Europa League draw live: Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest to learn last 16 opponents plus Conference League ties confirmed | OneFootball

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What Bodo/Glimt have done matches Porto and Leicester - but it's also a warning

The knockout stage draws in the Europa League and Conference League take place this morning as, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace each discover both their last-16 opponents and their potential route to shot a continental silverware.

Vitor Pereira got his Forest tenure off to a perfect start by thumping former club Fenerbahce 3-0 in Kadikoy in his maiden outing, giving his side the task of seeing out their Europa League knockout play-off tie even though they lost 2-1 at the City Ground in the return leg.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, had a more nervy Thursday evening to contend with after being held to an underwhelming draw by Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar last week, with the Eagles cruising to a 2-0 victory (3-1 on aggregate) to spare embarrassment and see them through in the Conference League.

After Celtic were unable to recover their heavy first-leg defeat at home to Stuttgart, Palace and Forest, as well as Aston Villa who had already booked their place in the Europa League last-16, are the only British sides left in the pots. Pereira’s side will face either Real Betis or Midtjylland in the next round, while Oliver Glasner will be charged with a tie against one of Mainz or AEK Larnaca - the latter of whom stunned Palace at Selhurst Park in the league phase. Villa will take on either Lille or Celta Vigo.

This morning’s draw will not just create the last-16 schedule, but will reveal the path to the Europa League and Conference League finals, as teams also discover who they could face if they progress to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

Follow Champions League knockout round draw

The draw for the Champions League knockout rounds is taking place in Nyon right now.

You can follow that draw with our live blog below before the Europa League and Conference League draws follow this afternoon.

Champions League draw live: Arsenal, Liverpool and more to learn last-16 opponents

There are six English teams in the Champions League knockout stage draw as the road to the Budapest final is also revealed

Mike Jones27 February 2026 11:00

Why Vitor Pereira’s mission at Nottingham Forest goes beyond avoiding relegation

Nottingham Forest’s last game was against Vitor Pereira’s last club. His first match in charge is against another of his former clubs. Maybe that is simply the logical consequence of the managerial turnover under Evangelos Marinakis and the choice of a peripatetic figure like Pereira.

Why Pereira’s mission at Forest goes beyond avoiding relegation

Pereira has arrived as Forest’s fourth manager of the season with the primary objective of avoiding the drop – but as shown by Sean Dyche’s sacking, that is not all that is expected of his reign

Richard Jolly27 February 2026 10:50

Pereira explains half-time substitutions

Pereira made four changes at half-time during Forest’s second leg against Fenerbahce as he looked to gain more control in the game.

“It’s difficult for a manager to do four subs,” he explained. “It’s not about one player. I was not disappointed with one player, I was feeling that I need to do something to face the second half.

“It’s difficult to look in the eyes of the players and do four subs, but it is my life, it is my job and I did it.

“It’s like intuition. If you start to feel that we are not controlling the game, and we are in risk to not control the game in our way, you must do it. It is not about personal players.”

Mike Jones27 February 2026 10:40

Vitor Pereira says changing Europa League team was 'worth the risk'

“We were suffering a bit. But we are in the moment of the season that we need to think not about one game, but about two games, about the next game,” Forest’s manager said.

“It was a risk because I decided to make six changes in the team. If you have one or two changes the players can be in the middle of the others, and you don’t miss the quality.

“But when you change six players they aren’t used to playing 90 minutes.

“This is the risk. I decide to take this risk. I decide because I need to think about the Brighton game, because it’s very important for us. We need to go there with fuel and energy.

“It is difficult to face them away. My decisions were not just about this game, it was worth thinking about the next game, and was a pity for me, because in my intention was to give confidence for everybody.”

Vitor Pereira began his Nottingham Forest reign with victory (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Mike Jones27 February 2026 10:30