Standings, fixtures, results and everything you need to know about the UEFA Europa League, European club football’s second-tier continental competition, contested by 36 clubs from across the continent.
What is the UEFA Europa League?
The UEFA Europa League is UEFA’s second-tier continental club competition, running since 1971 when it launched as the UEFA Cup. It was rebranded the UEFA Europa League in 2009-10, when the competition absorbed the old UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup’s qualification slots and moved to a group-then-knockout structure.
From the 2024/25 season the competition switched to a single 36-club "league phase" — the same reform applied to the Champions League that same year. There are no lettered groups any more: every club plays eight different opponents (four at home, four away), drawn from four seeding pots, and all 36 clubs are ranked in one table. The top eight go straight into the Round of 16; the clubs ranked 9th to 24th enter a two-legged knockout phase play-off for the remaining eight Round of 16 spots; the bottom twelve are eliminated, with no parachute into the Conference League from this stage.
Sevilla are the competition’s most successful club by a wide margin, with seven titles across the UEFA Cup and Europa League eras. Aston Villa are the defending champions, having beaten SC Freiburg 3-0 in the 2025-26 final at the Beşiktaş Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May 2026 for their first-ever Europa League title.
The 2026/27 season’s league phase kicked off on 16–17 September with matchday 1. The competition’s knockout phase play-offs follow in February, with the final played as a single match at a neutral venue in May.
Fixtures and results
Kickoff times auto-convert to your local time (UTC shown if JavaScript is off). Updated Wed 21 Oct, 00:29 UTCUpcoming fixtures
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Olympique Marseille
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Hapoel Be`er Sheva FC
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Bayer Leverkusen
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Sunderland AFC
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Stade Rennais FC
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NEC Nijmegen
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SCU Torreense
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AZ Alkmaar
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Olympique Lyon
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SL Benfica
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Sparta Prague
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FC Salzburg
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Real Sociedad San Sebastian
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RSC Anderlecht
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PFC Levski Sofia
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RC Celta de Vigo
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Crystal Palace
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AC MilanRecent results
2 - 3Besiktas Istanbul2 - 1OFI Crete4 - 1Celtic Glasgow1 - 2Juventus Turin0 - 1Olympiacos Piraeus1 - 1PFC Levski Sofia3 - 1FC Ararat-Armenia1 - 0RSC Anderlecht2 - 1FC Viktoria Plzen3 - 0SK Sturm Graz1 - 2Sunderland AFC1 - 1Real Sociedad San Sebastian3 - 2Crystal Palace0 - 3AC Omonia Nicosia0 - 4Bayer Leverkusen0 - 4AC Milan2 - 1Hapoel Be`er Sheva FC1 - 1Lillestroem SKLeague phase table
All 36 clubs in one table, computed from full-time results, 2026/27 season. After Round 2 of 8. Updated Wed 21 Oct, 00:29 UTC| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus Turin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 |
| 2 | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 6 |
| 3 | SL Benfica | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 |
| 4 | Besiktas Istanbul | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 |
| 5 | AFC Bournemouth | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
| 6 | AC Omonia Nicosia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
| 7 | Ferencvarosi Budapest | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
| 8 | Olympique Lyon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
| 9 | Olympiacos Piraeus | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| 10 | Sunderland AFC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| 11 | Sparta Prague | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 |
| 12 | Union Saint-Gilloise | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
| 13 | Stade Rennais FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| 14 | GNK Dinamo Zagreb | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 3 |
| 16 | AC Milan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 |
| 17 | Jagiellonia Bialystok | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
| 18 | OFI Crete | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 19 | SCU Torreense | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 20 | AZ Alkmaar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | FC Salzburg | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 22 | Lillestroem SK | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 |
| 23 | Real Sociedad San Sebastian | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 |
| 24 | Hapoel Be`er Sheva FC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 25 | PFC Levski Sofia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 26 | SK Sturm Graz | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 27 | NEC Nijmegen | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 1 |
| 28 | RC Celta de Vigo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| 29 | RSC Anderlecht | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| 30 | TSG Hoffenheim | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
| 31 | FC Viktoria Plzen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
| 32 | Olympique Marseille | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
| 33 | Celtic Glasgow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
| 34 | FC Ararat-Armenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
| 35 | NK Celje | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
| 36 | KKS Lech Poznan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | -8 | 0 |
How the knockout stage works
The league phase runs through January; the knockout bracket isn’t seeded yet1–8: straight to the Round of 16
The top eight clubs after all eight league-phase rounds skip the play-off round entirely and go directly into the Round of 16, seeded and unseeded for the draw.
9–24: knockout phase play-offs
Clubs ranked 9th to 24th are drawn into eight two-legged play-off ties in February. The eight winners join the top eight in the Round of 16.
25–36: eliminated
The bottom twelve clubs are out of the Europa League for the season, with no parachute into the Conference League from this stage.
