The UEFA Europa League’s new expanded format takes flight for the 2024-25 season, and it’s more straight-forward than it seemed at the first thoughts of change.
Just like the reorganized UEFA Champions League, the the league phase (replacing the group stage) started with 36 teams, and was then whittled down to 24 — eight straight through to the round of 16, and the other 16 headed to the playoff — and now there are just 16 left standing.
**[ MORE:**UEFA Champions League hub — Format, fixtures, more ]
Premier League sides Manchester United and Tottenham earned byes to avoid the first knockout round but will not both reach the semifinal round. The Premier League giants will square off in the quarterfinals if Man United beat Real Sociedad and Spurs handle AZ Alkmaar.
There could be an all-Serie A quarterfinal, too, if Athletic Bilbao knock off Roma and Lazio handled Viktoria Plzen.
See the full draw and potential quarterfinal pairings below.
Europa League Round of 16 schedule & results
First leg - Thursday, March 6
AZ Alkmaar 0-1 Tottenham - Video highlights & recap
Real Sociedad 1-1 Manchester United - Video highlights & recap
Fenerbahce 1-3 Rangers
FCSB 1-3 Lyon
3pm ET: Ajax v Eintracht Frankfurt
3pm ET: Viktoria Plzen v Lazio
3pm ET: Roma v Athletic Bilbao
3pm ET: Bodo/Glimt v Olympiakos
Europa League quarterfinal pairings
Bodo/Glimt/Olympiakos v Fenerbahce/Rangers
Ajax/Eintracht Frankfurt v FCSB/Lyon
AZ Alkmaar/Tottenham v Real Sociedad/Manchester United
Viktoria Plzen/Lazio v Roma/Athletic Bilbao
Europa League knockout round play-offs schedule & results
Second leg - Thursday, Feb. 20
Viktoria Plzen 3-0 (3-1 agg.) Fenercvaros
Bodo/Glimt 5-2 (6-4 agg.) Twente
Ajax 1-2 (3-2 agg.) Union Saint-Gilloise
Real Sociedad 5-2 (7-3 agg.) Midtjylland
Galatasaray 2-2 (6-3 agg.) AZ Alkmaar
FCSB 2-0 (4-1 agg.) PAOK
Anderlecht 2-2 (2-5 agg.) Fenerbahce
Roma 3-2 (4-3 agg.) Porto
First leg - Thursday, Feb. 13
Ferencvaros 1-0 Viktoria Plzen
Twente 2-1 Bodo/Glimt
Union Saint-Gilloise 0-2 Ajax
Midjtylland 1-2 Real Sociedad
AZ Alkmaar 4-1 Galatasaray
PAOK 1-2 FCSB
Fenerbahce 3-0 Anderlecht
Porto 1-1 Roma
Which teams are in the Europa League round of 16?
Lazio
Athletic Bilbao
Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur
Eintracht Frankfurt
Lyon
Olympiacos
Rangers
Viktoria Plzen
Bodo/Glimt
Ajax
AZ Alkmaar
Real Sociedad
FCSB
Fenerbahce
Roma
When will the Europa League round of 16 draw be held?
The round of 16 draw will be held on Friday at 7 am ET, at which point the remainder of the knockout bracket will be set.
(Playoff winners on left, top-8 teams on right)
Viktoria Plzen vs Lazio/Athletic Bilbao
Bodo/Glimt vs Olympiacos/Rangers
Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt/Lyon
AZ Alkmaar vs Manchester United/Tottenham Hotspur
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United/Tottenham Hotspur
FCSB vs Eintracht Frankfurt/Lyon
Fenerbahce vs Olympiacos/Rangers
Roma vs Lazio/Athletic Bilbao
Who will Manchester United play next in the Europa League knockout rounds?
Manchester United will draw the winner of either:
Real Sociedad
AZ Alkmaar
Who will Tottenham Hotspur play next in the Europa League knockout rounds?
Tottenham Hotspur will draw either:
Real Sociedad
AZ Alkmaar
What are the Europa League knockout stage dates?
