Europa League: dates, news, Italian fixtures, and where to watch the matches on TV.
After the Champions League , the Europa League begins this week: it will have an entirely dedicated showcase on the first matchday, spread over two days, Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 September. The competition's format is the same as the Champions League: for the second year in a row there will be a single group . Two Italian teams are present: Bologna and Roma.
Times: Play is played in two slots, 6.45pm and 9pmEach club will play eight matches , and at the end of the first phase, the standings will determine which eight top teams will advance to the round of 16, which teams (those ranked 9th to 24th) will play in the playoffs, and which teams (those ranked 25th and below) will have to bow out early. Each matchday, except the final one on January 29th, which will be played simultaneously at 9:00 PM, will have two time slots: one at 6:45 PM and one at 9:00 PM.
Just like the Champions League, this year's second phase features a new format: the teams ranked 1st to 4th will have the right to play the second leg of their quarterfinals at home. The top two teams will also play the second leg of their semifinals at home. What's more, if a team eliminates one of the top four, it will inherit the rights of that team. There will also be a change to the regulations: teams losing a player to a long-term injury, lasting at least 60 days, will have the option to replace them (up to and including matchday six) in the UEFA squad. This was something that until last year was only possible for goalkeepers.
The most representative Italian team is Roma, which has the highest ranking among the participants. The draw, however, has not been particularly favorable to the Giallorossi, who have some crucial away matches: they open tonight in Nice and then face the two Glasgow teams, Rangers and Celtic in Scotland, and finally, on the final day, Panathinaikos in Athens. At the Olimpico, they will host Lille , Viktoria Plzen, Midtjylland, and Stuttgart .
Roma's calendarMatchday 1 : Wednesday 24 September, 9pm: Nice-Roma Matchday 2 : Thursday 2 October, 6.45pm: Roma-Lille Matchday 3 : Thursday 23 October, 9pm: Roma-Viktoria Plzen Matchday 4 : Thursday 6 November, 9pm: Rangers-Roma Matchday 5 : Thursday 27 November, 6.45pm: Roma-Midtjylland Matchday 6 : Thursday 11 December, 9pm: Celtic-Roma Matchday 7 : Thursday 22 December, 9pm: Roma-Stuttgart Matchday 8 : Thursday 29 January, 9pm: Panathinaikos-Roma
Vincenzo Italiano
The path of the second Italian team, Bologna, also appears complex, having drawn one of the main candidates for the final victory, Aston Villa : they will have that problem out of hand immediately, as they will be in Birmingham on Thursday evening. The other away matches are decidedly more affordable, in Bucharest against FCSB (Steaua), in Vigo against Celta and in Backa Topola, on neutral ground in Serbia, against Maccabi Tel Aviv . However, the home matches against Freiburg, Brann, Salzburg and Celtic should not be underestimated.
Bologna's calendarMatchday 1 : Thursday 25 September, 9pm: Aston Villa vs. Bologna Matchday 2 : Thursday 2 October, 6.45pm: Bologna vs. Freiburg Matchday 3 : Thursday 23 October, 6.45pm: Steaua vs. Bologna Matchday 4 : Thursday 6 November, 9pm: Bologna vs. Brann Matchday 5 : Thursday 27 November, 9pm: Bologna vs. Salzburg Matchday 6 : Thursday 11 December, 9pm: Celta Vigo vs. Bologna Matchday 7 : Thursday 22 December, 6.45pm: Bologna vs. Celtic Matchday 8 : Thursday 29 January, 9pm: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Bologna
The dates of the championship phaseMatchday 1: September 24 and 25, 2025 Matchday 2: October 2, 2025 Matchday 3: October 23, 2025 Matchday 4: November 6, 2025 Matchday 5: November 27, 2025 Matchday 6: December 11, 2025 Matchday 7: January 22, 2026 Matchday 8: January 29, 2026 (all played simultaneously)
The dates of the knockout stagePlay-offs : 19 and 26 February 2026 Round of 16 : 12 and 19 March 2026 Quarter-finals : 9 and 16 April 2026 Semi-finals : 30 April and 7 May 2026 Final : 20 May 2026 (in Istanbul)
Where to watch the Europa League on TV and streamingThe Europa League will be broadcast exclusively on Sky , which will also have a dedicated "Live Goal" channel so subscribers don't miss a minute of the action from all the venues where matches are being played simultaneously. The matches will be streamed on SkyGo and Now. One match per round will also be shown free-to-air on TV8 . It starts this week with Salzburg vs. Porto (Thursday at 9 p.m.), which can also be streamed on www.tv8.it.
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