About the Europa League draw
The draw for the league phase of the Europa League took place on August 29th in Monaco. 36 teams went into the draw and were split into four pots based on UEFA's club coefficient rankings. In a change from the previous season, when the teams were manually drawn one at a time, the draw was entirely computer-generated with all 36 teams' opponents and home/away locations drawn at once, but revealed pot by pot.
Each team got two opponents from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association.
The draw for the knockout playoffs took place on January 30th. The final draw, for the round of 16 and beyond, took place on February 27th. That draw involved the teams that finish in the top eight of the league phase, plus the eight knockout playoff winners.
The following eight sides are alive in the Europa League (listed by league-phase finish) heading into the quarter-finals:
2. Aston Villa (ENG), 4. Real Betis (SPA), 5. FC Porto (POR), 6. Braga (POR), 7. Freiburg (GER), (ITA), 10. Bologna (ITA), 13. Nottingham Forest (ENG), 16. Celta Vigo (SPA)
Round of 16 results:
Ferencvaros 2-4 Braga
Panathinaikos 1-4 Betis
Genk 2-5 Freiburg
Celta Vigo 3-1 Lyon
Stuttgart 1-4 Porto
Nottingham Forest 2-2 FC Midtjylland (Forest won 3-0 on penalties)
Bologna 5-4 Roma
Lille 0-3 Aston Villa
Quarter-final fixtures:
Quarter-final 1: Braga vs Betis
Quarter-final 2: Freiburg vs Celta Vigo
Quarter-final 3: Porto vs Nottingham Forest
Quarter-final 4: Bologna vs Aston Villa
Semi-final draw:
Quarter-final 1 vs Quarter-final 2
Quarter-final 3 vs Quarter-final 4
See all the results from the Europa League here!
Key upcoming dates for the 25/26 UEFA Europa League
Draw for knockout playoffs: January 30th
Knockout playoffs: February 19th (first legs), February 26th (second legs)
Final draw (for Round of 16 and beyond): February 27th, 2026
Round of 16: March 12th (first legs), March 19th (second legs)
Quarter-finals: April 9th (first legs), April 16th (second legs)
Semi-finals: April 30th (first legs), May 7th (second legs)
Final: May 20th
When & where is the 25/26 Europa League final
The Europa League final will take place on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026, at the Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. The stadium is an all-seater with a capacity of approximately 42,590 spectators.
The winners of the final will enter the League Phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League.
UEFA Europa League format explained
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, there was a big overhaul of UEFA’s cup competitions. Gone are the days of the group stage with pools - a 36-team 'League Phase' has replaced that format in the Champions League and Europa League.
This season, just like last, each of the 36 teams plays eight matches. The top eight at the end of the League Phase automatically qualify for the round of 16, while the bottom eight are eliminated and do not drop down to the Conference League.
Meanwhile, the teams that finished between ninth and 24th go into the knockout playoff round to decide which further eight will complete the round of 16. The final draw for the knockout stages takes place after the knockout playoff round.
The round of 16 sees the top eight (seeded) teams drawn against the other (unseeded) teams. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final follow as per typical cup competitions.