Aston Villa have been drawn against Lille in the Europa League last 16, with Nottingham Forest facing Midtjylland as the pair meet again this season.
But there will be no repeat of last season’s all-English Europa League final as Tottenham defeated Manchester United in Bilbao, with Villa and Forest meeting in the semi-finals should they progress to that stage.
Villa, who finished second in the league phase table, will take on French team Lille in a repeat of their Conference League quarter-final in 2024, which saw Unai Emery’s side progress on penalties.
Forest face familiar opponents too, as they take on Danish side Midtjylland, who won 3-2 at the City Ground in October in the league phase of the Europa League.
Seeded Villa will have home advantage in the second leg against Lille, but unseeded Forest face a trip to Denmark for the second leg.
The last-16 first legs take place on March 12, with the second legs scheduled for March 19.
The schedule is expected to be released on Friday night.
Aston Villa’s route to the final
Round of 16: Lille
Quarter-finals: Roma or Bologna
Semi-finals: Stuttgart or Porto or Nott’m Forest or Midtjylland
Forest’s route to the final
Round of 16: Midtjylland
Quarter-finals: Stuttgart or Porto
Semi-finals: Bologna or Roma or Lille or Aston Villa
When will fixture dates be announced?
The last 16 match schedule will be available on Friday night.
The quarter-finals and, in principle, the semi-finals match schedule will be communicated on March 20.
Home advantage in second legs for seeded teams
The top eight teams from the league phase are seeded and will have home advantage in the second leg of their round of 16 games.
This will extend to the quarter-finals for the teams that finished in the top four of the league phase – Lyon, Aston Villa, Midtjylland and Real Betis – if they progress.
For Lyon and Villa, the top two, they will also have home advantage in the second leg of their semi-final if successful.
Any team that eliminates a seeded team will take their privileges.
When are the 2025/26 knockout stages?
Europa League
Round of 16: March 12 and 19
Quarter-finals: April 9 and 16
Semi-finals: April 30 and May 7
Final: May 20
Conference League
Round of 16: March 12 and 19
Quarter-finals: April 9 and 16
Semi-finals: April 30 and May 7 May
Final: May 27
Where are the finals?
The Europa League final will be held at Besiktas Park in Istanbul on May 20.
The Conference League final will be one week later at the Leipzig Stadium on May 27.
