Villa Draw Lille, Forest Set for Midtjylland Clash in Europa League Last 16

Aston Villa will face Lille OSC in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, renewing a rivalry that has developed over the past three seasons.

Villa, managed by Unai Emery, finished as runners-up in the league phase behind Olympique Lyonnais and will travel to France for the first leg on March 12.

The return fixture is scheduled for March 19 in Birmingham.

Both sides previously met in the 2024 UEFA Conference League quarter-finals, where Villa advanced via a penalty shootout.

Should the Premier League side progress, they will face the winner of the all-Italian tie between Bologna FC 1909 and AS Roma in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have been drawn against FC Midtjylland in a rematch of their league-phase encounter, which the Danish side won 3–2 in England.

Forest booked their place in the last 16 after eliminating Fenerbahce in the play-offs, while Midtjylland finished third in the 36-team league phase and are currently second in Denmark’s top flight.

If Forest scale through, they will meet either German Cup holders VfB Stuttgart or two-time European champions FC Porto in the quarter-finals.

An all-English semi-final remains a possibility should both Forest and Villa progress from their respective ties.

Elsewhere, Olympique Lyonnais will take on Celta Vigo, while Panathinaikos, coached by Rafael Benitez, face Real Betis.

Ferencvarosi TC, under the guidance of Robbie Keane, will battle SC Braga, while SC Freiburg meet KRC Genk.

The Europa League final is scheduled to hold at Vodafone Park on May 20.