The UEFA Europa League’s new expanded format takes flight for the 2024-25 season, and it’s more straight-forward than it seems at the first thoughts of change.
Just like the reorganized UEFA Champions League, the draw for the league phase (replacing the group stage) has been conducted and each of the 36 sides know their eight opponents — four at home and four away.
[ MORE: UEFA Champions League hub — Format, fixtures, more ]
Each club has been drawn against two teams from each of four pots determined by coefficient points.
Below is everything else you need to know about the upcoming Europa League campaign as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur aim for silverware and an automatic place in the UEFA Champions League.
2024-25 UEFA Europa League fixtures
A look at each club’s draw can be found here via UEFA.com
When is the Europa League group stage? When are the Europa League league phase games? What dates are the Europa League games?
Matchday 1
Wednesday, September 25
12:45pm: AZ Alkmaar vs Elfsborg
12:45pm: Bodo/Glimt vs Porto
3pm: Galatasaray vs PAOK
3pm: Midtjylland vs Hoffenheim
3pm: Manchester United vs Twente
3pm: Sporting Lisbon vs Dynamo Kiev
3pm: Ludogorets Razgrad vs Slavia Prague
3pm: Nice vs Real Sociedad
3pm: Anderlecht vs Ferencvaros
Thursday, September 26
12:45pm: Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise
12:45pm: Malmo vs Rangers
3pm: Braga vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
3pm: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzen
3pm: AS Roma vs Athletic Bilbao
3pm: FCSB vs RFS
3pm: Ajax vs Besiktas
3pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs Qarabag
3pm: Lyon vs Olympiacos
Matchday 2
Wednesday, October 3
12:45pm: Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Midtjylland
12:45pm: Real Sociedad vs Anderlecht
12:45pm: Olympiacos vs Braga
12:45pm: Hoffenheim vs Dynamo Kiev
12:45pm: Qarabag vs Malmo
12:45pm: Lazio vs Nice
12:45pm: RFS vs Galatasaray
12:45pm: Slavia Prague vs Ajax
12:45pm: Ferencvaros vs Tottenham Hotspur
3pm: Elfsborg vs Roma
3pm: Porto vs Manchester United
3pm: Athletic Bilbao vs AZ Alkmaar
3pm: Viktoria Plzen vs Ludogorets Razgrad
3pm: Rangers vs Lyon
3pm: Twente vs Fenerbahce
3pm: Besiktas vs Eintracht Frankfurt
3pm: PAOK vs FCSB
3pm: Union Saint-Gilloise vs Bodo/Glimt
Matchday 3
Wednesday, October 23
10:30am: Braga vs Bodo/Glimt
10:30am: Galatasaray vs Elfsborg
Thursday, October 24
12:45pm: Eintracht Frankfurt vs RFS
12:45pm: Roma vs Dynamo Kiev
12:45pm: Midtjylland vs Union Saint-Gilloise
12:45pm: Qarabag vs Ajax
12:45pm: Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Real Sociedad
12:45pm: PAOK vs Viktoria Plzen
12:45pm: Ferencvaros vs Nice
3pm: Fenerbahce vs Manchester United
3pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs AZ Alkmaar
3pm: Lyon vs Besiktas
3pm: Anderlecht vs Ludogorets Razgrad
3pm: Athletic Bilbao vs Slavia Prague
3pm: Malmo vs Olympiacos
3pm: Porto vs Hoffenheim
3pm: Twente vs Lazio
3pm: Rangers vs FCSB
Matchday 4
Wednesday, November 6
10:30am: Besiktas vs Malmo
Thursday, November 7
12:45pm: Ludogorets Razgrad vs Athletic Bilbao
12:45pm: Union Saint-Gilloise vs Roma
12:45pm: FCSB vs Midtjylland
12:45pm: Olympiacos vs Rangers
12:45pm: Galatasaray vs Tottenham Hotspur
12:45pm: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Slavia Prague
12:45pm: Nice vs Twente
12:45pm: Bodo/Glimt vs Qarabag
12:45pm: Elfsborg vs Braga
3pm: Hoffenheim vs Lyon
3pm: AZ Alkmaar vs Fenerbahce
3pm: Dynamo Kiev vs Ferencvaros
3pm: Lazio vs Porto
3pm: Manchester United vs PAOK
3pm: Ajax vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
3pm: Viktoria Plzen vs Real Sociedad
3pm: RFS vs Anderlecht
Matchday 5
Thursday, November 28
12:45pm: Besiktas vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
12:45pm: Anderlecht vs Porto
12:45pm: Dynamo Kiev vs Viktoria Plzen
12:45pm: Athletic Bilbao vs Elfsborg
12:45pm: Lazio vs Ludogorets Razgrad
12:45pm: RFS vs PAOK
12:45pm: Qarabag vs Lyon
12:45pm: AZ Alkmaar vs Galatasaray
3pm: Ferencvaros vs Malmo
3pm: Real Sociedad vs Ajax
3pm: Midtjylland vs Eintracht Frankfurt
3pm: Braga vs Hoffenheim
3pm: Slavia Prague vs Fenerbahce
3pm: FCSB vs Olympiacos
3pm: Manchester United vs Bodo/Glimt
3pm: Nice vs Rangers
3pm: Twente vs Union Saint-Gilloise
3pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs Roma
Matchday 6
Wednesday December 11
10:30am: Fenerbahce vs Athletic Bilbao
Thursday, December 12
12:45pm: Roma vs Braga
12:45pm: Hoffenheim vs FCSB
12:45pm: Viktoria Plzen vs Manchester United
12:45pm: Malmo vs Galatasaray
