Europa League Matchday 1 Preview

The UEFA Europa League is back with league phase play as Wednesday and Thursday's action kicks off the competition proper. A total of 36 sides will compete for 24 knockout round places over the next five months with the goal of reaching next May's final in Frankfurt.

Here is a preview of the matches to begin this season's league phase.

Former Finalists Look For Glory

One of the early kickoffs on Wednesday will feature Ararat-Armenia as they begin their historic journey at home to Sparta Praha, who knocked them out of the UEFA Conference League last term at the third qualifying round. This is the first time a side from Armenia have reached the Europa League proper after the club's impressive qualifying rounds. They will have it tough versus the former quarterfinalists from Czechia, who are one of three sides in this year's tournament to have played in the group stage or league phase 10 times.

Also starting the play on Wednesday are Cyprus' Omonoia Nicosia, who welcome Celta Vigo. All four of The Shamrocks' previous games versus Spanish opposition - all coming at this stage of the UEL - ended in defeat. For Celta, they reached the quarterfinals last term before losing out to Freiburg. In what is their third participation in the UEL proper, Os Celestes went as far as the last four a decade ago, losing out to eventual winners Manchester United.

https://breakingthelines.com/@uefa_coefficient_expert/europa-league-playoff-round-preview

Bayer Leverkusen, recent finalists back in 2023/24, open their UEL campaign against Slovenia's Celje. Die Werkself faced Maribor in the 1999/2000 Champions League group stage, winning 2-0 away while their home match ended goalless. They have never been eliminated at this point of the UEL in their six other appearances. Celje enjoyed knockout football in the Conference League in each of the last two seasons, with this being their first test in the UEL. The aforementioned Maribor are the only other Slovenian team with experience at this level.

Two teams with a plethora of continental know-how, RSC Anderlecht and Olympique Lyonnais, meet in the Belgian capital. This is the first time the pair will face each other in a competition other than the Champions League, with l'OL leading 3-1 in the head-to-head. Anderlecht successfully negotiated this stage in six of their previous seven attempts, having finished 10th in the league phase two years ago. Lyon, meanwhile, are one of just three sides to play in the Europa League's league phase in all three seasons of the current set-up.

Domestic champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Dinamo Zagreb are set for a reunion eight years on from the Croats winning a UCL qualifier 7-2 on aggregate. The side from Israel are looking for a first-ever win over a Croatian club at the fifth time of asking. It has been a decade since they got past a group phase for the first and only time. Dinamo are no strangers to the UEL proper, with this being their ninth group stage/league phase showing. They are 2-3-0 versus teams from Israel.

Olympiakos Piraeus are set for a maiden clash versus Jagiellonia Białystok. It is the second time in three seasons that Thrylos are involved in the UEL, finishing seventh the last time out. However, they have yet to get past the last 16, losing in that round seven times. Jagiellonia, like Celje, were in the UECL in the two most recent campaigns, making the knockout rounds twice. They are the fifth different Polish team to make the group phase of the Europa League.

Sturm Graz are up against Stade Rennais in a first-time meeting between the two clubs. Finishing second in the Austrian Bundesliga last term, Die Schwoazn have never managed to advance from a UEL group phase in six previous showings. In contrast, Rennes have succeeded on three of their five attempts, making the knockout round playoffs in their last two appearances. However, Les Rouge et Noirs have only gone farther than the first knockout stage once.

Fifty-three years on from their brief Cup Winners Cup run, Sunderland are back in Europe, with their first opponent being former UEFA Cup finalists AZ Alkmaar. The Black Cats enjoyed a successful return to England's top flight in 2025/26, qualifying for Europe by league position for the first time. They are up against an AZ team with plenty of Europa League experience. De Kaasboeren are two-time quarterfinalists, though they have just three wins in 22 versus Premier League opponents (3-5-14).

Match of the Round: AC Milan vs Benfica

In what is easily the most enticing match of the round, AC Milan host Benfica in a clash featuring two former European Cup champions.

This is just the fourth time the Rossoneri are involved in the Europa League group phase, their first since 2020/21. Their best performance came in the 2023/24 season, entering the competition as one of the Champions League third place finishers before losing to Roma in the last eight. Milan have never lost to Benfica in six continental clashes, all previous in the European Cup/Champions League. In fact, they have come out on top in the final twice.

