2026–27 UEFA Europa League league phase

International football club competition in Europe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026–27 UEFA Europa League league phase will begin on 16 September 2026 and end on 28 January 2027. A total of 36 teams will compete in the league phase to decide the 24 places in the knockout phase of the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League.

Ararat-Armenia, Bournemouth, Celje, Crystal Palace, Jagiellonia Białystok, Lillestrøm, NEC, OFI, Sunderland and Torreense will make their debut appearances since the introduction of the group stage (although NEC had previously appeared in the UEFA Cup group stage).

Ararat-Armenia, Bournemouth, Lillestrøm, OFI, Sunderland and Torreense will make their debut appearances in a major UEFA competition group or league phase, with Bournemouth and Torreense qualifying for European football for the first time in their history.

Ararat-Armenia will be the first team from Armenia to play in the Europa League group stage or league phase.

A total of 22 national associations will be represented in the league phase.

Format

Each team will play eight matches, four at home and four away, against eight different opponents, with all 36 teams ranked in a single league table (known as the Swiss system). Teams were separated into four pots based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients, and each team will play two teams from each of the four pots – one at home and one away. The top eight teams in the standings will receive a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th will be eliminated from European competition.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points upon completion of the league phase, the following tiebreaking criteria will be applied, in the order given, to determine their rankings:[1]

While the league phase is in progress, teams are ranked according to criteria 1–5 only, and if still tied, will be given equal ranking and sorted alphabetically. Criteria 6–10 will only be used after the final matches take place.

  1. Goal difference;
  2. Goals scored;
  3. Away goals scored;
  4. Wins;
  5. Away wins;
  6. Higher number of points obtained collectively by league phase opponents;
  7. Superior collective goal difference of league phase opponents;
  8. Higher number of goals scored collectively by league phase opponents;
  9. Lower disciplinary points total (direct red card or expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point);
  10. UEFA club coefficient.

Teams and seeding

The 36 teams were divided into four pots of nine teams each, with teams allocated to pots based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients. The participants included:

More information Key to colours ...
Key to colours
Teams ranked 1 to 8 advanced to the round of 16 as a seeded team
Teams ranked 9 to 16 advanced to the knockout phase play-offs as a seeded team
Teams ranked 17 to 24 advanced to the knockout phase play-offs as an unseeded team
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More information Team, Notes ...
Pot 1
Team Notes Coeff.
German Football Association Bayer Leverkusen 105.000
Portuguese Football Federation Benfica[EL-PO] 90.000
Italian Football Federation Juventus 72.250
Italian Football Federation Milan 66.000
French Football Federation Lyon[CL-LP] 65.750
Royal Dutch Football Association AZ 62.875
Hellenic Football Federation Olympiacos[CL-L3] 62.250
Royal Spanish Football Federation Real Sociedad 57.000
French Football Federation Marseille 54.000
Pot 2
Team Notes Coeff.
Hungarian Football Federation Ferencváros[EL-PO] 51.250
Football Association of the Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň[EL-PO] 50.500
Royal Belgian Football Association Union Saint-Gilloise[CL-L3] 48.000
Croatian Football Federation Dinamo Zagreb[CL-CH] 46.500
Austrian Football Association Red Bull Salzburg[EL-PO] 45.000
Scottish Football Association Celtic[CL-CH] 44.000
Football Association of the Czech Republic Sparta Prague[CL-L3] 38.250
French Football Federation Rennes 35.000
Royal Belgian Football Association Anderlecht[EL-PO] 30.750
Pot 3
Team Notes Coeff.
Austrian Football Association Sturm Graz[CL-L3] 28.000
Polish Football Association Lech Poznań[EL-PO] 27.250
The Football Association Crystal Palace[ECL] 23.903
The Football Association Bournemouth 23.903
The Football Association Sunderland 23.903
Football Association of Slovenia Celje[CL-CH] 23.000
Polish Football Association Jagiellonia Białystok[EL-PO] 22.000
Cyprus Football Association Omonia[EL-PO] 21.250
Royal Spanish Football Federation Celta Vigo 19.409
Pot 4
Team Notes Coeff.
German Football Association TSG Hoffenheim 18.580
Turkish Football Federation Beşiktaş[EL-PO] 15.500
Portuguese Football Federation Torreense 14.633
Israel Football Association Hapoel Be'er Sheva[CL-CH] 14.000
Royal Dutch Football Association NEC[CL-LP] 13.585
Hellenic Football Federation OFI[EL-PO] 9.682
Norwegian Football Federation Lillestrøm[EL-PO] 8.247
Bulgarian Football Union Levski Sofia[CL-CH] 7.000
Football Federation of Armenia Ararat-Armenia[EL-PO] 7.000
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Notes

