Europa League quarter-finals: What to look out for in the first legs

Familiar foes meet again and new encounters are on the horizon as the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals get under way.

We preview the first legs.

First leg fixtures

Wednesday 8 April
Braga vs Real Betis (18:45 CET)

Thursday 9 April
Bologna vs Aston Villa
Porto vs Nottingham Forest
Freiburg vs Celta

Kick-off times 21:00 CET unless otherwise stated

Braga vs Real Betis

The story: Things weren't looking good for Braga after they fell to a 2-0 first-leg defeat to Ferencváros in the round of 16, but Carlos Vicens' side roared back in the return, two goals from Ricardo Horta inspiring a 4-0 victory to send them through. Beaten finalists in this competition in 2011, Braga will be beginning to dream they can go all the way this time.

Just like their opponents, Betis also came from behind and won their round of 16 second leg 4-0, defeating Panathinaikos 4-1 on aggregate. Last season's Conference League finalists are looking strong, and midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is already dreaming of another showpiece: "Hopefully I can go back to Istanbul, because I played there last year with Fenerbahçe, and we go there with the team and play the final and win it – that's the dream for us."

The stat: This will be the first competitive meeting between these teams.

Bologna vs Aston Villa

The story: These two sides are becoming well-acquainted with each other in Europe, with this their third meeting in the last two seasons. Villa had the upper hand on both the previous occasions, beating Bologna 2-0 in the league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League before triumphing 1-0 on the opening matchday of this season's Europa League, captain John McGinn on target in both games.

I Rossoblù, though, will be buoyed by their dramatic 5-4 aggregate extra-time win over Italian rivals Roma in the round of 16, a result which saw them qualify for the quarter-finals of a major European competition for the first time. "We will be the underdogs again but we will try to surprise again," declared coach Vincenzo Italiano.

The stat: Bologna are unbeaten in their last 11 Europa League games (W7 D4), the longest unbeaten run in the club's history in UEFA competition.

Porto vs Nottingham Forest

The story: This tie sees another repeat fixture from the league phase, with Forest beating Porto 2-0 on Matchday 3 courtesy of penalties from Morgan Gibbs-White and the tournament's joint-top scorer Igor Jesus (seven goals). Francesco Farioli's side are much-improved since that night at the City Ground, though, and are unbeaten in their seven Europa League games since (W5 D2).

While Porto cruised into the quarter-finals following a 4-1 aggregate win over Stuttgart, Forest required penalties to see off Midtjylland as they kept alive their hopes of winning silverware in their first campaign back in Europe in 30 years. As captain Ryan Yates said: "The journey's not over yet – we're still dreaming."

The stat: Porto have lost only one of their last 13 UEFA home matches (W10 D2) and have won all five this season.

Freiburg vs Celta

The story: Freiburg put in an outstanding performance to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit and defeat Genk 5-2 on aggregate in the round of 16, Japanese forward Yuito Suzuki scoring the pick of the goals following a blistering counterattack. After being knocked out at that stage on two occasions in recent years, the German side are finally through to the quarter-finals for the first time, with defender Matthias Ginter beaming: "It's the most special thing you can experience as a footballer."

Celta, meanwhile, are into this stage for the fifth occasion after seeing off Lyon, although only once have they progressed to the semis. An impressive, dogged display in France saw them through 3-1 on aggregate, showing they are able to dig deep and grind out results when needed to complement their normal swashbuckling style.

The stat: No side have scored more goals than the 21 Celta have managed so far in this season's competition.