An extra knockout round has been created, as the teams who finish in spots 9-24 in the league phase will play two-legged ties to reach the Round of 16 where they will face one of the top eight teams from the league phase who qualified automatically for the Round of 16.
Knockout round play-offs: February 13-20, 2025
Round of 16: March 6-13, 2025
Quarter-finals: April 10-17, 2025
Semi-finals: May 1-8, 2025
Final: May 21, 2025
When and where is the 2024-25 Champions League final?
The Champions League final will take place at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao on May 21, 2025.
Previews - UEFA Women's Champions League Final 2024
BILBAO, SPAIN - MAY 24: General view of the stadium exterior as a boat goes up the river prior to the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2023/24 Final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Estadio de San Mames on May 24, 2024 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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2024-25 UEFA Europa League - Final standings
Europa League table
2024-25 UEFA Europa League fixtures
A look at each club’s drawcan be found here via UEFA.com
When was the Europa League group stage? When were the Europa League league phase games? What dates are the Europa League games?
Matchday 1
Wednesday, September 25
AZ Alkmaar 3-2 Elfsborg
Bodo/Glimt 3-2 Porto
Galatasaray 3-1 PAOK
Midtjylland 1-1 Hoffenheim
Manchester United 1-1 Twente — Recap & video highlights
Dynamo Kiev 0-3 Lazio
Ludogorets Razgrad 0-2 Slavia Prague
Nice 1-1- Real Sociedad
Anderlecht 2-1 Ferencvaros
Thursday, September 26
Fenerbahce 2-1 Union Saint-Gilloise
Malmo 0-2 Rangers
Braga 2-1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 Viktoria Plzen
AS Roma 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
FCSB 4-1 RFS
Ajax 4-0 Besiktas
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Qarabag
Lyon 2-0 Olympiacos
Matchday 2
Wednesday, October 3
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0-2 Midtjylland
Real Sociedad 1-2 Anderlecht
Olympiacos 3-0 Braga
Hoffenheim 2-0 Dynamo Kiev
Qarabag 1-2 Malmo
Lazio 4-1 Nice
RFS 2-2 Galatasaray
Slavia Prague 1-1 Ajax
Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Elfsborg 1-0 Roma
Porto 3-3 Manchester United - Recap & video highlights
Athletic Bilbao 2-0 AZ Alkmaar
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Ludogorets Razgrad
Rangers 1-4 Lyon
Twente 1-1 Fenerbahce
Besiktas 1-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
PAOK 0-1 FCSB
Union Saint-Gilloise 0-0 Bodo/Glimt
Matchday 3
Wednesday, October 23
Braga 1-2 Bodo/Glimt
Galatasaray 4-3 Elfsborg
Thursday, October 24
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 RFS
Roma 1-0 Dynamo Kiev
Midtjylland 1-0 Union Saint-Gilloise
Qarabag 0-3 Ajax
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-2 Real Sociedad
PAOK 2-2 Viktoria Plzen
Ferencvaros 1-0 Nice
Fenerbahce 1-1 Manchester United — Highlights & recap
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 AZ Alkmaar
Lyon 0-1 Besiktas
Anderlecht 2-0 Ludogorets Razgrad
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Slavia Prague
Malmo 0-1 Olympiacos
Porto 2-0 Hoffenheim
Twente 0-2 Lazio
Rangers 4-0 FCSB
Matchday 4
Wednesday, November 6
Besiktas 2-1 Malmo
Thursday, November 7
Ludogorets Razgrad 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Union Saint-Gilloise 1-1 Roma
FCSB 2-0 Midtjylland
Olympiacos 1-1 Rangers
Galatasaray 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Slavia Prague
Nice 2-2 Twente
Bodo/Glimt 1-2 Qarabag
Elfsborg 1-1 Braga
Hoffenheim 2-2 Lyon
AZ Alkmaar 3-1 Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev 0-4 Ferencvaros
Lazio 2-1 Porto
Manchester United 2-0 PAOK
Ajax 5-0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Viktoria Plzen 2-1 Real Sociedad
RFS 1-1 Anderlecht
Tottenham Hotspur FC v Everton FC - Premier League
