off results that produced the last-16 field
Several midweek play-off results filled out the field. 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.
Potential English clash and what comes next
The earliest two English teams could meet is the quarter-finals of the Europa League between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, depending on how the draw unfolds. With every side narrowed to two opponents and seeding in place for those who bypassed play-offs, the Friday draws will clarify the immediate European path for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace as the competitions move into knockout football.
