⚽ UEFA Europa League 2026-2027 🥈

[snipie]

UEFA Europa League 2026 - 2027 games are about to start.
This topic is dedicated to the discussions about the games, the teams and to suggest your predictions for the other members.
This topic is self-moderated to avoid seeing posts not related to this tournament or spam. I ask people to report it to me in case I wasn't able to overwatch all of it.

Here is the list of the games that will be played tomorrow:

[dzonikg28]

UEFA Europa League 2026 - 2027 games are about to start.
This topic is dedicated to the discussions about the games, the teams and to suggest your predictions for the other members.
This topic is self-moderated to avoid seeing posts not related to this tournament or spam. I ask people to report it to me in case I wasn't able to overwatch all of it.

Here is the list of the games that will be played tomorrow:

I had a look at the table for Dynamo Kiyv and I don't really understand how their qualification mode works. It looks like Kiyv as fourth is in the Europa League qualification while second and third are playing Conference League qualification? How is that possible or am I wrong? I hope Kyiv is advancing to the next round as all those Ukrainian clubs are going through hard times.

Every time I read the name Sheriff Tiraspol, I must think back to the match they won against Real Madrid years ago. I think it was in Madrid and they won against all odds.

I expect Qarabag to make it against Vestri. Qarabag has been able to qualify for a long time I think on a yearly basis and they got the experience needed to get this done.

[snipie]

-snip-

I had a look at the table for Dynamo Kiyv and I don't really understand how their qualification mode works. It looks like Kiyv as fourth is in the Europa League qualification while second and third are playing Conference League qualification? How is that possible or am I wrong? I hope Kyiv is advancing to the next round as all those Ukrainian clubs are going through hard times.

Well it is a bit complicated for Ukraine since they league is a low tier one. Basically the team that finishes first goes to UEFA Champions League, which is Shakhtar Donetsk. After that, we shouldn't look for the second spot systematically, instead we should verify which team won the Cup there, because it will qualify for UEFA Europa League regardless of its rank. Since Dynamo Kyiv, which finished 4th in the ranking by the way, made it then they could participate in Europa League. After fulfilling these two spots, the other top teams qualified for the UEFA Conference League.

[Agbamoni]

I think you are missing out on something, or maybe you want the qualifiers to be done with before you update the thread.
What I think is missing is the table of teams that have already qualified for the UEFA Europa League phase. 13 teams in total have already qualified.
Apparently, a total of 36 teams are supposed to play the league stage under the new format. 13 teams qualify directly, 12 teams from the Europa League qualifying rounds, which have just begun tomorrow. The remaining 11 teams will come after losing in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.

[Varnquister]

Karabakh will face Vestri in the first qualifying round of the Europa League. I think Vestri is a very easy opponent for Karabakh. Karabakh should easily advance from this matchup. We saw how they performed in the Champions League last season, so they should comfortably beat teams of this caliber in the Europa League and qualify for the group stage.

[rdluffy]

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

[Varnquister]

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

Betting on these qualifying rounds is truly a matter of luck; after all, we’re seeing that the teams haven’t quite settled into their own playing styles yet and are producing matches open to surprise results. We’ve been seeing this for the past two days in the Champions League and Conference League qualifiers, so betting accordingly is a must. You’d have to put together a super-risky betting slip, and frankly, I don’t want to bet on these qualifying rounds.

[Hvdv]

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

Betting on these qualifying rounds is truly a matter of luck; after all, we’re seeing that the teams haven’t quite settled into their own playing styles yet and are producing matches open to surprise results. We’ve been seeing this for the past two days in the Champions League and Conference League qualifiers, so betting accordingly is a must. You’d have to put together a super-risky betting slip, and frankly, I don’t want to bet on these qualifying rounds.

Risky bets can be placed on these kinds of qualifying matches before the season even starts. Therefore, I don't think pre-season matches, where anything can happen, are logical for betting. Perhaps more certain bets can be placed in the next round. However, from what I can see, the players are still returning from vacation and may not be fully physically and mentally ready.

[Ruttoshi]

Betting on these qualifying rounds is truly a matter of luck; after all, we’re seeing that the teams haven’t quite settled into their own playing styles yet and are producing matches open to surprise results. We’ve been seeing this for the past two days in the Champions League and Conference League qualifiers, so betting accordingly is a must. You’d have to put together a super-risky betting slip, and frankly, I don’t want to bet on these qualifying rounds.

Gambling depends on luck to win your bet but it's also good that you bet on teams that you know their quality and strength to have an additional advantage of winning your bet.