Round of 16 onward
From the Round of 16 through the semifinals, every tie is played over two legs, home and away, on aggregate score. There’s no away-goals rule; a tie level on aggregate goes to extra time and then penalties. The final is a single match at a neutral venue.
Knockout ties appear here as soon as the draw is made.
AI predictions
Predicted scores and win probabilities for UEFA Europa League fixturesSK Sturm GrazOlympique MarseilleUnion Saint-GilloiseHapoel Be`er Sheva FCOFI CreteBayer LeverkusenKKS Lech PoznanSunderland AFCHow the UEFA Europa League works
Qualifying rounds
Clubs from lower-ranked leagues, cup winners and those that miss automatic entry play a series of qualifying rounds through July and August. Clubs eliminated from the Champions League’s own play-off round also drop down into the Europa League league phase.
League phase
36 clubs, one table, eight rounds from September to January. Each club is drawn against eight different opponents, two from each of four seeding pots, playing four at home and four away. No lettered groups.
Knockout phase play-offs
Clubs finishing 9th to 24th play a two-legged play-off in February for the eight remaining Round of 16 spots. Clubs finishing in the top eight are exempt; clubs finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated with no route into the Conference League.
Knockout rounds and final
Round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals are all two-legged ties on aggregate, with extra time and penalties if needed. The final is a single match at a pre-selected neutral venue, played in May.
History and records
Most recent final
| Year | Champions | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Aston Villa | SC Freiburg |
Most titles
| Club | Titles |
|---|---|
| Sevilla | 7 |
The story so far
Sevilla’s seven titles across the UEFA Cup and Europa League eras make them by far the competition’s most successful club, a record built through a run of wins in the 2000s and 2010s that turned the club into a genuine European specialist in this competition.
Aston Villa’s win over SC Freiburg in the 2025-26 final, 3-0 at the Beşiktaş Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May 2026, was their first Europa League title. The switch to the 36-club league phase for 2024/25 — the same reform applied to the Champions League — replaced the previous group-stage format and was UEFA’s biggest structural change to the competition since it was rebranded from the UEFA Cup in 2009-10.
UEFA Europa League clubs, 2026/27
36 clubs · ranked by current league phase positionJuventus TurinRound of 16Crystal PalaceRound of 16Besiktas IstanbulRound of 16Sparta PragueRound of 16Union Saint-GilloiseRound of 16Ferencvarosi BudapestRound of 16Bayer LeverkusenRound of 16OFI CreteRound of 16SL BenficaPlayoff spotAFC BournemouthPlayoff spotOlympiacos PiraeusPlayoff spotOlympique LyonPlayoff spotSCU TorreensePlayoff spotAC Omonia NicosiaPlayoff spotFC SalzburgPlayoff spotSunderland AFCPlayoff spotGNK Dinamo ZagrebPlayoff spotHapoel Be`er Sheva FCPlayoff spotSK Sturm GrazPlayoff spotStade Rennais FCPlayoff spotJagiellonia BialystokPlayoff spotLillestroem SKPlayoff spotRSC AnderlechtPlayoff spot
Real Sociedad San SebastianPlayoff spotAZ AlkmaarPFC Levski Sofia
RC Celta de VigoCeltic GlasgowAC MilanNK CeljeTSG HoffenheimFC Ararat-ArmeniaOlympique MarseilleFC Viktoria PlzenKKS Lech PoznanNEC NijmegenUEFA Europa League FAQs
How many teams are in the Europa League?
36 clubs take part in the 2026/27 league phase, the same reformed single-table format introduced alongside the Champions League for 2024/25.
Is there still a group stage in the Europa League?
No. Since 2024/25 there are no lettered groups. All 36 clubs sit in a single table, each playing eight different opponents rather than three in a small group.
How do teams qualify for the Europa League knockout stage?
The top eight in the 36-club table go straight to the Round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th play a two-legged knockout phase play-off in February for the remaining eight spots. The bottom 12 are eliminated, with no parachute into the Conference League.
Who has won the most Europa League titles?
Sevilla, with seven titles across the UEFA Cup and Europa League eras, the outright record for the competition.
Who is the defending Europa League champion?
Aston Villa, who beat SC Freiburg 3-0 in the 2025-26 final at the Beşiktaş Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May 2026 for their first Europa League title.
How does the Europa League relate to the Champions League and Conference League?
The three competitions are linked at the qualifying stage: clubs eliminated from the Champions League’s play-off round drop down into the Europa League league phase, and clubs eliminated from the Europa League’s own play-off round drop down into the Conference League league phase, so no club that reaches this point in Europe is knocked out of continental football entirely before the season proper begins.
What happens if a Europa League knockout tie is level after two legs?
It goes to 30 minutes of extra time, and to penalties if the scores are still level. There’s no away-goals rule at this stage of the competition.
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The league phase table, fixtures and results are pulled from the client’s live match data feed and refreshed periodically. Standings are calculated from full-time results using points, then goal difference, then goals scored. Team crests are hosted on this site; kickoff times are shown in the visitor’s local timezone.