12:45pm: Union Saint-Gilloise vs Nice
12:45pm: PAOK vs Ferencvaros
12:45pm: Olympiacos vs Twente
12:45pm: Ludogorets Razgrad vs AZ Alkmaar
3pm: Bodo/Glimt vs Besiktas
3pm: Porto vs Midtjylland
3pm: Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs RFS
3pm: Ajax vs Lazio
3pm: Elfsborg vs Qarabag
3pm: Slavia Prague vs Anderlecht
3pm: Rangers vs Tottenham Hotspur
3pm: Real Sociedad vs Dynamo Kiev
3pm: Lyon vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Matchday 7
Tuesesday, January 21
10:30am: Galatasaray vs Dynamo Kiev
Wednesday, January 22
10:30am: Besiktas vs Athletic Bilbao
Thursday, January 23
12:45pm: Bodo/Glimt vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
12:45pm: AZ Alkmaar vs Roma
12:45pm: Hoffenheim vs Tottenham Hotspur
12:45pm: Porto vs Olympiacos
12:45pm: Fenerbahce vs Lyon
12:45pm: Qarabag vs FCSB
12:45pm: Viktoria Plzen vs Anderlecht
12:45pm: Malmo vs Twente
3pm: Lazio vs Real Sociedad
3pm: Union Saint-Gilloise vs Braga
3pm: Elfsborg vs Nice
3pm: Ludogorets Razgrad vs Midtjylland
3pm: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Ferencvaros
3pm: RFS vs Ajax
3pm: PAOK vs Slavia Prague
3pm: Manchester United vs Rangers
Matchday 8
Thursday, January 30
3pm: Twente vs Besiktas
3pm: Real Sociedad vs PAOK
3pm: FCSB vs Manchester United
3pm: Nice vs Bodo/Glimt
3pm: Olympiacos vs Qarabag
3pm: Dynamo Kiev vs RFS
3pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs Elfsborg
3pm: Midtjylland vs Fenerbache
3pm: Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Porto
3pm: Slavia Prague vs Malmo
3pm: Roma vs Eintracht Frankfurt
3pm: Ajax vs Galatasaray
3pm: Lyon vs Ludogorets Razgrad
3pm: Athletic Bilbao vs Viktoria Plzen
3pm: Anderlecht vs Hoffenheim
3pm: Braga vs Lazio
3pm: Rangers vs Union Saint-Gilloise
3pm: Ferencvaros vs AZ Alkmaar
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United celebrates with Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford on February 04, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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When was the Europa League group stage draw?
The draw for the Europa League group stage took place on August 30 in Monaco.
Explaining how the new Europa League format works
Each team will play eight games — four home and four away — in the new league phase of the tournament against eight different teams.
Teams were ranked into four pots and each team will play against two teams from each of the four pots — one match at home and one match away against a team from each pot. The full pot list is below.
The top eight teams in the league phase will qualify for the Round of 16. Teams who finish in positions 25-36 will be eliminated from the Champions League and will not play in any other European competition for the rest of the 2024-25 season.
Sixteen teams in positions 9-24 will qualify for the knockout round playoffs, with eight winners moving onto the Round of 16 to face teams 1-8 from the league phase. The tournament goes in traditional fashion from there.
Who will Manchester United play in the Europa League league stage?
Manchester United’s Europa League league phase opponents are:
- Rangers (H)
- Porto (A)
- PAOK (H)
- Fenerbahce (A)
- Bodo/Glimt (H)
- Viktoria Plzen (A)
- Twente (H)
- FCSB (A)
Who will Tottenham Hotspur play in the Europa League group stage?
Tottenham Hotspur’s opponents in the Europa League league phase are:
- Roma (H)
- Rangers (A)
- AZ Alkmaar (H)
- Ferencvaros (A)
- Qarabag (H)
- Galatasaray (A)
- Elfsborg (H)
- Hoffenheim (A)
What are the Europa League knockout stage dates?
An extra knockout round has been created, as the teams who finish in spots 9-24 in the league phase will play two-legged ties to reach the Round of 16 where they will face one of the top eight teams from the league phase who qualified automatically for the Round of 16.
- Knockout round play-offs: February 13-20, 2025
- Round of 16: March 6-13, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 10-17, 2025
- Semi-finals: May 1-8, 2025
- Final: May 21, 2025
When and where is the 2024-25 Champions League final?
The Champions League final will take place at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao on May 21, 2025.
BILBAO, SPAIN - MAY 24: General view of the stadium exterior as a boat goes up the river prior to the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2023/24 Final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Estadio de San Mames on May 24, 2024 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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