Europa League Draw: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace Set to Discover Last-16 Opponents in 2025/26 Knockout Draw
The Europa League Draw takes place on Friday as the knockout phase moves to the last 16, with three Premier League clubs among the 16 teams left in each competition. The draw matters because every team’s next opponent has already been narrowed to two possibilities and seedings will determine which sides play the decisive second leg at home.
Europa League Draw schedule and format
The Europa League and Conference League knockout draws take place on Friday, with the Europa League draw beginning at 12pm ET and the Conference League draw at 1pm ET. There are 16 teams remaining in each competition, including three Premier League clubs. Live coverage of the draw will be available on Friday on designated sports websites and apps, and there is also an option to follow a messaging channel on WhatsApp for the latest sports news, videos, features and analysis.
English clubs and their possible last-16 opponents
- Aston Villa: Celta Vigo or Lille
- Nottingham Forest: Real Betis or Midtjylland
- Crystal Palace: 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. The earliest two English teams could meet is the quarter-finals of the Europa League, in a potential tie between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Crystal Palace do not have any potential English opponents in the Conference League.
Seedings, rules and what they mean for ties
Every team's potential opponents for the next round has already been narrowed down to two possibilities. Teams can be drawn against opponents from their own country and against sides they have already faced in the competition. The 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 (finished top eight in the league phase).
Play-off results that finalised the pairings
Several midweek play-off results produced the remaining opponents now awaiting the draw:
- 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.
Schedule confirmations and what happens next
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. Until the draws are made at 12pm ET for the Europa League and 1pm ET for the Conference League on Friday, clubs and supporters will know only the two possible opponents that emerged from the play-offs.
Recent developments have left the last-16 landscape defined but not yet mapped: seedings determine home advantage in the second legs, every team’s opponent list is limited to two possibilities, and the draw itself will determine specific pairings and the potential domestic clash timelines for the remaining Premier League representatives.
