2025/26 UEFA Europa Conference League Play-off Draw: English Giant Faces a Nightmare

30/01/2026 20:59:00 SportScoop

The draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League play-off round has officially been conducted.

In the early hours of January 30, the final matches of the Europa League group stage concluded with all 36 teams competing. Premier League representative Aston Villa secured a direct spot in the round of 16 after a thrilling 3-2 victory over FC Salzburg at Villa Park, finishing in the top two.

Besides Aston Villa, teams like Lyon, FC Midtjylland, Real Betis, FC Porto, SC Braga, Freiburg, and AS Roma also qualified for the round of 16 by finishing in the top 8.Meanwhile, teams ranked from 9th to 21st must compete in the play-off round to earn a place in the knockout stage. Those placed 9th to 16th are seeded, giving them the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

After a 4-0 win against Ferencváros at City Ground, Nottingham Forest ended the group stage in 13th place and is among the seeded teams in the play-off round.

G_3TsCLXcAALYYc — List of teams directly entering the round of 16 and the play-offs (Photo: UEFA).

Seeded teams: Genk (9), Bologna (10), Stuttgart (11), Ferencváros (12), Nottingham Forest (13), Viktoria Plzen (14), Red Star Belgrade (15), Celta Vigo (16).

Unseeded teams: PAOK (17), Lille (18), Fenerbahçe (19), Panathinaikos (20), Celtic (21), Ludogorets (22), Dinamo Zagreb (23), Brann (24).

On the afternoon of January 30, the play-off draw took place and Nottingham Forest was drawn to face Fenerbahçe,a European competition veteran. In another tie, Celtic will play against Stuttgart.

The first legs will be held on February 19, with the second legs scheduled for February 26. After the play-off round concludes, UEFA will conduct draws for the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals on February 27.