Europa League draw: Aston Villa, Forest could meet in semi-final after learning last-16 opponents | OneFootball

Aston Villa will take on Lille, while Nottingham Forest have earned a rematch against FC Midtjylland in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa learned their Europa League last-16 opponents on Friday, while Crystal Palace found out their opponents in the same stage of the Europa Conference League.

Forest and Palace were both forced to go through the play-offs and secured their place in the last 16 on Thursday evening.

Forest lost 2-1 at home to Fenerbahce in their second leg, but a convincing 3-0 win in Istanbul last week was enough to see them through.

The Eagles, meanwhile, beat Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar 3-1 on aggregate after a surprise 1-1 away draw in the first leg and a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park this week.

Their reward was a rematch with AEK Larnaca, who earned a stunning victory at Selhurst Park in the league phase.

Villa will face French side Lille in a tricky Europa League clash. Lille finished the league phase with four wins and four losses, placing 18th in the league phase.

Meanwhile, Forest will have a league-phase rematch against Midtjylland after avoiding Real Betis. The Danish side beat Forest 3-2 at the City Ground during Ange Postecoglou’s time at the club and finished third in their group after winning six of eight games.

Both Premier League sides fell on the same side of the draw and could potentially face each other in the semi-finals.

The last 16 matches will take place on March 12 and 19. The quarter-finals will be on April 9 and 16. And the semis are on April 30 and May 7.