The first legs of UEFA Europa League and Conference League quarterfinal ties are poised to get underway this week, with a collection of surprising underdog runs and historic milestone moments shaping the upcoming slate of matches across the continent.
The action opens in Bologna, Italy, where Serie A side Bologna will host English Premier League outfit Aston Villa in a highly anticipated Europa League opening leg on Thursday. Aston Villa has already carved out an impressive piece of consistency this season, advancing to the final eight of a European competition for the third consecutive campaign. Domestically, Unai Emery’s side currently sits in fourth place in the Premier League table, well on track to secure a coveted spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League, marking a remarkable rise for the club in recent years.
For Bologna, Thursday’s match marks a historic first: the club has never advanced this far in a major European competition in its history. Their quarterfinal berth was earned with a thrilling extra-time upset over Roma, one of the tournament’s pre-draw favorites and a fellow Serie A side, cementing their status as one of the competition’s most exciting surprise packages.
The two clubs have history on the European stage already this season and last. They faced off in the opening match of the Europa League league phase, where Aston Villa claimed a tight 1-0 win. Last season, the pair also met in Champions League qualifying, with the Premier League side taking a 2-0 victory at their home ground Villa Park. Aston Villa captain John McGinn made his mark in both of those previous encounters, finding the back of the net in each fixture.
A second all-cross-continental Europa League tie will see another English club, Nottingham Forest, travel to take on Portuguese powerhouse Porto. Both sides boast past European glory, adding extra narrative weight to their matchup. For Porto, this run marks their first appearance in a European quarterfinal since 2014, ending a decade-long drought at this stage of continental competition. For Nottingham Forest, the 2024-25 campaign marks their first return to European competition in 30 years, a stunning comeback for the historic club that won the European Cup back in 1979 and 1980. The two sides previously met in the league phase of this season’s Europa League, where Forest claimed a 2-0 home win at the City Ground.
The third Europa League quarterfinal opening leg will see Bundesliga side Freiburg host La Liga outfit Celta Vigo. Like Bologna, Freiburg is making its first ever appearance in a European quarterfinal, continuing a breakout season for the German side. Celta Vigo, by contrast, has experience at this stage: the Spanish side is chasing just its second ever European semifinal appearance, having last reached the final four back in 2017, when they were eliminated by Manchester United.
Across UEFA’s third-tier continental competition, the Europa Conference League, another English side will kick off their quarterfinal campaign at home: Crystal Palace will host Italian side Fiorentina in London on Thursday, with both sides entering the tie as pre-tournament favorites to lift the Conference League trophy at the end of the season.
This collection of matches brings together a mix of established European contenders and clubs making long-awaited or first-time appearances at the quarterfinal stage, setting the stage for two weeks of dramatic continental soccer action.