VfB Stuttgart, Nottingham Forest, Bologna, Red Star Belgrade, Celta Vigo, Genk, and Ludogorets are one step closer to advancing to the Europa League Round of 16 after winning their opening legs against Celtic, Fenerbahce, Brann, Lille, PAOK, Dinamo Zagreb, and Ferencvaros. Meanwhile, Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen shared the spoils last week after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, so it’s still a coin toss between these two sides.
The winner of these ties will eventually join Porto, Braga, Midtjylland, Real Betis, SC Freiburg, AS Roma, Lyon, and Aston Villa in the next round. And the Europa League 2026 odds believe there’s so much to play for because there are no prohibitive favourites in this year’s tournament.
With that said, continue reading below, as SBOTOP previews the Top 3 games to watch this midweek, where football fans can expect to get their usual dose of Europa League 2026 highlights.
VfB Stuttgart vs Celtic
VfB Stuttgart recorded an emphatic 4-1 victory against Celtic in the first leg in Scotland, so they’re likely to advance to the next round to face either Braga or Porto.
Sebastian Hoeneß’ side initially struggled in its Europa League campaign, losing two of its first three league phase fixtures. However, four wins and only one loss in their final five league phase games saw VfB Stuttgart improve to 11th place, and they missed out on a Top 8 berth by just one point.
Drawn against Celtic in the knockout play-offs, VfB Stuttgart were in impressive form in the build-up to the first leg, as they’ve won five and lost only one in their last six games in all competitions. Last Thursday, Bilal El Khannouss (brace), Jamie Leweling, and Tiago Tomas were on the scoresheet, while Benjamin Nygren’s early goal prevented a shutout loss for the Scottish side.
VfB Stuttgart will likely be without Angelo Stiller, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Lazar Jovanovic, and Justin Diehl due to fitness issues, while Jeff Chabot is suspended. Meanwhile, Celtic will miss Alistair Johnson, Arne Engels, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Jota.
If Celtic miraculously fight their way back into this tie, it’ll likely be on the back of another superb performance from Nygren, who has now scored in each of his last three games. He’ll join Daizen Maida, Sebastian Tounekti, and Tomas Cvancara in the final third.
Betting tip – VfB Stuttgart Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 2.01
Nottingham Forest vs Fenerbahce
Vitor Pereira was off to a dream start with Nottingham Forest, as his team notched a 3-0 victory in the first leg against Fenerbahce last week. In the said game, Murllo, Igor Jesus, and Morgan Gibbs-White scored against their Turkish counterparts. The Tricky Trees eventually lost narrowly to Liverpool on Saturday (1-0), despite a commendable performance, so they’re eager to return to winning ways.
Because they’re facing a battle to survive relegation from the Premier League right now, Nottingham Forest might take it easy against Fenerbahce in the return leg. Pereira could make wholesale changes in the starting XI, with Ryan Yates, Nicolas Dominguez, Lorenzo Lucca, Dilane Bakwa, Dan Ndoye, Morato, and James McAtee named as the favourites to start.
Following their first-leg loss to Nottingham Forest, Fenerbahce were held to a 1-1 draw against Kasimpasa in the Turkish Super Lig yesterday. Domenico Tedesco’s side is dealing with an injury crisis, so it would take a miracle for them to claw their way back into the tie.
Milan Skriniar (groin), Caglar Soyuncu (muscle), Anderson Talisca (hamstring), Ederson (hamstring), and Edson Alvarez (ankle) are all in the medical room. Jayden Oosterwolde (groin) and Fred are suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, and Anthony Musaba and Mert Gunok are both ineligible because they were left out.
Betting tip – Nottingham Forest Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 2.14
Bologna vs Brann
Bologna will look to put away Brann once and for all when they meet for the final time this season on Thursday. After a league phase draw at Stadio Dall’Ara, the Serie A side won 1-0 in the opening leg in Norway, courtesy of Santiago Castro’s early goal.
After losing to Aston Villa on the opening matchday, Bologna went undefeated in their previous eight fixtures, their best unbeaten run in Europe since 1971.
Italiano hopes to have a complete squad against Brann, with Torbjorn Heggem (hip) listed as questionable to play. On the other hand, Brann are still burdened by a long absentee list, as Saevar Atli Magnusson, Eggert Aron Gudmundsson, Jonas Torsvik, Niklas Jensen Wassberg, Sakarias Opsahl, and Niklas Castro are all unavailable.
Betting tip – Under 2.50 @ 2.07
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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