Europa League Matchday 7: What to look out for
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With crunch time approaching in the UEFA Europa League, teams are battling for points in the league phase in the quest to secure knockout football.
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It is do or die for a number of teams in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League in the penultimate round of games on Matchday 7.
We run through the key storylines and statistics.
Early kick-offs (18:45 CET)
Feyenoord vs Sturm Graz
Fenerbahçe vs Aston Villa
PAOK vs Real Betis
Viktoria Plzeň vs Porto
Young Boys vs Lyon
Freiburg vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Bologna vs Celtic
Malmö vs Crvena Zvezda
Brann vs Midtjylland
Late kick-offs (21:00 CET)
Roma vs Stuttgart
Utrecht vs Genk
Salzburg vs Basel
Ferencváros vs Panathinaikos
GNK Dinamo vs FCSB
Nice vs Go Ahead Eagles
Rangers vs Ludogorets
Celta vs Lille
Braga vs Nottingham Forest
Standout fixtures
The story: Survival in this competition is on the line for Feyenoord (who are 30th on three points) and Sturm Graz (29th on four points), with both teams eyeing a win in Rotterdam to bolster their hopes of playing European knockout football this season. Robin van Persie's side will have fond memories of the last time they played Sturm at home, Feyenoord recording a 6-0 win in the 2022/23 group stage. They will look to the notoriously noisy fans inside De Kuip to rouse them once again for this all-important contest.
The stat: Sturm have lost their last eight away European games.
The story: Following a disappointing Matchday 1 defeat by GNK Dinamo, Fenerbahçe have gone on to win three and draw two of their subsequent games to leave them with a real chance of securing at least a top-24 finish. Villa, meanwhile, booked their qualification for the knockout phase with a 2-1 win in Basel on Matchday 6 and will now set their sights on an automatic round of 16 spot. These teams last met in the UEFA Cup in 1977, Villa triumphing 6-0 on aggregate in the first round on their way to reaching the quarter-finals.
The stat: Fenerbahçe's Kerem Aktürkoğlu has scored in three of his team's six games so far, a total of four goals.
The story: Stuttgart and Roma have an identical record of won four drawn two so far, and with the sides in ninth and tenth place respectively there is plenty to play for in Italy as they vie for a spot in the top eight. Stuttgart will be offered hope by the fact that both Lille and Viktoria Plzeň have already won at the Stadio Olimpico this season, although Die Roten have only managed three victories in their last ten European away matches (D1 L6).
The stat: This is the first-ever competitive meeting between these teams.
The story: After three consecutive wins to kick off their campaign Braga have been slightly more inconsistent, falling to a dramatic 4-3 home defeat to Genk before drawing away at Rangers, though they did beat Nice in France last time out. They still sit seventh with a round of 16 place in reach, but they face a real test against a rejuvenated Nottingham Forest, who have already beat Portuguese opposition in this league phase with a 2-0 win against Porto on Matchday 3 and have climbed up to 11th place after a difficult start.
The stat: Braga's loss to Genk was their only defeat in their last 13 European matches (W10 D2).
Other highlights
- Ludogorets attacking midfielder Petar Stanić leads the race to finish as top scorer with six goals so far, including four in his last two games, and he will look to add to that tally when his team travel to face struggling Rangers.
- Two Nordic sides go head-to-head as Brann of Norway, who currently sit 22nd, face high-flying Danish outfit Midtjylland, who have won five of their six games to seal qualification to the knockout phase.
- Point-less Nice will be playing for pride after their elimination was confirmed on Matchday 6, but the French side will hope to get off the mark and give their fans something to cheer about as they host 28th-placed Go Ahead Eagles.