Europa League

Europa League Overview – 2025–26

• You’re looking at the 55th edition of the competition (17th renamed from the UEFA Cup), now following the new single-league “league phase” format rather than traditional groups

• The final is set to take place on 20 May 2026 at Beşiktaş Stadium in Istanbul

Format Highlights:

• Qualifying rounds started on 10 July and run through to 28 August 2025

• The league phase begins on 24 September 2025 and concludes on 29 January 2026

  • Each of the 36 teams will play 8 matches—two each against four pots of opponents (one home, one away)

• Progression:

  • Top 8 advance directly to Round of 16

  • Teams ranked 9–24 enter a knockout play-off (two-legged ties) to reach the Round of 16

  • Bottom teams are eliminated from European competition

---

Key Dates

---

Upcoming Fixtures – League Phase First Matchday

The league stage opens Wednesday, 24 September, and Thursday, 25 September 2025

Here are some of the confirmed fixtures for Matchday 1:

Wednesday, 24 September

• Midtjylland vs Sturm Graz at 17:45

• PAOK vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv at 17:45

• Braga vs Feyenoord at 20:00

• Crvena Zvezda vs Celtic at 20:00

Thursday, 25 September (UK times)

• Malmo vs Ludogorets

• Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest

• Lille vs AS Roma (played in Nice)

• Rangers vs Genk

• Aston Villa vs Bologna

• Utrecht vs Lyon

• Ferencvaros vs Viktoria Plzen

• VfB Stuttgart vs Celta Vigo

• Young Boys vs Panathinaikos
  (Kick-offs around 15:00 local time)

---

Competition Landscape & Team Highlights

• Nottingham Forest are making their return to European competition after 30 years. They’ve drawn into a challenging pool alongside Porto, Ferencváros, Midtjylland, Betis, Braga, Sturm Graz, and Utrecht

• Aston Villa, under Unai Emery, earned one of the easiest draws based on Opta rankings

• Celtic face one of the toughest schedules among the 36 teams

• Betis have a notable group with Feyenoord, Lyon, Nottingham Forest, Utrecht, PAOK, Genk, Ludogorets, Dinamo Zagreb

• Celta return to Europe after 8 years in a challenging group including Lille, PAOK, Nice, Bologna, Stuttgart, Red Star Belgrade, Ludogorets, Dinamo Zagreb

• Rangers will face Roma, Braga, Ludogorets, Genk, along with travels to Porto, Ferencváros, Sturm Graz, Brann

---

What to Expect Next

1. League Phase begins 24–25 September 2025.

2. A full slate of fixtures already scheduled for Matchday 1.

3. The path to the final involves group standings, knockout play-offs, and elimination rounds, culminating in the final on 20 May 2026 in Istanbul.