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Son Heung-Min celebrates scoring Tottenham Hotspur’s fourth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Everton FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 24, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Visionhaus/Getty Images
Matchday 5
Thursday, November 28
Besiktas 1-3 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Anderlecht 2-2 Porto
Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Viktoria Plzen
Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Elfsborg
Lazio 0-0 Ludogorets Razgrad
RFS 0-2 PAOK
Qarabag 1-4 Lyon
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Galatasaray
Ferencvaros 4-1 Malmo
Real Sociedad 2-0 Ajax
Midtjylland 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Braga 3-0 Hoffenheim
Slavia Prague 1-2 Fenerbahce
FCSB 0-0 Olympiacos
Manchester United 3-2 Bodo/Glimt
Nice 1-4 Rangers
Twente 0-1 Union Saint-Gilloise
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Roma
Matchday 6
Wednesday December 11
Fenerbahce 0-2 Athletic Bilbao
Thursday, December 12
Roma 3-0 Braga
Hoffenheim 0-0 FCSB
Viktoria Plzen 1-2 Manchester United
Malmo 2-2 Galatasaray
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 Nice
PAOK 5-0 Ferencvaros
Olympiacos 0-0 Twente
Ludogorets Razgrad 2-2 AZ Alkmaar
Bodo/Glimt 2-1 Besiktas
Porto 2-0 Midtjylland
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2-1 RFS
Ajax 1-3 Lazio
Elfsborg 1-0 Qarabag
Slavia Prague 1-2 Anderlecht
Rangers 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Real Sociedad 3-0 Dynamo Kiev
Lyon 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Matchday 7
Tuesday, January 21
Galatasaray 3-3 Dynamo Kiev
Wednesday, January 22
Besiktas 4-1 Athletic Bilbao
Thursday, January 23
Bodo/Glimt 3-1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Roma
Hoffenheim 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Porto 0-1 Olympiacos
Fenerbahce 0-0 Lyon
Qarabag 2-3 FCSB
Viktoria Plzen 2-0 Anderlecht
Malmo 2-3 Twente
Lazio 3-1 Real Sociedad
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 Braga
Elfsborg 1-0 Nice
Ludogorets Razgrad 0-2 Midtjylland
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Ferencvaros
RFS 1-0 Ajax
PAOK 2-0 Slavia Prague
Manchester United 2-1 Rangers
Matchday 8
Thursday, January 30
Twente 1-0 Besiktas
Real Sociedad 2-0 PAOK
FCSB 0-2 Manchester United
Nice 1-1 Bodo/Glimt
Olympiacos 3-0 Qarabag
Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 RFS
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Elfsborg
Midtjylland 2-2 Fenerbache
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0-1 Porto
Slavia Prague 2-2 Malmo
Roma 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Ajax 2-1 Galatasaray
Lyon 1-1 Ludogorets Razgrad
Athletic Bilbao 3-1 Viktoria Plzen
Anderlecht 3-4 Hoffenheim
Braga 1-0 Lazio
Rangers 2-1 Union Saint-Gilloise
Ferencvaros 4-3 AZ Alkmaar
Manchester United v West Ham United - Premier League
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United celebrates with Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford on February 04, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Getty Images
When was the Europa League group stage draw?
The draw for the Europa League group stage took place on August 30 in Monaco.
Explaining how the new Europa League format works
Each team will play eight games — four home and four away — in the new league phase of the tournament against eight different teams.
Teams were ranked into four pots and each team will play against two teams from each of the four pots — one match at home and one match away against a team from each pot. The full pot list is below.
The top eight teams in the league phase will qualify for the Round of 16. Teams who finish in positions 25-36 will be eliminated from the Champions League and will not play in any other European competition for the rest of the 2024-25 season.
Sixteen teams in positions 9-24 will qualify for the knockout round playoffs, with eight winners moving onto the Round of 16 to face teams 1-8 from the league phase. The tournament goes in traditional fashion from there.