Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest have both discovered their opponents in the last-16 of the Europa League after UEFA conducted the draw on Friday afternoon.Â
The Villans will take French outfit Lille in a repeat of their the Conference League quarter-final clash in 2023/24. The Midlands outfit won that tie on penalties after drawing 3-3 on aggregate.
Forest, meanwhile, will face Danish side Midtjylland over two legs as they bid to reach the last eight of a European competition for the first time since 1996. The two teams met in the league phase back in October, which Midtjylland won 3-2 at the City Ground.
The two Premier League clubs have been drawn on the same side of the draw, meaning they will meet in the semi-finals if they both make it that far.
Should Villa defeat Lille, they will play either Roma or Bologna in the quarter-finals, while they could face one of Stuttgart, Porto, Forest or Midtjylland in the last four.
Forest could meet Stuttgart or Porto in the next round, before taking on Bologna, Roma, Lille or Villa in the semis.
Elsewhere in the draw, Celta Vigo face Lyon, Real Betis play Panathinaikos, Genk take on Freiburg, and Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros come up against Sporting Braga.
UEFA Europa League last-16 draw in full:
Aston Villa vs Lille
Nottingham Forest vs Midtjylland
Celta Vigo vs Lyon
Real Betis vs Panathinaikos
Genk vs Freiburg
Bologna vs AS Roma
Ferencvaros vs Sporting Braga
Stuttgart vs Porto
When does the last-16 of the Europa League be played?
The first leg matches will be played on Thursday 12th March, and the second legs will take place on Thursday 19th March.
When is the Europa League final?
The 2025/26 Europa League final will take place in Istanbul at Besiktas Park on Wednesday, 20th May.
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