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Europa League Predictions - 19 March 2026, Round of 16

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 18 Mar 2026

Simon Lewis 18 Mar 2026

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AS Roma and Bologna to play it tight.
Aston Villa to battle against Lille’s resolute defence.
Panathinaikos to outgun Betis at home.
Goals to flow as Porto look to shut Stuttgart out of the tournament.

Expired

Bologna vs Roma, 1st leg (Getty Images).

AS Roma vs Bologna

After a tight 1-1 away draw, Roma will be hoping for a good display in front of their home crowd, although their form is poor, losing two of their last three matches. Roma are strong at home, winning six of their last nine matches with just one defeat and four clean sheets.

Bologna are on a good run away from home, winning five on the trot while keeping four clean sheets. The overall form is on Bologna’s side, but Roma are nine points ahead of them in the Serie A. With their tight defences, I’m backing this to end with two goals or less in regular time.

Aston Villa vs Lille

Villa bring a 1-0 win away from home to the second leg, but it was their only win in six matches, losing four times. Villa have just two wins at home in their last seven games, averaging just one goal per game.

Lille have won their last three games on the road, scoring five goals, and they have let just one goal slip through in their last four matches. This is stacking up as a low-scoring match, but considering Lille’s strong defence and the fact that they are a goal behind, I’m backing Lille to score first and I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep a clean sheet to boot.

Betis vs Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos look the team to back as they bring a one-goal lead to the tie along with a nine-match unbeaten streak. They average over two goals a game in that stretch so they will be pressing Betis at home.

Betis haven’t won in five matches, scoring just four times, so their confidence should be low. After winning five home games on the bounce, they drew three and lost one of their next five games. Panathinaikos have just one defeat in seven and have won four of their last five games. With eight goals in their last three matches, I’m backing them for the win.

FC Porto vs Stuttgart

Porto are looking good after five wins in seven, with three clean sheets. They bring a 2-1 lead back from the 1st leg in Stuttgart. Their visitors have won just two of their last six matches and away from home have just one win in their last four matches, although their goal-radar is strong, with 13 goals in their last five away matches.

Porto’s home form is superb, with 10 wins and one draw in the last 11 matches on home turf. With 26 goals in those 11 matches - and combined with Stuttgart’s goal-scoring record of late, this clash has all the hallmarks of a high-scoring match.

Verdict

UEFA Europa League

Clean sheet specialists Roma and Bologna to put each other to the test, with Aston Villa and Lille battling out a low scorer.

Betis to go down at home to Panathinaikos, Porto and Stuttgart to entertain with plenty of goals.

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Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.