Four Super Eagles players are set for action on Thursday as the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first legs kick off.
Ola Aina’s Nottingham Forest will host Danish side Midtjylland at the City Ground. Forest, competing in European competition for the first time in three decades, arrive on the back of a four-match winless run across all competitions, hovering just above the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference.
Despite domestic struggles, Forest have shown European pedigree, including a 3-0 first-leg win at Fenerbahce in the playoff round, advancing 4-2 on aggregate. Aina has been a consistent presence in Forest’s defense and will face a Midtjylland side that finished third in the 36-team league phase, including a 3-2 win over Forest in October.
Terem Moffi and Zaidu Sanusi will feature for Porto, who travel to VfB Stuttgart. Porto drew 2-2 with Benfica in O Classico last weekend and have won only one of their last five away matches. The Portuguese side finished fifth in the league phase and are targeting a quarter-final spot for only the second time since 2010/11. Stuttgart enter the tie in strong home form, winning five of seven matches at the MHPArena since the start of the year.
In Athens, Cyriel Dessers’ Panathinaikos will host Real Betis. Panathinaikos advanced through the playoffs via a penalty shootout against Viktoria Plzen. Dessers, who missed part of the campaign due to a 2025 AFCON injury, has returned to training, though his availability for the tie remains uncertain. Betis, fourth in the league phase, go into the tie following a 2-0 defeat at Getafe.
If Forest and Porto progress, a potential all-Premier League quarter-final between Forest and Aston Villa could materialize, with Villa facing Lille in their own last-16 tie.
