The Independent
·20 February 2025
Who Aston Villa could face in Champions League last-16 draw
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The Independent
·20 February 2025
Aston Villa have already enjoyed a memorable return to the European stage and now Unai Emery’s side are set to discover who they will face in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The 1982 European champions marked their return to the continent’s top club competition by beating Bayern Munich at Villa Park, while there were impressive wins over Bologna and RB Leipzig too.
Defeats on the road to Club Brugge and Monaco suggests that Villa will have to improve when the knockout stages get underway, with some suggestions that Emery’s side have gone off the boil since the early stages of the season.
But Emery has an impressive knockout record in European football, even if the majority of his wins across two-legged ties during spells at Villarreal and Sevilla have come in the Europa League.
It means Villa are set to be one of the teams to watch after they managed to sneak into the top eight and advance directly to the last 16 by beating Celtic 4-2 in a Villa Park thriller on the final day of the group stage.
Aston Villa will play either Borussia Dortmund or Club Brugge in the last-16.
Brugge dumped out Europa League winners and dark horses Atalanta in the shock of the play-off rounds, while Dortmund were 3-0 up over Sporting and required a goalless draw against the Portuguese side to advance.
The Champions League draw takes place at 11am on Friday, 21 February.
Aston Villa will play the first leg of their last-16 match away from home on 4/5 March and then the second leg at Villa Park on 11/12 March.
PSG - to play Liverpool or Barcelona in last-16
Benfica - to play Liverpool or Barcelona in last-16
PSV - to play Arsenal or Inter in last-16
Feyenoord - to play Arsenal or Inter in last-16
Real Madrid - to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in last-16
Bayern Munich - to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in last-16
Club Brugge - to play Lille or Aston Villa in last-16
Borussia Dortmund - to play Lille or Aston Villa in last-16