Who Can Join Aston Villa in Last 16 of the Europa League?

Overview of the Current Standings

The Europa League group stage is nearing its conclusion, and the outcomes for the four British teams have varied greatly.

Aston Villa has already secured a spot in the last 16, Nottingham Forest is vying for playoff participation, Celtic has a shot at advancement but could also face elimination, while Rangers have been knocked out of the competition.

Villa clinched their place in the knockout phase following a narrow 1-0 victory over Fenerbahce on Thursday, amassing 18 points from their seven matches, allowing coach Unai Emery to potentially rest players for the upcoming home fixture against RB Salzburg.

Emery emphasized the significance of the Europa League for Villa: “It’s vital for us to be among the top eight, and this remains our top priority.”

French club Lyon holds the same points total as Villa but leads in the standings due to a superior goal difference of four.

As it stands, only Lyon and Villa have guaranteed their progression to the next stage, while 17 others remain in contention for the remaining slots.

Nottingham Forest and Celtic Aim for Playoffs, Rangers Out

The teams ranked ninth to 24th will compete in two-legged playoff matches set for February, with the possibility of two British teams being involved in this phase.

Nottingham Forest recently suffered a 1-0 loss against Braga in Portugal, which nearly confirms Sean Dyche’s team will advance to the playoffs. While Forest currently sits in 16th place, they could hypothetically finish in eighth if they defeat Ferencvaros at home and rely on favorable outcomes in matches involving the teams above them.

Despite the odds, Forest is eager to win their upcoming match since teams placed ninth through 16th will host the second legs of their playoff ties.

Celtic held a 2-0 lead against Bologna but, after going down to 10 men, ended the match in a 2-2 draw. This point leaves them with eight points, placing them 24th, just inside the playoff spots. They must secure a victory against Utrecht at home to ensure advancement, although failure to do so could lead to early exit.

“We’ve created an opportunity for ourselves, and that’s rewarding,” O’Neill remarked.

Rangers managed to earn their first victory of the group stage by defeating Ludogorets 1-0, but their journey in the tournament has ended after gathering just one point from their first six games.

Now sitting in 31st place, Rangers will next travel to Portugal to face Porto, who are pushing to secure a top-eight finish. They, alongside Sturm Graz, Nice, Utrecht, Malmo, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, are among the six teams that cannot qualify for the playoffs.

Every match on the final day carries significance, impacting standings for various teams.

Upcoming Fixtures

Here are the matches for the final round, with current table positions noted in brackets:

• Aston Villa (2) vs. RB Salzburg (28)
• Basel (27) vs. Viktoria Plzen (17)
• Celtic (24) vs. Utrecht (34)
• FCSB (29) vs. Fenerbahce (18)
• Genk (10) vs. Malmo (35)
• Go Ahead Eagles (30) vs. Sporting Braga (5)
• Lille (21) vs. Freiburg (3)
• Ludogorets (25) vs. Nice (33)
• Maccabi Tel Aviv (36) vs. Bologna (15)
• Midtjylland (4) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (20)
• Nottingham Forest (16) vs. Ferencvaros (7)
• Lyon (1) vs. PAOK (12)
• Panathinaikos (19) vs. Roma (6)
• Porto (9) vs. Rangers (31)
• Real Betis (8) vs. Feyenoord (26)
• Red Star Belgrade (11) vs. Celta Vigo (14)
• Sturm Graz (32) vs. Brann (22)
• Stuttgart (13) vs. Young Boys (23)

All matches are scheduled to commence at 20:00 GMT on Thursday, 29 January.