The 2026-27 UEFA Europa League league phase draw took place on Friday, 28 August 2026, at 12:00 BST in Monaco, finalizing the groups for 36 participating teams [1, 2, 3]. These teams were divided into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficients over the past five seasons ending in 2026 [1, 3].
Pot 1 included notable clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Juventus, AC Milan, Lyon, Marseille, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiacos, and Real Sociedad [1, 3]. Pot 2 featured Celtic, Ferencvaros, Viktoria Plzen, Union Saint-Gilloise, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Sparta Prague, Rennes, and Anderlecht [1, 3]. Pot 3 contained Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Celta Vigo, Sturm Graz, Lech Poznan, Celje, Jagiellonia Bialystok, and Omonia [1, 3]. Pot 4 had Torreense, Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, NEC Nijmegen, OFI Crete, Lillestrom, Ararat-Armenia, and Levski Sofia [1, 3].
Each club will play eight matches, facing two opponents from each pot, with an equal split of four home and four away games. Teams cannot be drawn against clubs from the same country [1, 3]. After the league phase, the top eight teams will advance directly to the Europa League round of 16, while teams ranked 9 through 24 move into the knockout play-off round. The remaining 12 teams, ranked 25 to 36, will be eliminated from the tournament [1].
English clubs Bournemouth and Sunderland drew challenging ties against AC Milan; Bournemouth will host AC Milan, while Sunderland will play away in Milan [2, 3]. Bournemouth’s home fixtures also include Viktoria Plzen, Sturm Graz, and Hapoel Beersheba, with away matches at Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Sparta Prague, and Lillestrom [2]. Sunderland’s home games are against AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Zagreb, and Levski Sofia, and they travel to Anderlecht, Torreense, Jagiellonia Bialystok, and Lech Poznan [2].
Portuguese second-division side Torreense will make their European debut after winning the Portuguese Cup. Torreense, drawn in pot four, will host matches at Estadio do Algarve [1, 2]. Crystal Palace, last season’s UEFA Conference League winners in pot three, will face clubs including Real Sociedad, Sparta Prague, Lech Poznan, and Hoffenheim [2, 3]. Celtic, having entered the Europa League after losing in the Champions League playoffs, will host Marseille and travel to Benfica, Celta Vigo, Besiktas, and Torreense [2, 3].
The first league phase matches for the 2026-27 Europa League are scheduled for September 16 and 17, 2026 [2, 3]. The tournament will conclude with the final at Stadion Frankfurt in Germany on May 26, 2027 [3].
