UEFA Europa League 2026/27 Season

[eisen33]

This year's Europa League might be different because strong European teams like Juventus, Milan, and Benfica are participating. These teams are generally Champions League winners and have very strong squads. Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who qualified for the Europa League from the Premier League, could be eliminated by these teams. We might even see matches in the Europa League this year that are similar to those in the Champions League.

None of the teams you mentioned have won the Champions League in a long time, and the fact that they're now forced to play in the Europa League once again shows that they're weaker. I don't know who will win the Europa League, it's always been a difficult tournament to predict because it's not a priority for all teams. Juventus is weak, Milan is still inconsistent, Benfica might look good in the Europa League, but there are other teams who could win the final.

[tiCeR]

This year's Europa League might be different because strong European teams like Juventus, Milan, and Benfica are participating. These teams are generally Champions League winners and have very strong squads. Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who qualified for the Europa League from the Premier League, could be eliminated by these teams. We might even see matches in the Europa League this year that are similar to those in the Champions League.

None of the teams you mentioned have won the Champions League in a long time, and the fact that they're now forced to play in the Europa League once again shows that they're weaker. I don't know who will win the Europa League, it's always been a difficult tournament to predict because it's not a priority for all teams. Juventus is weak, Milan is still inconsistent, Benfica might look good in the Europa League, but there are other teams who could win the final.

If he said they can generally be or have generally been Champions League participants, ok, I could have agreed with that, but Champions League winners? Generally?

This is like this guy used a time machine from around 20 years ago, landed today, sees the names of these teams and thinks they are worthy of the Champions League. Juventus Turin and AC Milan would be completely destroyed, this is ridiculous. Think about AC Milan or Juventus against PSG or Barcelona.

Black Mbaye, are you sure you are attending the right sources for your information? AC Milan finished 5th and 8th in the last two seasons and three seasons ago they finished second 19 points behind Inter Milan. Maybe you are right, a real Champions League winner.

[Xyloo]

This year's Europa League might be different because strong European teams like Juventus, Milan, and Benfica are participating. These teams are generally Champions League winners and have very strong squads. Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who qualified for the Europa League from the Premier League, could be eliminated by these teams. We might even see matches in the Europa League this year that are similar to those in the Champions League.

None of the teams you mentioned have won the Champions League in a long time, and the fact that they're now forced to play in the Europa League once again shows that they're weaker. I don't know who will win the Europa League, it's always been a difficult tournament to predict because it's not a priority for all teams. Juventus is weak, Milan is still inconsistent, Benfica might look good in the Europa League, but there are other teams who could win the final.

Of course, I think the same way as you, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that we're watching a more competitive Europa League compared to previous years. It seems like there are bigger teams in the Europa League than in previous years. Milan and Juventus, who were unsuccessful in their own leagues last year and were pushed down from the Champions League standings by Como in the last week, are the first examples of this. Normally, one of these teams should have been in the Champions League, but Como pushed them down and sent them to the Europa League. We'll see what they can do here.

[ingiltere]

When the fixture was drawn, everyone started talking about what would happen with the Hapoel Beer Sheva match. Israeli teams don't want to come to Türkiye. They want the match to be played in another country and without spectators. Unfortunately, UEFA is usually making this decision as their favor, and our teams are losing their home-field advantage. This is a major disadvantage. It's a huge injustice that while other teams play 4 home games, we only get to play 3. Having the match played without spectators is another absurdity.

Today another possibility was discussed. Adalı announced that there's a chance the match could be played in Batumi with fans in attendance. Playing abroad is already bad, but if this happens, it's still better than nothing. Fan support would be there as well. Many Turkish people could travel there to watch the match. Ultimately, no matter where it's played, Beşiktaş need to win this match. They're far far bigger than Hapoel Beer Sheva.

[tiCeR]

When the fixture was drawn, everyone started talking about what would happen with the Hapoel Beer Sheva match. Israeli teams don't want to come to Türkiye. They want the match to be played in another country and without spectators. Unfortunately, UEFA is usually making this decision as their favor, and our teams are losing their home-field advantage. This is a major disadvantage. It's a huge injustice that while other teams play 4 home games, we only get to play 3. Having the match played without spectators is another absurdity.

