The draw for the league phase of the Europa League takes place on Friday afternoon, with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest among the teams hoping for glory in Europe’s second-tier competition.
The Premier League duo will also be joined by Rangers, with the Scottish side crashing out of the Champions League play-off round after being thrashed 9-1 on aggregate by Club Brugge. They follow Old Firm rivals into the competition following their shootout failure against Kazakh side Kairat Almaty.
A variety of top European sides, including FC Porto, AS Roma, Lyon and Real Betis, will vie for continental glory.
Though Villa and Forest come into the competition as former European Cup winners, entry into the competition marks the culmination of a successful 2024/25, and fans will be excited to see how both sides can do in a competition that both will believe they can win in 2026.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Europa League league phase draw:
When is the Europa League 2025/26 league phase draw?
The draw will be held in Monaco on Friday, 29 August and begins at 12pm BST.
How to watch live Europa League 2025/26 league phase draw
Uefa.com will offer a live stream on their website and YouTube channel.
How does the league phase draw work?
The league phase has 36 teams with every team handed eight games. The 36 teams are split into four pots of eight teams based on their Uefa coefficient ranking, with each team drawn out individually. They then have eight opponents selected via Uefa’s automated software, which uses specific fixture-selection criteria (for example, keeping sides from the same country apart).
The opponents then come from each pot, with two teams selected from each, one home and one away.
Teams cannot play another team from the same country and are not permitted to face more than two teams from one country.
Those finishing inside the top eight go straight into the last 16, then the next 16 teams advance to the play-off stage, with eight of those 16 teams progressing to the last 16.
Who has qualified for the Europa League 2025/26 league phase?
England: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest
Italy: Bologna, Roma
Spain: Real Betis, Celta
Germany: Stuttgart, Freiburg
France: Lille, Lyon
Netherlands: Go Ahead Eagles
Portugal: Porto
Croatia: GNK Dinamo
Europa League 2025/26 key dates
Matchday 1: 24 & 25 September 2025
Matchday 2: 2 October 2025
Matchday 3: 23 October 2025
Matchday 4: 6 November 2025
Matchday 5: 27 November 2025
Matchday 6: 11 December 2025
Matchday 7: 22 January 2026
Matchday 8: 29 January 2026
Knockout phase play-offs: 19 & 26 February 2026
Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026
Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026
Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)
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