Intense clashes in the unified group stage of the UEFA Europa League
The draw for this season’s UEFA Europa League, held in Monaco on Friday, has produced a series of high-profile matchups in the new single-league format. Among the most notable fixtures, English sides Bournemouth and Sunderland will face strong competition, including Italian giants AC Milan, across their eight opening-round matches.
French side Marseille will take on German champions Bayer Leverkusen and Greek club Olympiacos, while Rennes will face Italian powerhouse Juventus.
Bournemouth are participating in European competitions for the first time in their history, having finished sixth in the Premier League last season. They aim to host seven-time European champions AC Milan on England’s south coast. Under German manager Marco Rose, the club will also host Czech side Viktoria Plzen and Austrian team Sturm Graz at home. Away, they will travel to Spain twice to face Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, and will visit Prague to play Sparta Prague and Lillestrøm, last season’s Norwegian Cup winners.
Sunderland, who secured seventh place in the league last season, will compete in European tournaments for the first time since 1973. Their fans are looking forward to a trip to the San Siro stadium. The club will travel to Belgium to face Anderlecht, former UEFA Cup winners, and will host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, and Bulgarian team Levski Sofia at home. They will also face two Polish clubs, Jagiellonia Bialystok and Lech Poznan. Additionally, Sunderland will travel to Portugal to face Torreense, a second-tier team from the small town of Torres Vedras, located 50 kilometers north of Lisbon. Despite their location, Torreense will host their European matches at the Algarve Stadium near Faro, after causing a major upset by winning the Portuguese Cup last season.
Crystal Palace, winners of last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League, will host Real Sociedad, Sparta Prague, Lech Poznan, and German side Hoffenheim at home. Palace manager Pierre Sage will face his former club, Lyon, before playing against Salzburg and Jagiellonia, and will travel to Istanbul to face Besiktas.
For Lyon, who finished first in the single-league phase last season, the draw appears relatively balanced, even if they avoided the two Italian giants, Juventus and AC Milan, similar to their compatriots from Marseille.
Celtic were relegated to the Europa League after a heavy defeat to Austrian side LASK in the Champions League qualifiers. The Scottish champions will host Marseille at home and travel to face Benfica. Their other opponents include Celta Vigo, Besiktas, and Torreense.
Among the other teams to watch in this season’s Europa League are Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus, three-time UEFA Cup winners (the predecessor to the current competition). UEFA will announce the schedule for the single-league phase over the weekend, with the first matches taking place on September 16 and 17. The final of this season’s competition will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 26, 2027.
Aston Villa won last season’s Europa League, defeating Freiburg in the final in Istanbul.
In the UEFA Europa Conference League, Brighton & Hove Albion will represent England, a nation that has dominated the title in three of the past four editions. Brighton’s standout home fixture will be against Monaco. They will also host Romanian champions Universitatea Craiova and Lithuanian side Kauno Žalgiris, last season’s champions. Their opponents also include Panathinaikos, Getafe, and Czech club Jablonec, who defeated Rangers on penalties in the knockout rounds.
Other notable participants include Italian side Atalanta, Dutch club Ajax, and German team Freiburg. Also joining the competition are Scottish side Hearts and Turkish club Trabzonspor, which recently signed Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
The Conference League final will be held on June 2, 2027, at the Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul.