I think we should be more careful here with the wording, but I am sure you are not implying the wrong things when you say it is an injustice. You probably mean it is a disadvantage, which I agree with. However, it should not be denied that the real threat is in Turkey and it were the Turkish security agencies - not the UEFA - when they decided in 2025 to not let the match between Besiktas and Maccabi take place. The UEFA only followed the instructions of Turkish security agencies.

Today another possibility was discussed. Adalı announced that there's a chance the match could be played in Batumi with fans in attendance. Playing abroad is already bad, but if this happens, it's still better than nothing. Fan support would be there as well. Many Turkish people could travel there to watch the match. Ultimately, no matter where it's played, Beşiktaş need to win this match. They're far far bigger than Hapoel Beer Sheva.

The UEFA has been very careful here because they did only act in agreement with national authorities for any match when Isreal plays away from home. Since 2023, I think everyone knows that times have once again changed for the worse.

I personally like to watch good matches with Turkish fans because I think, like the saying goes, they are the 12th player on the field. Every professional player says that playing in Istanbul, for example, can be like hell regardless of whether you are the favorite or not.

[KTChampions]

When the fixture was drawn, everyone started talking about what would happen with the Hapoel Beer Sheva match. Israeli teams don't want to come to Türkiye. They want the match to be played in another country and without spectators. Unfortunately, UEFA is usually making this decision as their favor, and our teams are losing their home-field advantage. This is a major disadvantage. It's a huge injustice that while other teams play 4 home games, we only get to play 3. Having the match played without spectators is another absurdity.

Today another possibility was discussed. Adalı announced that there's a chance the match could be played in Batumi with fans in attendance. Playing abroad is already bad, but if this happens, it's still better than nothing. Fan support would be there as well. Many Turkish people could travel there to watch the match. Ultimately, no matter where it's played, Beşiktaş need to win this match. They're far far bigger than Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Yeah, a really strange situation. The participation of Israeli clubs in international competitions is questionable in itself, but given their brazen demands and the fact that they have zero positive impact on the tournaments, it looks like a bad joke. I think the vast majority of fans hope that these problematic clubs will be knocked out of the tournaments as early as possible. By the way google tells me that, aside from the obvious (playing in the AFC), Israel also played in Oceania at one point  It’s a shame they didn’t stay there, now, proper UEFA clubs are facing problems because of them.

[ndutndut]

None of the teams you mentioned have won the Champions League in a long time, and the fact that they're now forced to play in the Europa League once again shows that they're weaker. I don't know who will win the Europa League, it's always been a difficult tournament to predict because it's not a priority for all teams. Juventus is weak, Milan is still inconsistent, Benfica might look good in the Europa League, but there are other teams who could win the final.

Of course, I think the same way as you, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that we're watching a more competitive Europa League compared to previous years. It seems like there are bigger teams in the Europa League than in previous years. Milan and Juventus, who were unsuccessful in their own leagues last year and were pushed down from the Champions League standings by Como in the last week, are the first examples of this. Normally, one of these teams should have been in the Champions League, but Como pushed them down and sent them to the Europa League. We'll see what they can do here.

What you said is very true. With the presence of big teams that often play in the UCL in the Europa League, it makes this competition more competitive. We also definitely have to accept how last season thanks to them winning the last match Como made Juventus and Milan fail to secure the main ticket because they were pushed aside by Como.

I mean, the presence of teams like Juventus, Milan and Benfica certainly raises the level of European competition this season and even makes it hard for all of us to predict who will become the champion. Moreover, the Europa League still has its own character that is hard to predict because often many big clubs that are favored end up going home early. So, we'll just have to wait and see how Milan, Benfica and Juventus adapt in this tournament and whether they can bounce back or if they’ll get knocked out earlier in the competition.

[ingiltere]

I think we should be more careful here with the wording, but I am sure you are not implying the wrong things when you say it is an injustice. You probably mean it is a disadvantage, which I agree with. However, it should not be denied that the real threat is in Turkey and it were the Turkish security agencies - not the UEFA - when they decided in 2025 to not let the match between Besiktas and Maccabi take place. The UEFA only followed the instructions of Turkish security agencies.

