LILLE, France (AP) – Aston Villa traveled to Lille to start the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday, boosted by captain John McGinn’s return from injury.
McGinn has been sidelined for seven weeks since sustaining a knee injury in the Premier League defeat to Everton in January.
“It’s huge to have him back,” teammate Morgan Rogers said. “He puts smiles on people’s faces, he plays with that smile, he wears the badge on his sleeve and he brings a lot to our team.”
Villa and Lille also met in the Conference League quarter-finals two years ago, with Unai Emery’s side winning on penalties.
Another English team, Nottingham Forest, will have to put relegation worries aside as they welcome Danish club Midtjylland at home.
In the Italian derby, Bologna will host Roma.
The Europa League format, which began last season, sees 36 teams compete in a single-place league format before progressing to a tennis-style knockout tournament, with teams from the same country able to play each other at any point during the knockout stage. Previously, domestic derbies were only possible from the quarter-finals.
Celta Vigo will host the first leg against league winners Lyon.
Real Betis will travel to Panathinaikos, while Stuttgart will play Porto at home. Another Bundesliga club, Freiburg, will play Genk away.
In the Conference League, Crystal Palace will play AEK Larnaca in London.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
