This week marks the start of the 2025–26 Europa League, as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa compete to maintain the UEFA Cup in the Premier League following Tottenham Hotspur’s victory over Manchester United in the previous season.
Last season, Unai Emery’s Villa finished sixth in the Premier League standings, and Forest’s attempt to win the Europa League is a result of Crystal Palace’s demotion to the Conference League.
Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou, the 2024–25 UEL champion, have already been fired by Forest this season. How will they get to the knockout stage with new manager Sean Dyche? Who is included on Villa’s schedule? And when are the season’s major events and games?
For everything you need to know about the 2025–2026 Europa League, continue reading.
What time are the league and knockout stages of the Europa League? What dates are the games in the Europa League?
There are eight matchdays in the Europa League league phase, which runs from September 24 to January 29. Most of the games take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The Europa League knockout stage starts on February 19 and ends on May 20, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey’s Besiktas Stadium.
When are the dates and draws for the knockout stage? When will the Europa League Final take place in 2025–2026?
Two-leg ties will take place on February 19 and 26, with the knockout round playoff draw scheduled for January 30.
On February 27, 2026, the Round of 16 drawings and the routes to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will be held.
As for game dates:
Playoff round: February 19 and 26
Round of 16: March 12 and 19
Quarterfinals: April 9 and 16
Semifinals: April 30 and May 7
Final: May 20, 2026 at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul, Turkiye
2025-26 UEFA Europa League: Next fixtures
Matchday 4
Thursday, November 5
12:45pm ET kickoffs
Basel vs FCSB
Red Star Belgrade vs Lille
Nice vs Freiburg
Utrecht vs Porto
RB Salzburg vs Go Ahead Eagles
Midtjylland vs Celtic
Dinamo Zagreb vs Celta Vigo
Malmo vs Panathinaikos
Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest
3pm ET kickoffs
PAOK vs Young Boys
Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Stuttgart vs Feyenoord
Viktoria Plzen vs Fenerbache
Ferencvaros vs Ludogorets Razgrad
Rangers vs AS Roma
Real Betis vs Lyon
Braga vs Genk
Bologna vs Brann
2025-26 UEFA Europa League league phase table
- Midtjylland — 3-0-0, +6 GD, 9 points
- Braga — 3-0-0, +5 GD, 9 points
- Lyon — 3-0-0, +5 GD, 9 points
- Dinamo Zagreb — 2-1-0, +4 GD, 7 points
- Viktoria Plzen — 2-1-0, +4 GD, 7 points
- Freiburg — 2-1-0, +3 GD, 7 points
- Ferencvaros — 2-1-0, +3 GD, 7 points
- Brann — 2-0-1, +3 GD, 6 points
- Celta Vigo — 2-0-1, +2 GD, 6 points
- Aston Villa — 2-0-1, +2 GD, 6 points
- Lille — 2-0-1, +1 GD, 6 points
- Go Ahead Eagles — 2-0-1, +1 GD, 6 points
- Young Boys — 2-0-1, 0 GD, 6 points
- Fenerbahce — 2-0-1, 0 GD, 6 points
- Porto — 2-0-1, 0 GD, 6 points
- Real Betis — 1-2-0, +2 GD, 5 points
- Nottingham Forest — 1-1-1, +1 GD, 4 points
- Bologna — 1-1-1, 0 GD, 4 points
- Genk — 1-1-1, 0 GD, 4 points
- PAOK — 1-1-1, -1 GD, 4 points
- Celtic — 1-1-1, -1 GD, 4 points
- Panathinaikos — 1-0-2, 0 GD, 3 points
- AS Roma — 1-0-2, -1 GD, 3 points
- Basel — 1-0-2, -1 GD, 3 points
- Feyenoord — 1-0-2, -2 GD, 3 points
- Ludogorets Razgrad — 1-0-2, -2 GD, 3 points
- Sturm Graz — 1-0-2, -2 GD, 3 points
- FCSB — 1-0-2, -2 GD, 3 points
- Stuttgart — 1-0-2, -2 GD, 3 points
- Red Star Belgrade — 0-1-2, -3 GD, 1 point
- Malmo — 0-1-2, -4 GD, 1 point
- Maccabi Tel-Aviv — 0-1-2, -4 GD, 1 point
- Nice — 0-0-3, -3 GD, 0 points
- Red Bull Salzburg — 0-0-3, -4 GD, 0 points
- Utrecht — 0-0-3, -4 GD, 0 points
- Rangers — 0-0-3, -5 GD, 0 points
Premier League clubs’ 2025-26 UEFA Europa League fixtures
Aston Villa
League phase
September 25 vs Bologna — Won 1-0
October 2 at Feyenoord — Won 2-0
October 23 at Go Ahead Eagles — Lost 2-1
November 6 vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
November 27 vs Young Boys
December 11 at Basel
January 22 at Fenerbahce
January 29 vs Red Bull Salzburg
Nottingham Forest
League phase
September 24 at Real Betis — Drew 2-2
October 2 vs Midtjylland — Lost 3-2
October 23 vs Porto — Won 2-0
November 6 at Sturm Graz
November 27 vs Malmo
December 11 at Utrecht
January 22 at Braga
January 29 vs Ferencvaros
2025-26 UEFA Europa League: Schedule, results
Matchday 1
Wednesday, September 24
Midtjylland 2-0 Sturm Graz
PAOK 0-0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Malmo 1-2 Ludogorets Razgrad
Braga 1-0 Feyenoord
Real Betis 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Freiburg 2-1 Basel
Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 Fenerbahce
Red Star Belgrade 1-1 Celtic
Nice 1-2 AS Roma
Thursday, September 25
Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 Steaua Bucuresti
Lille 2-1 Brann
Ferencvaros 1-1 Viktoria Plzen
Salzburg 0-1 Porto
Stuttgart 2-1 Celta Vigo
Utrecht 0-1 Lyon
Rangers 0-1 Genk
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Matchday 2
Thursday, October 2
Panathinaikos 1-2 Go Ahead Eagles
AS Roma 0-1 Lille
FCSB 0-2 Young Boys
Ludogorets Razgrad 0-2 Real Betis
Viktoria Plzen vs Malmo
Fenerbahce 2-1 Nice
Bologna 1-1 Freiburg
Brann 1-0 Utrecht
Celtic 0-2 Braga
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Midtjylland
Lyon 2-0 RB Salzburg
Genk 0-1 Ferencvaros
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-3 Dinamo Zagreb
Sturm Graz 2-1 Glasgow Rangers
Celta Vigo 3-1 PAOK
Porto 2-1 Red Star Belgrade
Feyenoord 0-2 Aston Villa
Basel 2-0 Stuttgart
Matchday 3
Thursday, October 23
RB Salzburg 2-3 Ferencvaros
Braga 2-0 Red Star Belgrade
Fenerbahce 1-0 Stuttgart
Brann 3-0 Rangers
Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 Aston Villa
Genk 0-0 Real Betis
FCSB 1-2 Bologna
Lyon 2-0 Basel
Celta Vigo 2-1 Nice
Lille 3-4 PAOK
Malmo 1-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys 3-2 Ludogorets Razgrad
Freiburg 2-0 Utrecht
Celtic 2-1 Sturm Graz
Feyenoord 3-1 Panathinaikos
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0-3 Midtjylland
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Porto
AS Roma 1-2 Viktoria Plzen
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