Isn't it injustice that while all other teams play 4 home and 4 away games, we have to play 3 home and 5 away games? There are no issues between Türkiye and Israel. In fact quite the opposite, relations are good. This is a safe country for Israelis as well, just as it is for all other nations. Aside from a few small political extremist groups, no one has a problem with Israeli teams. This is sports, not war. Athletes aren't responsible for the crimes committed by their governments either.

If Turkish teams are going to lose their home-field advantage when playing against Israeli teams, then UEFA shouldn't have allowed these match-ups in the first place. They do this for teams from other countries that have controversies. Why is Beşiktaş being treated unfairly here? The Turkish government doesn't care about our rights anyway. At the very least, UEFA needs to set a standard and adhere to it.

[Youngrebel]

I think we should be more careful here with the wording, but I am sure you are not implying the wrong things when you say it is an injustice. You probably mean it is a disadvantage, which I agree with. However, it should not be denied that the real threat is in Turkey and it were the Turkish security agencies - not the UEFA - when they decided in 2025 to not let the match between Besiktas and Maccabi take place. The UEFA only followed the instructions of Turkish security agencies.

Isn't it injustice that while all other teams play 4 home and 4 away games, we have to play 3 home and 5 away games? There are no issues between Türkiye and Israel. In fact quite the opposite, relations are good. This is a safe country for Israelis as well, just as it is for all other nations. Aside from a few small political extremist groups, no one has a problem with Israeli teams. This is sports, not war. Athletes aren't responsible for the crimes committed by their governments either.

If Turkish teams are going to lose their home-field advantage when playing against Israeli teams, then UEFA shouldn't have allowed these match-ups in the first place. They do this for teams from other countries that have controversies. Why is Beşiktaş being treated unfairly here? The Turkish government doesn't care about our rights anyway. At the very least, UEFA needs to set a standard and adhere to it.

UEFA can have security concerns, but i think the rules should be clear and applied strictly to every club and their player should not be punished for political decisions made by any governments, because football is a game that is supposed to bring people together and if UEFA believes a game cannot safely be played at its scheduled venue, they should just come out and explain their reasons openly rather than leaving clubs and supporters feeling that they are being treated differently.

[xzone]

When the fixture was drawn, everyone started talking about what would happen with the Hapoel Beer Sheva match. Israeli teams don't want to come to Türkiye. They want the match to be played in another country and without spectators. Unfortunately, UEFA is usually making this decision as their favor, and our teams are losing their home-field advantage. This is a major disadvantage. It's a huge injustice that while other teams play 4 home games, we only get to play 3. Having the match played without spectators is another absurdity.

Today another possibility was discussed. Adalı announced that there's a chance the match could be played in Batumi with fans in attendance. Playing abroad is already bad, but if this happens, it's still better than nothing. Fan support would be there as well. Many Turkish people could travel there to watch the match. Ultimately, no matter where it's played, Beşiktaş need to win this match. They're far far bigger than Hapoel Beer Sheva.

If a match were held in Batumi, enough Turks would go to watch it, filling the entire stadium. Yet, all of this is ridiculous; why can't we play our own home matches? If there are political problems, wars, or other issues, why do these teams come to play in Europe? This situation needs to change; no country has to accept this. If a match is to be played in the Europa League, it must be according to the rules. We all know how much of an advantage a team has playing at home

[tiCeR]

...

Isn't it injustice that while all other teams play 4 home and 4 away games, we have to play 3 home and 5 away games? There are no issues between Türkiye and Israel. In fact quite the opposite, relations are good. This is a safe country for Israelis as well, just as it is for all other nations. Aside from a few small political extremist groups, no one has a problem with Israeli teams. This is sports, not war. Athletes aren't responsible for the crimes committed by their governments either.

If Turkish teams are going to lose their home-field advantage when playing against Israeli teams, then UEFA shouldn't have allowed these match-ups in the first place. They do this for teams from other countries that have controversies. Why is Beşiktaş being treated unfairly here? The Turkish government doesn't care about our rights anyway. At the very least, UEFA needs to set a standard and adhere to it.

This is not my opinion or anything and I know Turkey, but sometimes this is presented as if the Israeli players unilaterally decide to not go to Turkey and play. A far as I know and from what I had read, this is wrong. I don't know what the situation is now, but the standard process is that the UEFA is consulting national security agencies for almost all matches, depending on whether there could be expected threats or not. And the last time it was the Turkish security agency that said to the UEFA: this is not good.

