What is shaping out to be a heard-turning bracket for the Europa League round of 16 is coming into focus after the conclusion of the knockout phase playoffs.
While the top eight of the league phase, including tournament favorites Lyon and Aston Villa, have had their feet kicked up over the last two weeks, 16 teams have gone to war in pursuit of a spot in the last 16.
Some ties were rather straightforward—Stuttgart breezed past Celtic and Celta Vigo barely broke a sweat against PAOK. Yet others delivered all the drama, like Panathinaikos’ penalty shootout triumph over Viktoria Plzeň and Genk’s extra time daggers against Dinamo Zagreb.
Now that the final 16 teams in the Europa League are solidified, the potential round of 16 matchups are taking shape.
Every Potential Europa League Round of 16 Matchup
|
Team |
Possible Round of 16 Opponents |
|---|---|
|
(1) Lyon |
Lille or Celta Vigo |
|
(2) Aston Villa |
Lille or Celta Vigo |
|
(3) Midtjylland |
Panathinaikos or Nottingham Forest |
|
(4) Real Betis |
Panathinaikos or Nottingham Forest |
|
(5) FC Porto |
Stuttgart or Ferencváros |
|
(6) Braga |
Stuttgart or Ferencváros |
|
(7) Freiburg |
Bologna or Genk |
|
(8) Roma |
Bologna or Genk |
Headlining the potential Europa League round of 16 matches is a potential clash between Lyon and Lille. The two sides sit in third and fifth place respectively in Ligue 1 and have already faced off three times this season—twice in the domestic league and once in the Coupe de France.
Lyon came out on top in all three matches, but each game was decided by a single goal. Normally Lille would be eager to avoid their fellow French club given the recent string of defeats, but not when Aston Villa are the alternative option.
Unai Emery’s men will feel confident going against either Lille or Celta Vigo in the round of 16. Even though they have been rather inconsistent as of late, Aston Villa outclasses either opponent at virtually every position on the pitch.
England’s other representatives Nottingham Forest will match up with either Midtjylland or Real Betis. The former might have finished above the Spanish outfit in the league phase, but the Danish club poses less of a threat than Manuel Pellegrini’s men, who have only suffered five La Liga defeats this season—and three came against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.
Keeping the Premier League trend going, former Spurs standout Robbie Keane led Ferencváros to the round of 16, where his side will face Porto or Braga. Either way, Hungary’s most successful club will be headed to Portugal.
Stuttgart will face the other of the two Portuguese outfits, narrowly avoiding fellow Bundesliga side Freiburg in the next round. Instead, the latter could be in for a league phase rematch with Bologna; the two clubs shared the spoils in a 1–1 draw back in October.
Perhaps the more exciting match would be if the Serie A side gets drawn against Roma, pitting two of Italy’s top teams against one another with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line.
When Is the Europa League Round of 16 Draw?
The Europa League draw is set to unfold less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the knockout phase playoffs. The festivities will commence on Friday, Feb. 27, at 12 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. ET, 4 a.m. PT).
The top eight teams from the league phase are pre-seeded for the draw and divided into pairs based on where they finished in the table. Unlike the knockout phase playoff winners, the pre-seeded teams do not know which side of the bracket they are on.
During Friday’s draw, each pair will be split and placed on either the silver side or the orange side of the bracket, where they will match up with the respective knockout phase winner waiting for them in the round of 16. By the time the draw ends, each team will have a clear view of their path to the Europa League final.
Fans can tune in to the round of 16 draw on UEFA’s official website for free.