The Europa League knockout stage is down to the wire. This Thursday, February 26, 2026, the playoff round concludes with eight teams moving on and eight going home. From clinical away performances to dead-even draws, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Here is an in-depth look at each game and what to expect as teams fight for a place in the Round of 16.
Table of Contents
The Mountain to Climb in the Europa League Preview: The Decisive Second Leg: Overturning the Deficit
VfB Stuttgart vs. Celtic (Agg: 4–1)
Probable Lineups:
- VfB Stuttgart (4-2-3-1): Nübel; Vagnoman, Hendriks, Chabot, Mittelstädt; Karazor, Andrés; Leweling, Undav, El Khanouss; Demirović.
- Celtic (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Araujo, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; Nygren, McGregor, Hatate; Tounekti, Maeda, Čvančara.
The First Leg: Stuttgart put on a clinical display at Celtic Park. Bilal El Khannouss silenced the Glasgow crowd early, scoring twice in the first half. While Celtic briefly leveled the score through Benjamin Nygren, they couldn’t handle Stuttgart’s efficiency. Late goals from Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomás effectively took the wind out of Celtic’s sails.
The Second Leg: Stuttgart returns to the MHP Arena with a massive cushion. For Celtic, this is about pride and an unlikely miracle. They have struggled with defensive lapses all season, and if they push too many players forward to find the three goals they need, Stuttgart’s counter-attack will likely punish them again.
Nottingham Forest vs. Fenerbahçe (Agg: 3–0)
Probable Lineups:
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Aina, Milenković, Murillo, Neco Williams; Sangaré, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus.
Fenerbahçe (4-3-3): Cetin; Nélson Semedo, Efe Üregen, Demir, Muldur; Guendouzi, Kanté, Yüksek; Asensio, Aktürkoğlu; Sidiki Cherif.
The First Leg: In one of the most surprising results of the round, Forest dismantled Fenerbahçe in Istanbul. Murillo opened the scoring with a brilliant long-range strike, followed by goals from Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White. Fenerbahçe dominated possession (58%) but were toothless, managing only 4 shots compared to Forest’s 21.
The Second Leg: Domenico Tedesco’s side faces a hostile City Ground without key defender Jayden Oosterwolde, who is suspended. Forest, under newly appointed manager Vítor Pereira, looked tactically perfect in the first leg. Fenerbahçe will be in desperate need of an early goal to rattle the home side, even though Forest’s defensive duo of Milenkovic and Murillo has been rock solid.
The Clean Slate: Winner-Takes-All
Viktoria Plzeň vs. Panathinaikos (Agg: 2–2)
Probable Lineups:
- Viktoria Plzeň (4-4-2): Wiegele; Memic, Dweh, Spáčil, Souare; Adu, Cerv, Hrosovsky, Visinsky; Fago, Panos
- Panathinaikos (3-4-2-1): Lafont; Palmer-Brown, Touba, Ingason; Calabria, Bakasetas, Renato, Kyriakopoulos; Taborda, Djuricic; Swiderski
The First Leg: This was a high-intensity battle in Athens. Plzeň took an early lead through Denis Visinsky, but Panathinaikos fought back thanks to a goal from Andrews Tetteh. The Greek side looked the more dangerous of the two, but Plzeň’s organization helped them escape with a draw.
The Second Leg: With no away goals rule, this is essentially a fresh start. Plzeň is incredibly tough to beat at home, having gone unbeaten through the league phase. Panathinaikos will lean heavily on Tetteh’s speed, but they’ll need to be wary of Plzeň’s ability to capitalize on set-pieces and defensive errors.
Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) vs. Lille (Agg: 1–0)
Probable Lineups:
Crvena Zvezda (3-4-2-1): Matheus Magalhães; Rodrigo, Franklin Tebo, Eraković; Tiknizyan, Krunić; Händel, Young-Woo; Duarte, Stanković; Enem
Lille (4-2-3-1): Ozer; Perraud, Mandi, Ngoy, Tiago Santos; André, Bouaddi; Mukau; Félix Correia, Haraldsson, Fernández-Pardo; Giroud
The First Leg: Lille dominated much of the play at home but couldn’t find a way past a disciplined Red Star defense. A late first-half goal from Franklin Tebo Uchenna gave the Serbian champions a vital lead. Lille tried everything in the second half, even bringing on veteran Olivier Giroud, but the breakthrough never came.