It may have changed, but there must be a reason why the UEFA goes this way. I don't think they have just decided it because it felt great.

I hate it for any team when they can't play at home because that is what it is all about. Both teams get a chance to play in front of their own fans and with the support of their own fans. Shakhtar knows this too well. God knows for how many years they won't be able to play at home. Terrible.

[redhack]

Matchday 2 is next week. Are you excited?

Olympique Lyonnais - Crystal Palace
Union SG - Real Sociedad
Salzburg - AC Milan
Lech Poznan - Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica - Celtic
Marseille - Olympiacos
Bournemouth - Sturm Graz
Celta Vigo - Juventus
Hoffenheim - Beşiktaş

Some crazy matches.

[Youngrebel]

Isn't it injustice that while all other teams play 4 home and 4 away games, we have to play 3 home and 5 away games? There are no issues between Türkiye and Israel. In fact quite the opposite, relations are good. This is a safe country for Israelis as well, just as it is for all other nations. Aside from a few small political extremist groups, no one has a problem with Israeli teams. This is sports, not war. Athletes aren't responsible for the crimes committed by their governments either.

If Turkish teams are going to lose their home-field advantage when playing against Israeli teams, then UEFA shouldn't have allowed these match-ups in the first place. They do this for teams from other countries that have controversies. Why is Beşiktaş being treated unfairly here? The Turkish government doesn't care about our rights anyway. At the very least, UEFA needs to set a standard and adhere to it.

I like when you said this is sport now war and honestly i can fell your pain, if UEFA allowed the fixture to happen in the first place, then moving the game away from Beşiktaş’s does not make any sense comparing to the other teams, playing 3 home and 5 away instead of 4 and 4 actually looks like cheating and your point are valid Israeli footballers are not the once who created the political situation, just the same way Turkish players are also not responsible for everything their government does at the end of the day, they are footballers doing their job to survive and if UEFA believes that a game cannot be played in one country because of security issues then there should be a clear rule explaining why and it should be so and work on it.

[paco92x]

Matchday 2 is next week. Are you excited?

Olympique Lyonnais - Crystal Palace
Union SG - Real Sociedad
Salzburg - AC Milan
Lech Poznan - Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica - Celtic
Marseille - Olympiacos
Bournemouth - Sturm Graz
Celta Vigo - Juventus
Hoffenheim - Beşiktaş

Some crazy matches.

Some nice games are coming our way this week. Lyon vs. Palace sounds like a strong matchup with how both teams are playing. I can't say that I know who will win, but I will back Lyon just because of home advantage. Another good game for me is Celta vs. Juve. I don't think that Celta will calculate anything this early; they'll try to attack like pretty much all Spanish teams. Pressure and possession are on the menu for them here.

[Lida93]

This year's Europa League might be different because strong European teams like Juventus, Milan, and Benfica are participating. These teams are generally Champions League winners and have very strong squads. Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who qualified for the Europa League from the Premier League, could be eliminated by these teams. We might even see matches in the Europa League this year that are similar to those in the Champions League.

None of the teams you mentioned have won the Champions League in a long time, and the fact that they're now forced to play in the Europa League once again shows that they're weaker. I don't know who will win the Europa League, it's always been a difficult tournament to predict because it's not a priority for all teams. Juventus is weak, Milan is still inconsistent, Benfica might look good in the Europa League, but there are other teams who could win the final.

It seems as the seasons go by, the competition within the respective leagues usually evolve and things usually change as well, seeing the elite clubs in some leagues finish at some awkward positions at the table is nothing to write home about and at such this means most of these teams would have to settle for a place in the Europa League and the resultant factor would be a very competitive season for all the teams competing in Europe's second elite club competition especially when you have the likes of Milan, Juventus, Crystal palace, Benfica, Sunderland and other top teams from France, Italy and Germany as well.

[LGD2Business]

At the Hoffenheim game there will likely be more Turkish fans in the stadium than German ones. I can't even imagine the atmosphere there. Germany games make you feel like you're playing at home rather than on the road. Çarşı Berlin and other big fan groups from all over Europe will be heading to this match. I think it's very likely that Beşiktaş will get some points in this match. A win wouldn't be a surprise.
Hoffenheim isn't doing well in the Bundesliga, they should focus on their local league.

