Last night's Europa Conference League outcome is likely to affect Leeds United's 2026/27 schedule.
Almost half of Leeds United’s Premier League rivals will be playing European football next season - with knock-on effects likely to be both positive and negative.
Crystal Palace claimed their first ever European trophy on Wednesday night following a 1-0 Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano. The Eagles finished one place and two points shy of Leeds in the Premier League but can now look forward to Europa League football next season as a result of that victory.
For the second season in a row, a bottom-half Premier League team has claimed continental glory, with Tottenham Hotspur finishing 17th and winning the Europa League a year ago. And it will once again mean a record level of English participation in Europe for the 2026/27 campaign.
The Premier League’s top five - Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool - all qualified for the Champions League while Palace have joined Bournemouth and over-achievers Sunderland in the Europa League. Brighton and Hove Albion have claimed England’s only Conference League spot.
That’s nine of Leeds’ Premier League rivals set for European competition next season, a number never seen until the 2025/26 campaign and now seen twice in a row. And it will have an effect on the fixture schedule for Daniel Farke’s side.
Premier League rules state no team playing in European competition on a Thursday can then be scheduled to play domestic football the following Saturday. Said teams’ fixtures are always pushed back to the Sunday afternoon, allowing an extra day of rest.
With four teams set for regular Thursday-night football next season, it’s likely Leeds will come up against at least one of Bournemouth, Sunderland, Palace or Brighton the following weekend. Last season, Farke’s side had two games pushed back to the Sunday because of midweek European competition - a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest and March’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.
Leeds United vulnerable to Friday and Monday slots
Teams in Europe can also be effectively shielded from playing on Friday or Monday nights too. A Wednesday or Thursday night European game cannot be followed by Premier League action on a Friday, for example, while Monday-night league action can’t precede a continental match on the Tuesday or Wednesday.
That essentially means that in weeks where there are nine Premier League teams competing in European competition, there is a much smaller pool of options for broadcasters to pick from when scheduling Friday or Monday games. Progression in the Carabao Cup rounds locks up more midweek slots, again making it harder to move matches around.
Sky Sports, the main broadcasters, are meant to pick any Premier League team no more than five times for the Friday and Monday night slots combined. Last season, Leeds were selected seven times.
As one of the Premier League’s bigger teams not participating in Europe, Leeds are vulnerable to having fixtures selected for broadcast. Games involving the Whites attract large audiences and the unique atmosphere of Elland Road under the lights paints a positive picture of top-flight football for broadcasters like Sky Sports.
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One potential benefit for Leeds, however, will be their more relaxed schedule in comparison to those competing in Europe. Farke’s side played 44 games across all competitions last season while relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest played 52 and 56 matches respectively. Palace came through a whopping 60 fixtures.
That increase in load will undoubtedly have had an impact on the respective squads, with European-competing teams often struggling with fitness issues. Leeds, meanwhile, came through the majority of the season in good health, with a relatively relaxed schedule allowing the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor to be managed. Only once survival was confirmed did issues start to build up.
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