The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League follows the UEFA Champions League in adopting a new format that departs from tradition.
Both competitions have dispensed with the usual group stage and replaced it with a "league phase" that will run from mid-September until the end of January. It means all teams in the main draw will play eight matches in the initial phase of the competition, rather than six, and the prospect of "big" teams facing one another earlier in the tournament increases.
UEFA hopes the changes will make for a more engaging Europa League from the outset, with teams such as Manchester United, Roma and Ajax facing more significant opponents before the latter stages.
Here, The Sporting News looks at the schedule for this season's Europa League, the teams qualified, and who they will face in the league phase.
MORE: Winners and losers of the new-look UEFA Champions League draw
UEFA Europa League schedule 2024-25
League Phase:
- Matchday One: Sept. 25-26, 2024
- Matchday Two: Oct. 3, 2024
- Matchday Three: Oct. 24, 2024
- Matchday Four: Nov. 7, 2024
- Matchday Five: Nov. 28, 2024
- Matchday Six: Dec. 12, 2024
- Matchday Seven: Jan. 23, 2025
- Matchday Eight: Jan. 30, 2025
Knockout phase:
- Knockout-round playoffs: Feb. 13 & 20, 2025
- Round of 16: March 6 & 13, 2025
- Quarterfinals: April 10 & 17, 2025
- Semifinals: May 1 & 8, 2025
- Final: May 21, 2025
The new format for the Europa League means the first phase, now known as the "league phase", will last a little longer than the previous group stage. Matchday One begins on September 25, and the final Matchday Eight will not take place until January 30, 2025. As is tradition, Europa League games will largely take place on Thursdays in the same week as UEFA Champions League games are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The playoff round for the knockout phase is in mid-February, with the remainder of the elimination stages taking place across March, April, and May.
The 2024/25 Champions League final will be held on May 21, 2025, at Bilbao's San Mames.
MORE: Who has won the most Europa League titles in history?
Teams in the 2024/25 Europa League
Below are the 36 teams in the draw for the Europa League "league phase". The teams were divided into four seeding pots, and each side will be drawn to face one team from each pot.
| Club | Pot 1 opponents | Pot 2 opponents | Pot 3 opponents | Pot 4 opponents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | |
| Roma (ROM) | FRA | TOT | BRA | AZ | DKY | USG | ATH | ELF |
| Man United (MUN) | RAN | POR | PAO | FEN | BOD | PLZ | TWE | FCS |
| Porto (POR) | MUN | LAZ | OLY | MTA | MID | BOD | HOF | AND |
| Ajax (AJX) | LAZ | SLA | MTA | RSC | GAL | QAR | BES | RFS |
| Rangers (RAN) | TOT | MUN | LYO | OLY | USG | MAL | FCS | NIC |
| Eintracht Frankfurt (FRA) | SLA | ROM | FER | LYO | PLZ | MID | RFS | BES |
| Lazio (LAZ) | POR | AJX | RSC | BRA | LUD | DKY | NIC | TWE |
| Tottenham (TOT) | ROM | RAN | AZ | FER | QAR | GAL | ELF | HOF |
| Slavia Prague (SLA) | AJX | FRA | FEN | PAO | MAL | LUD | AND | ATH |
| Real Sociedad (RSC) | AJX | LAZ | PAO | MTA | DKY | PLZ | AND | NIC |
| AZ Alkmaar (AZ) | ROM | TOT | FEN | FER | GAL | LUD | ELF | ATH |
| Braga (BRA) | LAZ | ROM | MTA | OLY | BOD | USG | HOF | ELF |
| Olympiacos (OLY) | RAN | POR | BRA | LYO | QAR | MAL | TWE | FCS |
| Lyon (LYO) | FRA | RAN | OLY | FEN | LUD | QAR | BES | HOF |
| PAOK (PAO) | SLA | MUN | FER | RSC | PLZ | GAL | FCS | RFS |
| Fenerbahce (FEN) | MUN | SLA | LYO | AZ | USG | MID | ATH | TWE |
| Maccabi Tel-Aviv (MTA) | POR | AJX | RSC | BRA | MID | BOD | RFS | BES |
| Ferencvaros (FER) | TOT | FRA | AZ | PAO | MAL | DKY | NIC | AND |
| Qarabag (QAR) | AJX | TOT | LYO | OLY | MAL | BOD | FCS | ELF |
| Galatasaray (GAL) | TOT | AJX | PAO | AZ | DKY | MAL | ELF | RFS |
| Viktoria Plzen (PLZ) | MUN | FRA | RSC | PAO | LUD | DKY | AND | ATH |
| Bodo/Glimt (BOD) | POR | MUN | MTA | BRA | QAR | USG | BES | NIC |
| Union SG (USG) | ROM | RAN | BRA | FEN | BOD | MID | NIC | TWE |
| Dynamo Kyiv (DKY) | LAZ | ROM | FER | RSC | PLZ | GAL | RFS | HOF |
| Ludogorets (LUD) | SLA | LAZ | AZ | LYO | MID | PLZ | ATH | AND |
| Midtjylland (MID) | FRA | POR | FEN | MTA | USG | LUD | HOF | FCS |
| Malmo (MAL) | RAN | SAL | OLY | FER | GAL | QAR | TWE | BES |
| Athletic Club (ATH) | SLA | ROM | AZ | FEN | PLZ | LUD | ELF | BES |
| Hoffenheim (HOF) | TOT | POR | LYO | BRA | DKY | MID | FCS | AND |
| Nice (NIC) | RAN | LAZ | RSC | FER | BOD | USG | TWE | ELF |
| Anderlecht (AND) | POR | SLA | FER | RSC | LUD | PLZ | HOF | RFS |
| Twente (TWE) | LAZ | MUN | FEN | OLY | USG | MAL | BES | NIC |
| Besiktas (BES) | FRA | AJX | MTA | LYO | MAL | BOD | ATH | TWE |
| FCSB (FCS) | MUN | RAN | OLY | PAO | MID | QAR | RFS | HOF |
| RFS (RFS) | AJX | FRA | PAO | MTA | GAL | DKY | AND | FCS |
| Elfsborg (ELF) | ROM | TOT | BRA | AZ | QAR | GAL | NIC | ATH |
How to watch Europa League around the world
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| India | Sony TEN | JioTV, Sony LIV |
| UK | TNT Sports | discovery+, Amazon Prime |
| USA | CBS, CBSSN, Univision, TUDN, UniMas |
Fubo, Paramount+, ViX or ViX+ |