The UEFA Europa League returns this week following an exciting opening round of Champions League fixtures.
In the 2023–24 season, we saw Serie A outfit Atalanta take down Bayer Leverkusen in the final to win its first-ever piece of European silverware. Last season marked the last time the Europa League, as well as the Champions and Conference Leagues, would use the traditional group stage system with teams dropping from the Champions League.
For example, Benfica, AC Milan, Feyenoord and Galatasaray all qualified for the Europa League knockout stage after early exits in the 2023–24 Champions League group stage. Here's how the new format will operate.
UEFA Europa League 2024–25 Format36 teamsAll teams will play four home and four away matches in the league phaseMatches from the knockout stage onward remain the same as the old formatThree points for each winning teamOne point shared between teams in a drawTop eight teams automatically qualify for the knockout stageTeams in ninth–24th place play additional two-match playoff to determine knockout stage participantsTeams in 25th place or lower are eliminated
Teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Eintracht Frankfurt and Olympique Lyon would already be considered favorites under the old format. Now, since teams won't drop down from the Champions League, those above-mentioned clubs will fancy their chances even more as they won't have to imagine Borussia Dortmund or Aston Villa qualifying for the knockout stage.
Several matches to look out for in the Europa League league phase include:
Lazio vs. OGC Nice – Oct. 3FC Porto vs. Manchester United – Oct. 3Fenerbahçe vs. Manchester United – Oct. 24Galatasaray vs. Tottenham Hotspur – Nov. 7Lazio vs. FC Porto – Nov. 7Tottenham Hotspur vs. AS Roma – Nov. 28Real Sociedad vs. Ajax – Nov. 28Olympique Lyon vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Dec. 12TSG Hoffenheim vs. Tottenham Hotspur – Jan. 23