Despite their regularity in playing some part of the UEL, Benfica are playing group phase football in the competition for just the third time. Unsurprisingly, they did get past this round in their other two attempts. As Águias are one of two clubs to have made three finals in the UEFA Cup/Europa League but never win it. They made consecutive appearances in the showpiece back in 2012/13 and 2013/14, only to be beaten on both occasions.

Regulars Look for More Success

In one of Thursday's early matches, Levski Sofia will mark their return to the group phase at home to RB Salzburg. The sides met in the inaugural Europa League group stage, with the Austrians winning 1-0 home and away. Levski also played in the group stage in 2010/11, but have not returned until now. They are up against a Salzburg team who are here for the 10th time. They have the impressive record of having won all of their group matches on three separate occasions, though they ended 31st in last season's league phase.

Greek Cup winners OFI Crete play host to Hoffenheim in the other early kickoff on Thursday. OFI are playing just their fourth game at any point of the Europa League, having won both legs of their playoff round last month. They are the seventh different Greek club to make it this far in the UEL, and are the first debutant since 2016/17. Only two German teams have participated in the Europa League proper more often than Hoffenheim's four. However, they managed to negotiate the group phase once, losing in the round of 32 in 2020/21.

https://breakingthelines.com/@uefa_coefficient_expert/uefa-coefficient-roundup-matchday-1

One of Thursday's more intriguing games sees Beşiktaş host Olympique Marseille. The match comes nearly two decades on from their meetings in the 2006/07 Champions League, where the home sides prevailed on both occasions. Beşiktaş' last four appearances in the UEL group phase saw them eliminated at this stage, with their last success coming 12 years ago. Marseille played in the 2017/18 final while reaching the semifinals in their last showing back in 2023/24.

Celtic will welcome Ferencváros in what promises to be a fascinating fixture. Both group phase matches between the two went the Hoops' way five years ago. Despite this being their 10th UEL showing, the Scottish champions have never surpassed the round of 32/knockout round playoffs. Fradi made it through all four rounds of qualifying this summer, going unbeaten in the process. The Hungarians have finished in the top 24 of the league phase in the two most recent campaigns as well.

After capturing the Conference League last spring, Crystal Palace host Lech Poznań in their opener. The Eagles went 3-1-2 during the competition's league phase a year ago, but won six of their nine knockout round games to prevail. This will be their first test versus a Polish team though. Lech beat Manchester City at this stage 16 years ago en route to a second place finish. That was the only time they got out of the group phase in the UEL.

In Italy, Juventus will welcome NEC Nijmegen. Including the UEFA Cup, none of the 36 teams have more wins in the competition than the Bianconeri with three. With that said, their only other appearance in the group stage or league phase came in the second edition back in 2010/11, where they ended up third in their section. NEC beat Udinese in the UEFA Cup 18 years ago in their only other match against Italian opposition. That was their best season in European play as well.

Norway's Lillestrøm are up against Portuguese second tier club Torreense. After enjoying promotion back to the top flight last calendar year, Kanarifugla made it past the playoff round in August, with this being their maiden group phase showing. Fellow debutants Torreense are the first lower tier team to make the Europa League proper since FC Zürich in the 2016/17 campaign after they stunned Sporting CP in the cup final last May.

Participating in the league phase for the third year running, Viktoria Plzeň face Union Saint-Gilloise in what promises to be a fascinating match. The Czech club pulled off a remarkable comeback in the playoff round to make their seventh trip to the group phase, the second most of any Czech team. They have thrice played in the round of 16. As for Union, they are back for the fourth time in five years, going as far as the quartefinals in 2022/23. They lost to Slavia Praha in UCL qualifying two summers ago.

Real Sociedad and Bournemouth square off in San Sebastián with La Real searching for their second win over an English team. Regulars in the competition in recent years, they have yet to go farther than the round of 16 in the UEL era. For Bournemouth, they are participating in Europe for the first time after a sixth place finish in the Premier League last term. The Cherries are one of 23 different English teams to feature in this portion of the competition, more than any other nation.