Europa League Matchday 3: What to look out for

Aston Villa, Porto and GNK Dinamo are flying high while Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Feyenoord look to bounce back on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Europa League.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST V PORTO

The story: Forest’s first major European home match in three decades ended in disappointment as Midtjylland left the City Ground 3-2 victors. Bouncing back will be no small feat as they host one of Europe’s most in-form teams – Porto, who made it nine wins from nine under Francesco Farioli thanks to Rodrigo Mora's late winner against Crvena Zvezda.

The stat: Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is one of five players to have provided two assists in this season's Europa League.

GO AHEAD EAGLES V ASTON VILLA

Time for Europa League and time for the Villa — IT'S MATCHDAY 😆 pic.twitter.com/yDA7T4tnHQ

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 23, 2025

The story: After a 2-0 triumph at Feyenoord, another trip to Netherlands awaits Aston Villa, who are one of seven teams with maximum points and among three yet to concede. Opposition forward Milan Smit will have sights set on ending that defensive streak after striking twice in Go Ahead Eagles' first-ever Europa League win on Matchday 2. "A true No 9," captain Mats Deijl said of the 22-year-old.

The stat: Villa are unbeaten in six major European games against Dutch sides (W5 D1). Captain John McGinn has scored in Villa's last three European outings.

FEYENOORD V PANATHINAIKOS

The story: On the losing side of those Aston Villa and Go Ahead Eagles victories, Feyenoord and Panathinaikos will be eager to respond in Rotterdam. The Dutch club are point-less and scoreless after two games in a European league phase/group stage for the first time since 2017/18, while Panathinaikos have a victory to their name and the current top scorer thanks to Anass Zaroury's Matchday 1 hat-trick.

The stat: Panathinaikos are yet to defeat a Dutch team in the league phase/group stage of the Europa League after five attempts (D1 L4).

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Alongside Aston Villa and Porto, GNK Dinamo, Lille, Midtjylland, Braga and Lyon are protecting 100 per cent records on Matchday 3.

Roma and Celtic can respond to home Matchday 2 defeats as they host Viktoria Plzeň and Sturm Graz respectively.

Fenerbahçe and Stuttgart boast the second and joint-third highest share of possession in the competition so far. Who will take control as they meet in Istanbul?