Europa League Draw: What Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace Fans Need to Know
The europa league draw arriving on Friday matters first to supporters and club staff at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace: each English side already knows it will meet one of two specific opponents but will not learn the exact bracket until the ceremony. The timing, seeding and recent play-off results will shape travel, ticket plans and the likely sequence of ties for these three Premier League clubs.
How Premier League followers should read the draw
Here’s the part that matters for fans: every club’s possible opponent has already been narrowed to two teams, so planning can begin — but exact dates and which club might meet an English rival remain unknown until the draw is made. Teams that avoided a play-off are seeded because they finished top eight in the league phase, and those seeded sides will play the second leg of their last-16 tie at home. That home-leg edge will affect match logistics and strategy for the seeded clubs.
Europa League Draw: timing, format and basic rules
The knockout draws for both competitions take place on Friday. The Europa League draw is scheduled for 12pm (ET) and the Conference League draw follows at 1pm (ET). There are 16 teams remaining in each competition, and the draw will set round-of-16 matchups. Teams can be drawn against clubs from their own country and can meet sides they have already faced in the competition. Round-of-16 match times will be published on Friday evening.
Which opponents each English club could draw
- Aston Villa: Celta Vigo or Lille
- Nottingham Forest: Real Betis or Midtjylland
- Crystal Palace (in the Conference League): Mainz or AEK Larnaca
With the midweek play-offs finished, those pairings are fixed as the only possibilities for the three Premier League sides — though individual pathways through the bracket and which English clubs could meet remain unresolved until the draw. The earliest two English teams can meet is in the quarter-finals of the Europa League between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest; Crystal Palace have no potential English opponents in the Conference League.
Recent play-off outcomes that set the field
- Celta Vigo beat PAOK 3-1 on aggregate, winning 1-0 in the Europa League play-off second leg.
- Lille recovered from losing the first leg 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; Robbie Keane is associated with Ferencvaros.
- Stuttgart, despite losing 1-0 at home to Celtic, progressed 4-2 on aggregate.
Schedule milestones, communications and what to expect next
The round-of-16 match schedule will be available on Friday evening. The quarter-final match schedule is due to be confirmed on March 19, and the semi-final schedule will be communicated on April 16. Live coverage of the draw will be available on broadcaster websites and apps, and further updates will be shared through messaging services.
- Key takeaways: the draw locks in opponents (two options per club); seeded teams (those that finished top eight in the league phase) take the second leg at home; travel and ticket decisions can start now but final fixtures wait until Friday evening.
- Who is immediately affected: matchday operations, travel coordinators and supporter groups for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
- Signals that will confirm the next phase: the published round-of-16 schedule on Friday evening and the bracket published during the draw.
What's easy to miss is the practical leverage that seeding confers: finishing in the top eight of the league phase means a team plays the decisive second leg at home, which often changes how clubs approach the first match. The real question now is how quickly clubs will convert the two-option opponent lists into travel and squad plans once the draw is made.
Micro timeline: the draws are at 12pm and 1pm (ET) on Friday; round-of-16 schedule follows Friday evening; quarter-final schedule confirmed March 19; semi-final schedule communicated April 16.
Expect immediate ripple effects in logistics and squad rotation planning for the three English clubs once the Europa League draw and Conference League draw are complete.