Of course, at this stage of the competition, it would be very difficult to understand these clubs strength because some of them are still new to us. I don't like betting at this stage only, if there are no other matches ongoing and I feel like betting. For now, I will stick to the world cup games.

[Varnquister]

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

Betting on these qualifying rounds is truly a matter of luck; after all, we’re seeing that the teams haven’t quite settled into their own playing styles yet and are producing matches open to surprise results. We’ve been seeing this for the past two days in the Champions League and Conference League qualifiers, so betting accordingly is a must. You’d have to put together a super-risky betting slip, and frankly, I don’t want to bet on these qualifying rounds.

Risky bets can be placed on these kinds of qualifying matches before the season even starts. Therefore, I don't think pre-season matches, where anything can happen, are logical for betting. Perhaps more certain bets can be placed in the next round. However, from what I can see, the players are still returning from vacation and may not be fully physically and mentally ready.

Most likely, that’s exactly how they’re thinking, which is why it’s hard to predict what the teams will do in the first few games. Since these are matches where a loss can be made up for later, it’s normal to see surprising results. Especially since these are first-round matches, we mustn’t forget that the teams are still in the process of preparing.

[snipie]

I think you are missing out on something, or maybe you want the qualifiers to be done with before you update the thread.
What I think is missing is the table of teams that have already qualified for the UEFA Europa League phase. 13 teams in total have already qualified.

Yeah, it is better to have a unique topic where we can discuss everything related to UEFA Europa League since the preliminary stage. Of course there is very known teams in top leagues that passed directly the qualifying rounds and they will be included later in this topic if no one posted them by that time before I do here.

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

It is just the beginning and aside from people living in the concerned countries, many teams are less known by us hence the difficulty to bet in favor or against them.
The betting strategy starts by learning a lot about the two teams playing the match, see how many professional players they have who are able to score and are not injured or if they recruited a key player. Studying these details will increase the chance to pick the right side.

[Slow death]

Of the games being played today, I see the Qarabag vs. IF Vestri match as the most predictable; I see Qarabag winning by at least two goals. They will be playing at home, at the Tofiq Bahramov stadium. Although these two teams have never faced each other before in UEFA competitions, Qarabag has more experience in this competition. Remember that last season they even beat Benfica. Qarabag will probably be without their player Camilo Duran, apparently due to his transfer to Celtic. Vestri, on the other hand, will have all their players available.

[len01]

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

Qarabag vs Vestri (under 5.25)
Sheriff vs Aluminij (BTTS no)
Dynamo Kyiv vs Universitatea (under 3.5)

If I were betting, these are the three matches I'd focus on.

The easiest and most comfortable option would be to include Qarabag, Sheriff, and Dynamo in a parlay, as all 3 are playing at home and have far more experience in UEFA competitions than their opponents.

That said, I wouldn't underestimate the underdogs. Teams like these often make life difficult for the favorites. They're likely to employ a defensive, park the bus approach to avoid conceding too many goals in the first leg, hoping to keep the aggregate score within reach and turn things around when they play the second leg at home.

[Jossque]

Hajduk Split will face Zilina in their first match of the Europa League. We must say that they are, of course, the favorites to advance past Zilina. That’s why playing at home in the first match will give them a significant advantage. I expect Hajduk Split to score at least two goals against their opponent. Split will secure a favorable lead in the first match and virtually guarantee their advancement to the next round. I think Zilina will score in their home game, but I’m not sure if they can score on the road.

[dzonikg28]

-snip-

I had a look at the table for Dynamo Kiyv and I don't really understand how their qualification mode works. It looks like Kiyv as fourth is in the Europa League qualification while second and third are playing Conference League qualification? How is that possible or am I wrong? I hope Kyiv is advancing to the next round as all those Ukrainian clubs are going through hard times.

Well it is a bit complicated for Ukraine since they league is a low tier one. Basically the team that finishes first goes to UEFA Champions League, which is Shakhtar Donetsk. After that, we shouldn't look for the second spot systematically, instead we should verify which team won the Cup there, because it will qualify for UEFA Europa League regardless of its rank. Since Dynamo Kyiv, which finished 4th in the ranking by the way, made it then they could participate in Europa League. After fulfilling these two spots, the other top teams qualified for the UEFA Conference League.

Ok now I understand. I know the mechanics from other leagues and how they can still qualify when they win cups, but in case of Ukraine it still looked a bit weird.

Kiyv now had a bad start against Cluj and I think giving away those important three points in the first leg could turn out to be very costly for them. They had the chances to win it. I am looking forward to the times when they finally have real home matches again. This time they played in Lublin and while it is great to see many clubs offering them their stadiums, it still isn't the same as a real home match.

