{"id":57077,"date":"2026-02-26T23:48:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/sport\/europa-league-and-conference-league-aston-villa-nottingham-forest-and-crystal-palace-to-learn-last-16-opponents-in-fridays-draw-football-news\/26\/02\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T23:48:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:48:50","slug":"europa-league-and-conference-league-aston-villa-nottingham-forest-and-crystal-palace-to-learn-last-16-opponents-in-fridays-draw-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/sport\/europa-league-and-conference-league-aston-villa-nottingham-forest-and-crystal-palace-to-learn-last-16-opponents-in-fridays-draw-football-news\/26\/02\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Europa League and Conference League: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace to learn last-16 opponents in Friday’s draw | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
The Europa League and Conference League knockout draws take place on Friday with 16 teams left in each competition, including three Premier League clubs.<\/p>\n
How do the draws work?<\/h3>\n
Both draws will take place on Friday, with the Europa League from 12pm and the Conference League from 1pm.<\/p>\n
Follow live coverage of the draw on Friday on the Sky Sports website and app.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Every team’s potential opponents for the next round has already been narrowed down to two possibilities.<\/p>\n
Teams can play opponents from their own country and opponents they have already faced in the competition.<\/p>\n
However, 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.<\/p>\n
Which teams will be in the draw?<\/h3>\n
Europa League<\/strong><\/p>\n
Seeded (finished top eight in the league phase)<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n Image:<\/span> \n Callum Hudson-Odoi scored against Fenerbahce to help Nottingham Forest through to the Europa League last 16 \n <\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Nottingham Forest<\/strong><\/li>\n
Lille<\/strong><\/li>\n
Panathinaikos<\/strong><\/li>\n
Ferencvaros<\/strong><\/li>\n
Stuttgart<\/strong><\/li>\n
Bologna<\/strong><\/li>\n
Celta Vigo<\/strong><\/li>\n
Genk<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Conference League<\/strong><\/p>\n
Seeded (finished top eight in the league phase)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n \n <\/div>\n Image:<\/span> \n Crystal Palace beat Zrinjski Mostar in their Conference League knockout play-off \n <\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Crystal Palace<\/strong><\/li>\n
Fiorentina<\/strong><\/li>\n
NK Celje<\/strong><\/li>\n
Rijeka <\/strong><\/li>\n
Samsunspor<\/strong><\/li>\n
AZ Alkmaar<\/strong><\/li>\n
Sigma Olomouc<\/strong><\/li>\n
Lech Poznan<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Who the English sides could face next<\/h3>\n
Aston Villa:<\/strong> Celta Vigo or PAOK Nottingham Forest: <\/strong>Real Betis or Midtjylland Crystal Palace: <\/strong>Mainz or AEK Larnaca<\/p>\n
When English sides could meet<\/h3>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The earliest two English teams could face each other is the quarter-finals of the Europa League between Aston Villa <\/strong>and Nottingham Forest<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Crystal Palace do not have any potential English opponents in the Conference League.<\/p>\n
When will fixture dates be announced?<\/h3>\n
The round-of-16 match schedule will be available on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
The quarter-final match schedule will be confirmed on March 19, while the semi-final schedule will be communicated on April 16.<\/p>\n
What happened in the knockout play-offs?<\/h3>\n
Celta Vigo<\/strong> beat PAOK<\/strong> 3-1 on aggregate, winning 1-0 in their Europa League play-off second leg, while Lille<\/strong> bounced back from losing the first leg to win 2-0 at Red Star Belgrade.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros<\/strong> also overturned a one-goal first-leg deficit to win 2-0 at home and knock out Ludogorets Razgrad. <\/strong>Despite losing 1-0 at home to Celtic, Stuttgart <\/strong>also went through 4-2 on aggregate.<\/p>\n
Panathinaikos <\/strong>beat Viktoria Plzen <\/strong>4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the second leg made it 3-3 on aggregate.<\/p>\n
Nottingham Forest<\/strong> lost 2-1 at home to Fenerbahce<\/strong> but progressed 4-2 on aggregate with Callum Hudson-Odoi’s second-half goal proving crucial.<\/p>\n
Bologna<\/strong> beat 10-man Brann<\/strong> 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate. Genk survived a fightback from Dinamo Zagreb<\/strong> who, having scored three times to make it 3-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate, then had Luka Stojkovic sent off in extra-time either side of the home side scoring twice.<\/p>\n
\n\n
\n \n <\/div>\n Image:<\/span> \n Tottenham are the holders of the Europa League following their win in Bilbao \n <\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
When are the 2025\/26 knockout stages?<\/h3>\n
Europa League<\/strong><\/p>\n
Round of 16 draw: <\/strong>February 27 Round of 16<\/strong>: March 12 and 19 Quarter-finals<\/strong>: April 9 and 16 Semi-finals<\/strong>: April 30 and May 7 Final<\/strong>: May 20<\/p>\n
\n\n
\n \n <\/div>\n Image:<\/span> \n Chelsea won the Conference League in the 2024\/25 campaign \n <\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Conference League<\/strong><\/p>\n
Round of 16 draw: <\/strong>February 27 Round of 16<\/strong>: March 12 and 19 Quarter-finals<\/strong>: April 9 and 16 Semi-finals<\/strong>: April 30 and May 7 May Final<\/strong>: May 27<\/p>\n
Where are the finals?<\/h3>\n
The Europa League final will be held at Besiktas Park in Istanbul on May 20.<\/p>\n
The Conference League final will be one week later at the Leipzig Stadium on May 27.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Crystal](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skysports-maxence-lacroix-crystal-palace_7176114.jpg\")
\n <\/div>![\"Tottenham's](\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/25\/05\/768x432\/skysports-tottenham-heung-min-son_6923773.jpg\")
\n <\/div>![\"Chelsea's](\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/25\/05\/768x432\/skysports-reece-james-chelsea_6929939.jpg\")
\n <\/div>