Martin O'Neill. Alamy Stock Photo

Here's who has qualified for the Europa League knockouts - and who they can face in the next round

Pairings will be finalised in a draw tomorrow, with Robbie Keane potentially facing a return to Celtic.

AND SO ENDS the Europa League, er, League Phase. 

Aston Villa’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over RB Salzburg means they finished second in the table and skip right to the last-16, while Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros, Nottingham Forest and Celtic have progressed to the knockout round play-off for the right to join Villa et al in the last-16. 

Here’s the full list of the top eight sides who have progressed directly to the last-16, and therefore get to skip the play-off round: 

  • Lyon 
  • Aston Villa 
  • Midtylland 
  • Real Betis 
  • Porto 
  • Braga
  • Freiburg 
  • Evan Ferguon’s Roma 

Meanwhile, here are the next 16 sides finishing from 9th to 24th, who will go to the play-off round: 

  • Genk
  • Bologna 
  • Stuttgart 
  • Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros 
  • Nottingham Forest 
  • Viktoria Plzen 
  • Crvena Zvezda 
  • Celta Vigo 
  • PAOK 
  • Lille 
  • Fenerbahce 
  • Panathinaikos
  • Celtic 
  • Ludogorets 
  • Dinamo Zagreb
  • Brann 

Rangers are among the 12 teams who have been eliminated. 

While there will be a draw at Uefa HQ tomorrow, 30 January at 12pm to determine the precise pairings, here are each side’s potential opponents in the next two knockout rounds. These are based on each side’s respective league finishes. 

Knockout round play-off – potential pairings 

  • Celtic or Ludogrets vs Stuttgart or Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros 
  • Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos vs Nottingham Forest or Viktoria Plzen 
  • Dinamo Zagreb or Brann vs Genk or Bologna 
  • PAOK or Lille vs Crvena Zvezda or Celta Vigo 

And the winners of these ties will feed into the last-16 proper as follows: 

Last-16 – potential pairings 

  • Porto vs Celtic/Ludogrets/Stuttgart/Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros
  • Braga vs Celtic/Ludogrets/Stuttgart/Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros
  • Midtylland vs Fenerbahce/Panathinaikos/Nottingham Forest/Viktoria Plzen
  • Real Betis vs Fenerbahce/Panathinaikos/Nottingham Forest/Viktoria Plzen
  • Freiburg vs Dinamo Zagreb/Brann/Genk/Bologna
  • Evan Ferguson’s Roma vs Dinamo Zagreb/Brann/Genk/Bologna
  • Aston Villa vs Lille/PAOK/Celta Vigo/Crvena Zvezda
  • Lyon vs Lille/PAOK/Celta Vigo/Crvena Zvezda

 

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