Nottingham Forest face Fenerbahce in playoff tie
Vitor Pereira’s era as Nottingham Forest head coach begins on Thursday night when the Tricky Trees travel to Turkey to face Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff tie.
The Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will stage the first ever meeting between these two clubs who are looking to strengthen their hopes of securing their spot in the last 16 before travelling to the City Ground for next week’s second leg.
In a tempestuous season of struggle for Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche have all been sacked by controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis, the latter of whom lost his job last week after only four months at the City Ground.
A 3-1 defeat at Leeds and a frustrating goalless home draw with Wolves, Marinakis has since acted swiftly to appoint Portuguese boss Pereira on an 18-month contract, four months after his dismissal at Molineux.
Before preparing his new Forest side for a tough PL home clash with Liverpool on Sunday, Pereira’s baptism of fire will come in the Europa League away against his former club Fenerbahce, where he spent two separate spells in charge.
The visitors will be fired up to impress their new manager and produce a performance worthy of claiming at least a share of the spoils, but we are backing the Turkish hosts to claim a narrow victory, giving them the advantage for next week’s second leg.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Celtic welcome Stuttgart to Celtic Park
Celtic will welcome Stuttgart to Celtic Park on Thursday night for the first leg of their knockout playoff round clash in the Europa League.
The Bhoys finished 21st in the league phase standings with 11 points, while Die Roten placed 11th with 15 points.
Since Martin O’Neill’s return for his second stint at the helm this season, Celtic have enjoyed a stellar run of results.
The Bhoys are undefeated since the legendary manager’s return, winning eight and drawing two of their 10 matches, including a crucial win against FC Utrecht in their final league phase match to ensure their place in the Europa League knockout rounds.
That victory lifted Celtic to 21st in the league phase table with 11 points from three wins, two draws and three defeats.
Celtic will be full of confidence heading into this game given their run under O’Neill, featuring a five-game winning streak and including a particularly superb 3-2 comeback triumph against Kilmarnock last time out.
O’Neill may have slight concerns with the nature of their recent triumphs though, as they have had to score stoppage time goals in each of their last three matches, highlighting their lack of ability to finish games off early.
That could be a particular problem against a side with Stuttgart’s quality, who are currently enjoying a strong overall campaign.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
PAOK, Celta Vigo faceoff in Europa League round of 16
A place in the Europa League round of 16 is on the line as PAOK Thessaloniki host Celta Vigo at Toumba Stadium on Thursday night in the first leg of their playoff tie.
Having finished just one point apart in the league phase standings, both sides enter this contest aware that even the smallest mistake could prove costly.
With the first leg on home soil, Razvan Lucescu’s side will be keen to take a firm grip on the tie ahead of the return leg.
PAOK enter this fixture on the back of a goalless draw against AEK Athens, a result that extended their steady run of form but also highlighted a slight dip in attacking sharpness.
The Thessaloniki-based club have shown resilience in recent weeks, recording three wins and two draws in their last five matches across all competitions, underlining their ability to grind out results even when not at their fluent best.
PAOK’s home form cannot be ignored, but Celta’s attacking quality could give them the edge.
Having already beaten the hosts in the league phase, the visitors may feel confident of repeating that result and taking a first-leg advantage.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Lille battle Red Star Belgrade in playoff clash
Playing in the Europa League knockout stage for the second time this decade, Lille will battle Red Star Belgrade in the opening leg of their playoff clash on Thursday at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Les Dogues finished 18th in the League Phase portion of this tournament, defeating Freiburg 1-0 on the final matchday, while the Serbians wound up two points above them in 15th after drawing 1-1 with Celta Vigo.
Things have not been trending well domestically for Lille of late, but they ended the previous phase of this competition on a positive note.
Bruno Genesio’s side have dropped points in six successive Ligue 1 affairs, with their victory over Freiburg in late January being their only one so far in 2026.
Three of their four home matches in the League Phase ended with the northern French club collecting maximum points, while they also picked up two clean sheets along the way.
Thursday will mark their first appearance in the knockout phase of the Europa League since 2021, when they were eliminated in the playoff round by Ajax. 4-2 on aggregate.
While they have lost their last three knockout contests in this competition, Lille are unbeaten in three of their previous four knockout home affairs in the Europa League as well, with their last such triumph coming against Liverpool in the 2010 round of 16.
After a slow start to the League Phase, Red Star picked up steam down the stretch of 2025 in Europe and kept that going into this year.
Early on they claimed just one point after the first two matchdays, but they enter the knockout phase on a five-match unbeaten run in Europe.
On paper, we believe the home side are better, but psychologically, they lack confidence right now, and we expect the Serbians to surprise them and earn a positive result in this opening match.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Brann 17:45 Bologna
Dinamo Zagreb 17:45 Genk
Fenerbahçe 17:45 Nottingham Forest
PAOK 17:45 Celta Vigo
Celtic 20:00 Stuttgart
Lille 20:00 Red Star Belgrade
Ludogorets Razgrad 20:00 Ferencváros
Panathinaikos 20:00 Viktoria Plzeň
CONFERENCE LEAGUE FIXTURES
KuPS 17:45 Lech Poznań
Noah 17:45 AZ
Sigma Olomouc 17:45 Lausanne-Sport
Zrinjski 17:45 Crystal Palace
Drita 20:00 Celje
Jagiellonia Białystok 20:00 Fiorentina
Omonia Nicosia 20:00 Rijeka
Shkendija 20:00 Samsunspor
