It may be Europe’s secondary club competition but the Europa League has delivered a host of memorable nights down the years, and the 2026-27 edition will crown a new champion.
Aston Villa lifted the trophy in 2025-26, sweeping Freiburg aside 3-0 in the final in Istanbul. Unai Emery’s side led 2-0 at half-time and never looked back, securing the club’s first major European trophy since 1982.
There will be a different name on the trophy this season. As Europa League winners, Villa earned a place in the Champions League, meaning the holders will not be back to defend their crown. It is a familiar story for this competition. Sevilla did the same after their 2022-23 win, and Villa now follow that path.
Villa’s success capped a fine campaign, with the Birmingham club also finishing fourth in the Premier League and Ollie Watkins scoring 16 league goals.
Who will take part in the 2026-27 Europa League?
At the time of writing, 13 teams were confirmed to be playing in the League Phase of the 2026-27 Europa League.
Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Sunderland make up the English contingent, while AC Milan and Juventus have qualified from Serie A.
La Liga have both Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo in the competition, with Bundesliga sides Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen qualifying. Marseille and Rennes qualified through Ligue 1. The other two sides confirmed to play in the League Phase are AZ Alkmaar of Netherlands and Torreense of Portugal.
When does the 2026-27 Europa League start?
Qualifying for the 2026-27 competition began in early June, with the road to the final running through the qualifying rounds, the league phase and the knockout stages. As in recent seasons, the league phase replaces the old group format, although the knockout structure from the play-offs onwards is unchanged.
The final is scheduled for May 2027.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 16 June 2026 | 9 July 2026 | 16 July 2026 |
| Second qualifying round | 17 June 2026 | 23 July 2026 | 30 July 2026 | |
| Third qualifying round | 20 July 2026 | 6 August 2026 | 13 August 2026 | |
| Play-offs | Play-off round | 3 August 2026 | 20 August 2026 | 27 August 2026 |
| League phase | Matchday 1 | 28 August 2026 | 16–17 September 2026 | |
| Matchday 2 | 15 October 2026 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 22 October 2026 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 5 November 2026 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 26 November 2026 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 10 December 2026 | |||
| Matchday 7 | 21 January 2027 | |||
| Matchday 8 | 28 January 2027 | |||
| Knockout phase | Knockout round play-offs | 29 January 2027 | 18 February 2027 | 25 February 2027 |
| Round of 16 | 26 February 2027 | 11 March 2027 | 18 March 2027 | |
| Quarter-finals | 8 April 2027 | 15 April 2027 | ||
| Semi-finals | 29 April 2027 | 6 May 2027 | ||
| Final | 26 May 2027 | |||
Europa League winner odds 2026-27
Bookmakers had not priced up the 2026-27 Europa League outright market at the time of writing, with the league phase field still taking shape through qualifying. The latest winner odds will appear here as soon as the market opens.
You have to be 18+ to gamble. UK only. All odds within this article are accurate at the time of writing. GambleAware.