Aston Villa are set to wrap up the league stage of their Europa League campaign on Thursday evening as they play host to RB Salzburg – with an abundance still to play for despite having already stamped their place into the round of 16
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter
06:00, 29 Jan 2026
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa play RB Salzburg on Thursday(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Aston Villa play host to RB Salzburg on Wednesday evening in their final group stage game of the Europa League.
While Villa have already qualified for the tournament’s round of 16, regardless of a win, loss or draw at Villa Park, Unai Emery will be well aware that there’s still plenty to play for this week, given just how important positioning headed into the knockout stages are this year.
All things considered, BirminghamLive breaks down everything you need to know about Villa’s Europa League endeavours going forward, from how things stand ahead of the Salzburg clash to the list of teams they could end up playing in the round of 16…
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Where Villa stand going into the final matchday
Courtesy of wins over Bologna, Feyenoord, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Young Boys, Basel and Fenerbahche, and a surprising loss to Go Ahead Eagles, Villa currently sit second in the Europa League standings on 18 points – on the same points as leaders Lyon, albeit lagging in goal difference by four strikes.
Highest and lowest places Villa can finish in the league standings
A victory on home turf on Thursday evening could see Villa slide into first place in the Europa League standings, should Lyon be held to a draw or lose to PAOK at the Groupama Stadium. Meanwhile, Villa will also be able to pip the Ligue 1 titles to the post if they can overcome a goal difference of at least five against Salzburg.
On the flip side, however, they could also drift down the Europa League table as far as seventh if they succumb to defeat at the hands of Salzburg and Freiburg, Midtyjlland, Braga, Roma and Ferencvaros all see success in their respective games. Either way, Emery’s charges will automatically progress to the round of 16.
What each position Villa can finish in would mean
In similar fashion to the new Champions League format, a new rule introduced in the Europa League means that positioning is crucially important ahead of the knockout stages. The top four teams will see a second-leg home advantage in their round of 16 and quarter-final ties, while the top two will see a home advantage for the second leg of the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, those who finish between ninth and 24th will not see automatic qualification to the round of 16, and will need to participate in a play-off match to stamp their ticket to the knockout stages of the Europa League.
READ MORE: Tyrone Mings speaks out on Tammy Abraham’s return and makes Aston Villa quipREAD MORE: Aston Villa suffer fresh injury blow ahead of RB Salzburg clashTeams Villa can still currently end up facing in the next round
Should the table remain as is after the final round of fixtures, Villa will face one of the following teams in the round of 16:
PortoGenkCrvena ZvezdaPAOKVfB StuttgartCelta VigoBolognaNottingham ForestViktoria PlzenFenerbahcePanathinaikosDinamo ZagrebLOSCBrannYoung BoysCeltic
Ludogorets, Feyenoord, Basel, RB Salzburg, FCSB and Go Ahead Eagles could also make their way into the top 24 depending on results on Thursday evening, with Rangers, SK Sturm Graz, Nice, Utrecht, Malmo and Maccabi Tel-Aviv coming as the only teams who will definitely leave the tournament regardless of a win, loss or draw.
When are the next rounds?Play-off draw: 30 January 2026Knockout phase play-offs: 19 & 26 February 2026Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)
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