Europa League last-16 draw: Celta face Lyon, Betis meet Panathinaikos | OneFootball

The Europa League last-16 draw paired Celta with Lyon and Betis with Panathinaikos. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, Celta host the first leg at Balaídos, while Betis have the second leg at home.

Panathinaikos are led by Spaniard Rafa Benítez, and Lyon include Endrick, the Brazilian forward on loan from Real Madrid. As with the Champions League, UEFA set the road to the Istanbul final, with ties on 12 and 19 March after the draw at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

If Betis progress, they will face the winner of Ferencvaros and Braga. If Celta advance, they will meet the winner of Genk and Freiburg. The Ferencvaros-Braga tie begins in Hungary and finishes in Portugal.

Both Spanish clubs landed on the easier side of the bracket, though Celta face Lyon, third in France, who skipped the previous round as a top-eight seed. Giráldez’s side, having eliminated PAOK of Salonika, were always set to draw a heavyweight, either Lyon or Aston Villa, third in the Premier League.

Betis could have drawn Nottingham Forest, but instead received Panathinaikos, a historic Greek club lying fifth domestically, who knocked out Viktoria Plzen on penalties.

On the opposite side, the Stuttgart-Porto winner will play Nottingham Forest or Denmark’s Midtjylland in the quarter-finals. Stuttgart are fourth in the Bundesliga and Porto lead the Portuguese top flight.

From Lille against Aston Villa will emerge the opponent for whoever wins the Italian derby between Roma, fourth in Serie A, and Bologna, eighth.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo