UEFA Europa League Season Overview 2025-26

The 2025-26 UEFA Europa League season will begin on September 24 and end on May 20, 2026. The final will be played at the Besiktas stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, which has a capacity of 42,500 spectators.

Last year, Tottenham Hotspur won the UEFA Europa League, but the club will not be able to defend its title, as the winning team earns the right to compete in the UEFA Champions League the following season.

Since the tournaments have become closed, teams from the UEFA Champions League no longer drop into the Europa League, so it is already clear that this year we will see a different team winning the UEFA Europa League.

This will be the second season since the UEFA Europa League changed its format. The group stage, in which 32 teams (8 groups of 4 clubs) competed, has been eliminated. Now, 36 clubs play in the tournament, each playing 8 matches in the regular season (4 at home, 4 away).

Although the UEFA Champions League has expanded, the UEFA Europa League still features high-level teams, including teams from England, Spain, Germany, and other major European leagues.

With the change in the league format, teams from the UEFA Europa League will no longer drop into the UEFA Conference League, which means that after the regular season, they will compete in the playoffs, or the tournament in Europe will be over.

The closed league has added more intrigue, as clubs understand that if they don’t make the playoffs, they won’t get a second chance. These changes make following the UEFA Europa League predictions even more exciting for fans and bettors alike.

On August 29, 2026, the UEFA Europa League draw ceremony took place, in which 36 teams were divided into 4 pots according to the UEFA club coefficient. The pots are necessary to ensure that teams have schedules that are as similar as possible, as only 8 different teams are played in the regular season.

Even before the draw ceremony, the UEFA Europa League qualifiers took place in the summer. A total of 77 teams were linked to the UEFA Europa League – some had secured their place based on their position in their domestic leagues, while others earned their place in the qualifiers.

Aston Villa, Bologna, Brann, Go Ahead Eagles, and Nottingham Forest are making their debut in the league since the group stage was introduced. In total, teams from 23 different countries will compete in the tournament:

• England: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest
• Switzerland: Basel, Young Boys
• Italy: Bologna, Roma
• Portugal: Braga, FC Porto
• Norway: Brann
• Spain: Celta Vigo, Real Betis
• Scotland: Celtic, Rangers
• Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb
• Romania: FCSB
• Turkey: Fenerbahce
• Hungary: Ferencvaros
• Netherlands: Feyenoord, Go Ahead Eagles, Utrecht
• Belgium: Genk
• France: Lille, Lyon, Nice
• Bulgaria: Ludogorets
• Israel: Maccabi Tel Aviv
• Sweden: Malmö FF
• Denmark: Midtjylland
• Greece: Panathinaikos, PAOK
• Austria: Red Bull Salzburg, Sturm Graz
• Serbia: Red Star Belgrade
• Germany: SC Freiburg, VfB Stuttgart
• Czech Republic: Viktoria Plzen

This will be the second UEFA Europa League season without the usual group stage. During the regular season, all 36 teams will compete in a single tournament table. Although not all teams will play each other, points are calculated collectively.

The top 8 teams will advance directly to the round of 16. The teams ranked 9th to 16th will play at home in the playoffs and will compete against the teams ranked 17th to 24th. The clubs ranked 25th to 36th will withdraw from the tournament after the regular season.

Although the format of the UEFA Europa League is the same as that of the UEFA Champions League, the tournament starts a week later. Teams began playing in the UEFA Champions League on September 16, while the UEFA Europa League kicks off on September 24.

This schedule is important for football betting enthusiasts, as it affects when odds and markets become available for matches. Except for the first round, which will be played on September 24-25, all other rounds will be played on one day, as usual, on Thursdays.

The first round will take place on September 24-25, and the last round on January 29. The playoffs will be played in the second half of February, with the final scheduled for May 20. Full UEFA Europa League 2025-26 schedule:

The changed format of the UEFA Europa League allows for more intriguing matches during the season. Now, not only can every match determine a team’s season, but teams also play more matches against different clubs during the regular season. Whereas previously teams played 3 opponents in the group stage, now they play as many as 8 different teams.

We have selected the most interesting matches from each round of the regular season:

• Real Betis vs. Nottingham Forest – September 24 (Round 1)
• Nice vs. AS Roma – September 24 (Round 1)
• Aston Villa vs. Bologna – September 25 (Round 1)
• AS Roma vs. Lille – October 2 (Round 2)
• Fenerbahce vs. Nice – October 2 (Round 2)
• Fenerbahce vs. VfB Stuttgart – October 23 (Round 3)
• Lyon vs. Basel – October 23 (Round 3)
• Nottingham Forest vs. FC Porto – October 23 (Round 3)
• Celta Vigo vs Nice – October 23 (Round 3)
• Real Betis vs Lyon – November 6 (Round 4)
• VfB Stuttgart vs Feyenoord – November 6 (Round 4)
• FC Porto vs Nice – November 27 (Round 5)
• Genk vs Basel – November 27 (Round 5)
• Panathinaikos vs Sturm Graz – November 27 (Round 5)
• Dinamo Zagreb vs. Real Betis – December 11 (Round 6)
• Celtic vs. AS Roma – December 11 (Round 6)
• Fenerbahce vs. Aston Villa – January 22 (Round 7)
• PAOK vs. Real Betis – January 22 (Round 7)
• AS Roma vs. VfB Stuttgart – January 22 (Round 7)
• Braga vs. Nottingham Forest – January 22 (Round 7)
• Aston Villa vs. Red Bull Salzburg – January 29 (Round 8)
• FC Porto vs. Rangers – January 29 (Round 8)
• Panathinaikos vs. AS Roma – January 29 (Round 8)

The 2025-26 UEFA Europa League will feature 36 clubs competing in a single-table regular season, with playoffs determining the final qualifiers.

The tournament’s new format ensures more diverse matchups, high stakes in every game, and a clear path to the knockout stages, culminating in the final at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul on May 20, 2026. Football fans can follow the action and place bets with top bookmakers.