  1. ECL Conference League title holders
  2. EL-PO Winners of play-off round
  3. CL-CH Losers of Champions League play-off round (Champions Path)
  4. CL-LP Losers of Champions League play-off round (League Path)
  5. CL-L3 Losers of Champions League third qualifying round (League Path)

Draw

The draw for the league phase pairings was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 28 August 2026, 13:00 CEST, along with the draw for the Conference League league phase.[2]

More information Club, Pot 1 opponents ...
League phase opponents by club
Club Pot 1 opponents Pot 2 opponents Pot 3 opponents Pot 4 opponents Avg
coeff.
Home Away Home Away Home Away Home Away
Germany Bayer Leverkusen Marseille Lyon Red Bull Salzburg Dinamo Zagreb Celje Lech Poznań Beşiktaş OFI 35.8
Portugal Benfica AZ Milan Celtic Viktoria Plzeň Lech Poznań Omonia OFI NEC 36.9
Italy Juventus Real Sociedad AZ Rennes Ferencváros Omonia Celta Vigo NEC Hapoel Be'er Sheva 34.3
Italy Milan Benfica Olympiacos Ferencváros Red Bull Salzburg Sunderland Bournemouth Ararat-Armenia Levski Sofia 38.8
France Lyon Bayer Leverkusen Real Sociedad Union Saint-Gilloise Anderlecht Crystal Palace Jagiellonia Białystok Lillestrøm TSG Hoffenheim 39.2
Netherlands AZ Juventus Benfica Dinamo Zagreb Sparta Prague Sturm Graz Sunderland Hapoel Be'er Sheva Ararat-Armenia 40.0
Greece Olympiacos Milan Marseille Sparta Prague Rennes Jagiellonia Białystok Celje TSG Hoffenheim Torreense 33.9
Spain Real Sociedad Lyon Juventus Viktoria Plzeň Union Saint-Gilloise Bournemouth Crystal Palace Torreense Lillestrøm 38.4
France Marseille Olympiacos Bayer Leverkusen Anderlecht Celtic Celta Vigo Sturm Graz Levski Sofia Beşiktaş 39.0
Hungary Ferencváros Juventus Milan Viktoria Plzeň Celtic Celje Lech Poznań Torreense TSG Hoffenheim 39.5
Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň Benfica Real Sociedad Union Saint-Gilloise Ferencváros Jagiellonia Białystok Bournemouth Levski Sofia Lillestrøm 38.4
Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise Real Sociedad Lyon Celtic Viktoria Plzeň Lech Poznań Celta Vigo Hapoel Be'er Sheva Beşiktaş 36.7
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb Bayer Leverkusen AZ Anderlecht Rennes Sturm Graz Sunderland NEC Hapoel Be'er Sheva 39.1
Austria Red Bull Salzburg Milan Bayer Leverkusen Sparta Prague Anderlecht Crystal Palace Celje Ararat-Armenia Levski Sofia 37.6
Scotland Celtic Marseille Benfica Ferencváros Union Saint-Gilloise Celta Vigo Omonia Beşiktaş Torreense 39.3
Czech Republic Sparta Prague AZ Olympiacos Rennes Red Bull Salzburg Bournemouth Crystal Palace Lillestrøm Ararat-Armenia 33.5
France Rennes Olympiacos Juventus Dinamo Zagreb Sparta Prague Omonia Sturm Graz OFI NEC 36.5
Belgium Anderlecht Lyon Marseille Red Bull Salzburg Dinamo Zagreb Sunderland Jagiellonia Białystok TSG Hoffenheim OFI 35.7
Austria Sturm Graz Marseille AZ Rennes Dinamo Zagreb Celje Bournemouth OFI TSG Hoffenheim 34.2
Poland Lech Poznań Bayer Leverkusen Benfica Ferencváros Union Saint-Gilloise Sunderland Crystal Palace Torreense OFI 45.8
England Crystal Palace Real Sociedad Lyon Sparta Prague Red Bull Salzburg Lech Poznań Jagiellonia Białystok TSG Hoffenheim Beşiktaş 36.2
England Bournemouth Milan Real Sociedad Viktoria Plzeň Sparta Prague Sturm Graz Celta Vigo Hapoel Be'er Sheva Lillestrøm 35.2
England Sunderland AZ Milan Dinamo Zagreb Anderlecht Jagiellonia Białystok Lech Poznań Levski Sofia Torreense 34.6
Slovenia Celje Olympiacos Bayer Leverkusen Red Bull Salzburg Ferencváros Omonia Sturm Graz NEC Ararat-Armenia 41.7
Poland Jagiellonia Białystok Lyon Olympiacos Anderlecht Viktoria Plzeň Crystal Palace Sunderland Ararat-Armenia Levski Sofia 33.9
Cyprus Omonia Benfica Juventus Celtic Rennes Celta Vigo Celje Beşiktaş NEC 39.1
