Villa and Forest face tough challenges: Summary of next opponents for 5 major Europa League teams after advancing to the Round of 16 and playoffs.
On 30 January 2026, here is a summary of the next opponents for five prominent teams in the knockout stage following the completion of the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League league phase last night. These include two teams from England's Premier League, one from Spain's La Liga, one from Italy's Serie A, and one from France's Ligue 1. Each team's finishing position in the league phase is as follows.
(Qualified for Round of 16)
1st place: Olympique Lyonnais, 21 points.
2nd place: Aston Villa, 21 points.
4th place: Real Betis, 17 points.
8th place: Roma, 16 points.
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(Playoffs)
13th place: Nottingham Forest, 14 points *Seeded team.
Olympique Lyonnais, Aston Villa, Real Betis, and Roma, who qualified automatically for the Round of 16, will be seeded teams awaiting one of the four winners from the playoff round. The playoffs will be split into two pairs in the upper and lower halves of the draw, depending on the draw.
Nottingham Forest is the only team required to play a two-legged home-and-away playoff, but they are also a seeded team. They will be drawn against one of two unseeded teams (ranked 19th or 20th).
Olympique Lyonnais - Possible opponents: Crvena Zvezda, Celta Vigo, PAOK, Lille.
Aston Villa - Possible opponents: Crvena Zvezda, Celta Vigo, PAOK, Lille.
Real Betis - Possible opponents: Nottingham Forest, Viktoria Plzeň, Fenerbahçe, Panathinaikos.
Roma - Possible opponents: Genk, Bologna, Dinamo Zagreb, Brann.
Nottingham Forest - Possible opponents: Fenerbahçe, Panathinaikos / (Round of 16) Midtjylland, Real Betis.
*Note: In the knockout rounds, teams from the same country can face each other, as can teams that met in the league phase.
The 2025-26 Europa League playoff draw will take place at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday, 30 January (19:00 Thai time). The first leg matches will be played on 19 February and the second legs on 26 February.
The Round of 16 draw will be held on 27 February, with first leg matches on 12 March and second legs on 19 March.
