UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-offs: What to look out for in the second legs

Stuttgart and Nottingham Forest have three-goal leads going into their UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-off ties, but there are narrow margins in the remaining ties.

We look through the big storylines ahead of Thursday's deciders.

Fixtures

Early games (18:45 CET)

Viktoria Plzeň vs Panathinaikos (2-2 agg)
Ferencváros vs Ludogorets (1-2 agg)
Crvena Zvezda vs Lille (1-0 agg)
Stuttgart vs Celtic (4-1 agg)

Late games (21:00 CET)

Bologna vs Brann (1-0 agg)
Genk vs GNK Dinamo (3-1 agg)
Nottingham Forest vs Fenerbahçe (3-0 agg)
Celta vs PAOK (2-1 agg)

Standout fixtures

Viktoria Plzeň vs Panathinaikos

The story: The Czech side could have struggled after losing an early lead, and trailing 2-1 in Athens, but Tomáš Ladra's finish ten minutes from the end has left them with a clean slate ahead of the decider. "We need to praise the boys for coping with the atmosphere," said coach Martin Hyský. "It’s not easy to fight back in these circumstances."

Experienced Panathinaikos boss Rafael Benítez has won this competition with Valencia and Chelsea, and is not feeling too dispirited about his side's trip north.  "Viktoria are a good team, but based on our second-half performance, I am optimistic that we will qualify," said the Spaniard.

The stat: Plzeň are the only side to have made it to this stage of the 2025/26 Europa League without losing a game.

Ferencváros vs Ludogorets 

The story: Ludogorets were the only side to emerge from the first legs with a home win, a superb finish from their Spanish right-back Son giving Per-Mathias Hogmø's side a 2-1 lead to defend in Budapest. "We showed courage," said the Norwegian coach. "And we told ourselves we had to win the one-on-one battles and then the game started to change."

Ferencváros struggled to turn pressure into chances in Bulgaria, but boss Robbie Keane will expect better of his side in the second leg, as will goalkeeper Dávid Gróf, who said: "We will have chances in Pest as well, and we must exploit them ruthlessly. We will have a lot of fans behind us, which will give us a little bit extra."

The stat: Ferencváros hosted Ludogorets in Champions League qualifying and the league phase of the Europa League this season, winning 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.

Crvena Zvezda vs Lille 

The story: Crvena Zvezda arguably picked a good moment to take on Lille; their 1-0 first-leg win in France meant that their opponents had won only once in their first ten games of 2026 (D2 L7). However, coach Dejan Stanković expects a fierce response in the return fixture. "We have to show the same attitude as we did tonight," he said. "That’s the minimum. After that, anything is possible.”

Midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi promised that fans would see some of Les Dogues' fighting spirit in the return fixture. "We’ll approach it with immense desire and determination," he said. "We'll be doing all we can to go looking for that win in Belgrade."

The stat: Crvena Zvezda had never won in France until the first leg (D2 L7). They have not won in their last four home games against Ligue 1 teams (D1 L3).

Plus

• Forest's Igor Jesus is now level with Ludogorets' Petar Stanić on seven goals as this season's top scorer. Will the Brazilian find the target a few more times at home against Fenerbahçe?
• Bologna won 1-0 at Brann in the first leg, but the Norwegian side have not abandoned hope. "If we score first in Bologna, it will get interesting," said coach Freyr Alexandersson.
• PAOK have a similar feeling as they head to Spain for their decider against Celta. Alexander Jeremejeff scored a superb goal for the Greek side in the first leg and coach Răzvan Lucescu insisted PAOK's battle "is not over".