Spain Celta Vigo Juventus Marseille Union Saint-Gilloise Celtic Bournemouth Omonia Lillestrøm Hapoel Be'er Sheva 35.7
Germany TSG Hoffenheim Lyon Olympiacos Ferencváros Anderlecht Sturm Graz Crystal Palace Beşiktaş OFI 35.9
Turkey Beşiktaş Marseille Bayer Leverkusen Union Saint-Gilloise Celtic Crystal Palace Omonia Hapoel Be'er Sheva TSG Hoffenheim 41.1
Portugal Torreense Olympiacos Real Sociedad Celtic Ferencváros Sunderland Lech Poznań Ararat-Armenia Lillestrøm 35.1
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva Juventus AZ Dinamo Zagreb Union Saint-Gilloise Celta Vigo Bournemouth OFI Beşiktaş 37.3
Netherlands NEC Benfica Juventus Rennes Dinamo Zagreb Omonia Celje Levski Sofia Ararat-Armenia 37.8
Greece OFI Bayer Leverkusen Benfica Anderlecht Rennes Lech Poznań Sturm Graz TSG Hoffenheim Hapoel Be'er Sheva 43.6
Norway Lillestrøm Real Sociedad Lyon Viktoria Plzeň Sparta Prague Bournemouth Celta Vigo Torreense Levski Sofia 34.6
Bulgaria Levski Sofia Milan Marseille Red Bull Salzburg Viktoria Plzeň Jagiellonia Białystok Sunderland Lillestrøm NEC 35.4
Armenia Ararat-Armenia AZ Milan Sparta Prague Red Bull Salzburg Celje Jagiellonia Białystok NEC Torreense 35.7
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League phase table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to round of 16 (seeded)
2 Portugal Benfica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Italy Juventus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Italy Milan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 France Lyon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Netherlands AZ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Greece Olympiacos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Spain Real Sociedad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 France Marseille 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout phase play-offs (seeded)
10 Hungary Ferencváros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Scotland Celtic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 France Rennes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout phase play-offs (unseeded)
18 Belgium Anderlecht 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 Austria Sturm Graz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Poland Lech Poznań 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 England Crystal Palace 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 England Bournemouth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 England Sunderland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Slovenia Celje 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 Cyprus Omonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 Spain Celta Vigo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
28 Germany TSG Hoffenheim 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Turkey Beşiktaş 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Portugal Torreense 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 Netherlands NEC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 Greece OFI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 Norway Lillestrøm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 Bulgaria Levski Sofia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 Armenia Ararat-Armenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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First match(es) will be played: 16 September 2026. Source: UEFA[3]
Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers

Results summary


Matches

The fixture list will be announced on 29 August 2026, the day after the draw.

Notes

References

External links

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