Today, the knockout stage draw for the Europa League was held. The draw resulted in a pure Italian showdown in the round of 16: Roma will face Bologna. French Lyon will take on Spanish Celta Vigo, while Spanish Real Betis clashes with Greek Panathinaikos. English Nottingham Forest will face Danish Midtjylland, and English Aston Villa will face a tough test against French Lille. German Freiburg will play against Belgian Genk in what looks like a balanced encounter, while Hungarian Ferencváros will face a strong challenge against Portuguese Sporting Braga. Portuguese Porto will clash with German Stuttgart in another exciting match. The first leg matches will be held on Thursday, March 12, while the second leg will take place on March 19. Here are the round of 16 matchups for the Europa League: Freiburg (Germany) - Genk (Belgium), Bologna (Italy) – Roma (Italy), Ferencváros (Hungary) – Sporting Braga (Portugal), Stuttgart (Germany) – Porto (Portugal), Real Betis (Spain) – Panathinaikos (Greece), Midtjylland (Denmark) – Nottingham Forest (England), Lyon (France) – Celta Vigo (Spain), Aston Villa (England) – Lille (France).
