Nottingham Forest booked their place in the Round of 16 after a nervy win over Fenerbahce in the play-off round.
Forest won 3-0 in the first leg in Istanbul, but fell two goals down in the return on Thursday night. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s effort settled the hosts and sent them into Friday’s draw.
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“We move forward – I’m happy, we played under pressure. It was like a thriller – with suspense,” Forest boss Vitor Pereira reflected at full-time.
“We were suffering a bit but we are in the moment of the season where we need to think not about one game but about the next game.”
Pereira’s team will take on Midtjylland in a tough test. The Danish side finished third in the league phase table, behind only Lyon and Aston Villa.
Aston Villa have been drawn to face Lille in the next round. It’s a rematch of theirEuropa Conference League quarter-final in 2024-25, when The Villans progressed to the last four via a penalty shootout. Elsewhere, there’s a fascinating all-Italian match up as Bologna meet AS Roma.
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Forest and Villa have been drawn on the same side of the draw and will meet in the semi-finals in both teams reach that stage.
Europa League Round of 16 draw in full:
When are the Europa League knockout phase matches?
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Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026.
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Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026.
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Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026.
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Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)