It is still hard to believe that the Premier League has Bournemouth and Sunderland representing them in the Europa League while Chelsea and Newcastle failed to quality. No need to mention Tottenham.

And I almost forgot Crystal Palace as the Conference League winner from last season, but it's difficult to understand how some teams play bad in the league and win these titles.

[LTU_btc]

Ok now I understand. I know the mechanics from other leagues and how they can still qualify when they win cups, but in case of Ukraine it still looked a bit weird.

Kiyv now had a bad start against Cluj and I think giving away those important three points in the first leg could turn out to be very costly for them. They had the chances to win it. I am looking forward to the times when they finally have real home matches again. This time they played in Lublin and while it is great to see many clubs offering them their stadiums, it still isn't the same as a real home match.

It is still hard to believe that the Premier League has Bournemouth and Sunderland representing them in the Europa League while Chelsea and Newcastle failed to quality. No need to mention Tottenham.

And I almost forgot Crystal Palace as the Conference League winner from last season, but it's difficult to understand how some teams play bad in the league and win these titles.

Not sure what is strange about Ukraine, but anyway, when you start to look deeper into all these things like country coefficients, rankings and etc, it's quite complicated thing. There is also like Vestri from Iceland - they won cup and got ticket to Europe, but also they relegated to 2nd Iceland division. Nothing surprising that they can't give much fight for team like Qarabag who played in CL playoffs last season.
Not surprised about Dynamo Kyiv result. They were favorites on paper, but in recent seasons they had very few good results in Europe

[Alphakilo]

Talking about betting...
I’ve only bet on the Europa League a few times, mostly during the knockout stages when I had a better grasp of the teams involved

Do you guys have a good strategy for this competition, though?
Looking at these early matches, it seems hard to pick favorites, or even guess who might go on to win the title at this stage (unlike in the Champions League), in my opinion

You are right about the champions league being easier to predict as in comparison to the UEFA Europa League and am sure a good reason is because majority of the star players we know are in the Champions league competitions and the Europa League has a kind of erratic or should I say chaotic system for now.

I know one trick though and that is to never place a bet until the official starting lineups is known. This should be open news around about an hour before any kick off.

The return leg would be on the 16th of this July and am certainly going to bet on Qarabag and Ferencvaros making an advance into the second round. Am also going to keep a close eye on Derry City vs CSKA Sofia and betting on Dynamo Kyiv is a bigger risk because of their last underperformance so far, maybe U Cluj could deliver a shocking win or not.

[Agbamoni]

I think you are missing out on something, or maybe you want the qualifiers to be done with before you update the thread.
What I think is missing is the table of teams that have already qualified for the UEFA Europa League phase. 13 teams in total have already qualified.

Yeah, it is better to have a unique topic where we can discuss everything related to UEFA Europa League since the preliminary stage. Of course there is very known teams in top leagues that passed directly the qualifying rounds and they will be included later in this topic if no one posted them by that time before I do here.

Okay, I understand better. You've decided to take it one step at a time, instead of occupying the thread page wth matches that are not decided yet.
You've done a great job snipe, kudos!. In the meantime, I'll contribute positively in any way I can. And if you forget to add the teams when it's due, I'll do it. Provided you dont have a problem with that. Cheers!

[Daniel91]

Hajduk Split will face Zilina in their first match of the Europa League. We must say that they are, of course, the favorites to advance past Zilina. That’s why playing at home in the first match will give them a significant advantage. I expect Hajduk Split to score at least two goals against their opponent. Split will secure a favorable lead in the first match and virtually guarantee their advancement to the next round. I think Zilina will score in their home game, but I’m not sure if they can score on the road.

You predicted the result of this match very well.
Hajduk had serious problems before the match due to a conflict between the main player Livaja and the coach, there are also a lot of new players in the team so I wasn't sure how they will do against Zilina, but they played a great match and should have won even more convincingly, with a 3-4 goal advantage.
I believe that this win will still be enough for them to advance against Zilina in the return match because it seems to me that there is still a big difference in the quality of these 2 teams and that Hajduk should easily advance.
This was actually a very predictable round without any major surprises in the results.

[Jossque]

Hajduk Split secured a 2-0 victory over Zilina with goals scored in the first half and early in the second half, giving them the upper hand to advance to the next round. Hajduk Split was already the favorite against Zilina, so their win came as no surprise. In my opinion, Zilina didn’t have much of a chance against their opponent, especially on the road.
Vojvodina failed to beat Ferencvaros and has made it difficult for themselves to advance to the next round. We can say that Ferencvaros won this match thanks to their experience. Although the first half ended 1-1 after Ferencvaros took the lead early on, they scored the winning goal in the final minutes and will now play a comfortable match at home.