Europa League ends tonight its league phase, one day after Champions League, and in the same way, with all matches starting at the same time, as the results of one match can have drastic consecuences for other teams (as Benfica and Real Madrid, for example, know very well...).
As it stands right now, Aston Villa and Lyon are the only teams confirmed to be in round of 16 no matter what happes next.
These other teams know for sure that they will finish in the top 24, but there's a big difference between finishing in the top 8 and avoid playing and extra round: Bologna, Braga, Celta Vigo, Crvena Zvezda, Fenerbahçe, Ferencváros, Freiburg, Genk, Midtjylland, Nottingham Forest, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Porto, Real Betis, Roma, Stuttgart and Viktoria Plzeň.
Europa League matches on Thursday January 29:
Here are all the UEFA Europa League matches on Thursday, January 29 (league phase matchday 8):
Aston Villa vs RB Salzburg — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Real Betis vs Feyenoord — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Basel vs. Viktoria Plzen — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Celtic vs FC Utrecht — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Crvena zvezda vs. Celta de Vigo — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
FC Basel vs Viktoria Plzeň — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
FCSB vs. Fenerbahçe — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Panathinaikos vs Roma — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Bologna — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
FC Porto vs Rangers — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Lille vs SC Freiburg — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Genk vs Malmö FF — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Go Ahead Eagles vs SC Braga — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Nice — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
LOSC vs. Freiburg— 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Bologna — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Midtjylland vs Dinamo Zagreb — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Nottingham Forest vs Ferencváros — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Lyon vs PAOK — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Sturm Graz vs Brann — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Stuttgart vs Young Boys — 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
One day after those matches, the draw will take place to decided the pairings for the knock-out play-offs. Are you following Europa League this season?