The Second Leg: The “Marakana” in Belgrade is a fortress. Red Star is famous for protecting leads in front of their home fans. Lille has the superior technical quality, but they have struggled with finishing in recent weeks. If Lille can’t score in the first hour, the pressure of the Belgrade crowd might become too much to handle.
Protecting the Lead
Bologna vs. SK Brann (Agg: 1–0)
Probable Lineups:
- Bologna (4-3-2-1): Skorupski; Zortea, Vitik, Lucumí, Mario; Freuler, Moro, Ferguson; Bernardeschi, Cambiaghi; Santiago Castro.
- SK Brann (4-3-3): Dyngeland; De Roeve, Knudsen, Kwame Boakye, Soltvedt; Myhre, Sorenson, Ingason; Mathisen, Holm, Thorsteinsson
The First Leg: Santiago Castro scored just nine minutes in, and Bologna spent the rest of the match putting on a defensive clinic. Brann had a golden chance to equalize through a header from Ulrik Mathisen, but a spectacular save from Lukasz Skorupski kept Bologna’s clean sheet intact.
The Second Leg: Back in Italy, Bologna will look to suffocate the game. They are experts at keeping the ball and slowing down the tempo. Brann needs to be aggressive, but they risk being caught out by Bologna’s creative substitutes like Riccardo Orsolini, who changed the game’s energy in the first leg.
Celta Vigo vs. PAOK (Agg: 2–1)
Probable Lineups:
Celta Vigo (4-3-3): Radu; Javi Rodríguez, Fernández, Marcos Alonso, Carreira; Mingueza, Roman, Moriba; Swedberg, Borja Iglesias, Aspas.
PAOK (4-2-3-1): Tsiftsis; Kenny, Vogliacco, Mitrou, Taylor; Ozdoev, Camara; Taison, Zafeiris, Chatsidis; Giakoumakis
The First Leg: Celta Vigo showed their experience in a difficult environment. Iago Aspas scored a trademark goal to give them the lead, and Willot Swedberg added a second. PAOK managed to pull one back through Alexander Jeremejeff, which keeps this tie very much alive.
The Second Leg: Celta is the favorite at home, but they’ve had an inconsistent season. PAOK is a team that thrives on chaos and high-pressing. If the Greek side can disrupt Celta’s midfield early on, they have enough firepower to cause an upset in Spain.
Tactical Battles
Genk vs. Dinamo Zagreb (Agg: 3–1)
Probable Lineups:
Genk (4-3-3): Lawal; Sadick, Smets, Kayembe El Ouahdi; Heynen, Heymans, Medina; Ito, Bibout, Karetsas
Dinamo Zagreb (4-3-3-): Livakovic; Valincic, Dominguez, McKenna, Vinlof; Stojkovic, Misic, Zajc; Bakrar, Beljo, Hoxha
The First Leg: Bryan Heynen and Zakaria El Ouahdi opened the scoring, capitalizing on a disorganized Dinamo defense. While Dinamo managed a late goal to give themselves a lifeline, they were largely outplayed by Genk’s pace and movement.
The Second Leg: Dinamo Zagreb has a history of miraculous European comebacks, but they’ll be without Miha Zajc (yellow card suspension). Genk is a young team that sometimes loses focus when leading, so Dinamo’s best chance is to create a frantic, high-scoring game.
Ferencváros vs. Ludogorets (Agg: 1–2)
Probable Lineups:
- Ferencváros (3-5-2): Gróf; Gomez, Cisse, Raemaekers; Cadu, Ötvös, Abu Fani, Kanikovski, Makreckis; Kovačević, Bamidele Yusuf
- Ludogorets (4-4-2): Bonmann; Andersson, Nachmias, Verdon, Nedyalkov, Nogueira, Duarte, Pedro, Caio; Stanic, Kwadwo Duah.
The First Leg: This was a physical, card-heavy affair in Bulgaria. Ludogorets took the lead through Kwadwo Duah, only for Bamidele Yusuf to equalize minutes later. A second-half strike gave Ludogorets the edge. Both teams finished the game with multiple yellow cards, reflecting the tension of the rivalry.
The Second Leg: Ferencváros will rely on a sold-out crowd in Budapest to intimidate the visitors. Ludogorets is a very experienced European side that knows how to park the bus, but Ferencváros’ playmaker Mohammad Abu Fani has the vision to unlock even the tightest defenses.
Which teams will be victorious and advance to the Round of 16? Thursday night will provide all the answers.