[Tonimez]

This year's Europa League might be different because strong European teams like Juventus, Milan, and Benfica are participating. These teams are generally Champions League winners and have very strong squads. Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who qualified for the Europa League from the Premier League, could be eliminated by these teams. We might even see matches in the Europa League this year that are similar to those in the Champions League.

None of the teams you mentioned have won the Champions League in a long time, and the fact that they're now forced to play in the Europa League once again shows that they're weaker. I don't know who will win the Europa League, it's always been a difficult tournament to predict because it's not a priority for all teams. Juventus is weak, Milan is still inconsistent, Benfica might look good in the Europa League, but there are other teams who could win the final.

It is obvious that football is changing and more brilliant teams are coming up. Most of these big teams only survive by history and nothing more to offer because their time has either passed or they're going through a long team rebuilding process. I understand how strong Juventus, and Milan is on paper, but I am not scared about them playing crystal palace as crystal palace is a more stronger side than what it used to be back in the old days. Benfica is a very strong side and I think they stand higher chances about Juventus and Milan because they're only in the Europa due to their league quota.

Sunderland and crystal palace is a very stubborn English teams and may survive until very later into the tournament against many people's view.

[Pressurizedem]

The two English teams in the Europa league I will be backing to shock the world is Sunderland and Crystal Palace. They are two lower teams in the premier league, but all these teams are not always lower when they play in Europa competition. They will still show to the world that English premier league is the best league in the world, so no must by being a team in England alone is enough reason to show what you are made of.

Sunderland especially is the team I'm tipping to find their way to the top this time, they should be able to survive to the final or semi final of this competition. I know it won't be easy considering the fact that we have other big teams that are already there, but talking about team's performance, if they aren't playing against an English team that already understands how they play, most of the big teams in Europe cannot beat them, and that is why I am tipping them to go as far as reaching the final of this competition.

[Gost ms]

The two English teams in the Europa league I will be backing to shock the world is Sunderland and Crystal Palace. They are two lower teams in the premier league, but all these teams are not always lower when they play in Europa competition. They will still show to the world that English premier league is the best league in the world, so no must by being a team in England alone is enough reason to show what you are made of.

Sunderland especially is the team I'm tipping to find their way to the top this time, they should be able to survive to the final or semi final of this competition. I know it won't be easy considering the fact that we have other big teams that are already there, but talking about team's performance, if they aren't playing against an English team that already understands how they play, most of the big teams in Europe cannot beat them, and that is why I am tipping them to go as far as reaching the final of this competition.

I wouldn't put Sunderland in the 3rd place in the trophy race at all. Although they have started very well, it doesn't mean that they can maintain their start and the chances of not doing so are very high. If we look at their performance in the Premier League, we can see how weak they are. Sunderland have won only one match out of 5 matches and have conceded a lot of goals, which is a clear indication of how weak their defensive part is. I would put Juventus in the first place in the title race because I think they have a much better chance of winning.

[X-ray]

Matchday 2 is next week. Are you excited?

Olympique Lyonnais - Crystal Palace
Union SG - Real Sociedad
Salzburg - AC Milan
Lech Poznan - Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica - Celtic
Marseille - Olympiacos
Bournemouth - Sturm Graz
Celta Vigo - Juventus
Hoffenheim - Beşiktaş

Some crazy matches.

Only AC Milan - Salzburg and Lyon - Crystal Palace are worth to watch. I believe the rest is not that interesting because it's all about the big side against a small side.

Here's my thought about Milan - Salzburg and  Lyon - Crystal Palace, Milan is not that good nor bad, they are in the middle. Sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down.

So i have lesser epectation to see them win with narrow score. 1-0 is most probably enough, and the game away game is not a distrubing their mentality. Nevertheles, my comfy on Milan may change if i see bad line up published by them in this game.

Then Lyon vs Crystal Palace is pretty interesting to watch. Lyon is at the 2nd standing on its local league table, but English team is always giving me more confidence to watch.

We have seen how dominant English teams in the previous seasons. It makes me thinking gambling on Crystal Palace with 3.18 is a tempting offer to miss.

Regardless of those games, the rest such as Leverkusen vs Poznan, Sociedad vs Gilloise, Sunderland vs Torreense, and Bournemouth vs Sturm Graz are good games to pick money line.