The Europa League may be Europe’s secondary club competition after the lucrative UEFA Champions League, but its entertainment and dramatic value will increase dramatically after changes made for the 2021-22 tournament to make it more exclusive and competitive.
First, the group stage is reduced from 48 teams to 32 teams, and the eight third-place Champions League teams that previously only entered the Europa League knockout stages as consolation prizes, will now have to prove themselves through matches. playoffs. Gone are the days of the highly inflated Round of 32 allocating slots to the Champions League winners – the Europa League knockout stages will now begin with Round 16 and half of the participants will go through the knockout stages.
That playoff draw is coming Monday, December 13. Here’s how it works and which teams are involved.
Europa League play-off draw
In the past, third-place Champions League teams have been relegated to the Europa League knockout stages because they were deemed worthy based on the quality and credentials that got them into Europe’s top competition in the first place. Starting from this season, they will have to win a place in the Europa League Round of 16.
Those eight Champions League teams will be drawn with the eight Europa League runners-up in a playoff series that will take place over two legs on February 17 and February 24. The team with the most goals in each series will be official. get a berth. into Round 16.
| Group 1: Europa League group runner-up | Group 2: 3rd place Champions League |
|---|---|
| Rangers (Group A) | RB Leipzig (Group A) |
| Real Sociedad (Group B) | Porto (Group B) |
| Napoli (Group C) | Borussia Dortmund (Group C) |
| Olympiakos (Group D) | FC Sheriff Tiraspol (Group D) |
| Lazio (Group E) | Barcelona (Group E) |
| Sporting Braga (Group F) | Atalanta (Group F) |
| Real Betis (Group G) | Seville (Group G) |
| Dinamo Zagreb (Group H) | FC Zenit (Group H) |
Only 8 of the 16 names mentioned above will progress from the knockout round to the round of 16, where they will meet the Europa League group winners. Here are the eight group winners set to kick back and watch the knockouts unfold with their opponents’ predictions:
| Europa League group | Winner |
|---|---|
| Group A | Olympique Lyon |
| Group B | AS Monaco |
| Group C | Spartak Moscow |
| EASY group | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Group E | Galatasaray |
| Group F | Red Star Belgrade |
| WOOD Group | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Family group | West Ham United |
When will the Europa League play-off draw take place?
Europa League knockout round draw will be held on December 13 at 7 a.m. ET from UEFA headquarters in Switzerland. It will be shipped by TUDN, can be broadcast on fuboTV (Ready for new users 7 days free trial). It is also available to stream on Paramount+ in the US and on DAZN in Canada.
Eight Europa League group runners-up (Group 1 above) will be seeded for draw purposes. They will form one tile, while the other will contain the third-placed teams from the UEFA Champions League.
The two key details to remember for this playoff draw a picture:
- Teams from the same country cannot play against each other (see table below);
- The Europa League group runner-up will host the second leg of each playoff series. This is considered an advantage because if extra time or a penalty shootout is needed after the first leg 2, it will be at home.
Europa League knockout round by country
Between the eight Europa League group runners-up and the eight Champions League third-placed teams, a total of 16 teams entered the knockout stages.
All 16 positions have been counted. Here is the breakdown by country:
| Ethnic | Total number of clubs | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 4 | Real Betis, Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Sociedad |
| Italy | 3 | Atalanta, Napoli, Lazio |
| Germany | 2 | Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig |
| Portugal | 2 | Porto, Sporting Braga |
| Croatia | first | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Greek | first | Olympiakos |
| Moldova | first | FC Sheriff Tiraspol |
| Russia | first | FC Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| Scotland | first | Rangers |
The two second legs of the Europa League knockout stages will take place on 17 February and 24 February.
The eight remaining teams behind the knockout stages will enter the Europa League round of 16 draw on February 25. The quarter-final draw on March 18 will determine the rest of the group until the final. in Seville on May 18.
Europa League round of 16 fixtures
We’ll get to know the Round of 16 matches at the February 25 draw, which takes place the day after the knockout round ends. And after a three-month wait, the eight Europa League winners will finally get back into action, taking on eight survivors in the knockout round.
Round 16, foot 1
| Day | Competition | Time (ET) | channel | Current |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 #1 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 #2 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 # 3 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 # 4 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 # 5 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 # 6 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 # 7 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 10 | Round 16 # 8 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
Round 16, 2nd leg
| Day | Competition | Time (ET) | channel | Current |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 #1 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 #2 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 # 3 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 # 4 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 # 5 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 # 6 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 # 7 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
| Thursday, March 17 | Round 16 # 8 | 3 pm | TBD | fuboTV, Paramount + |
Who will win the UEFA Europa League 2021-22?
As the tournament progresses, odds researchers will continuously adjust the future prices for each team when qualifying for the Europa League.
This is the latest allowed odds of DraftKings is based in the US (asterisks indicate teams that have qualified for Round 16). Odds for Champions League third place teams are yet to come:
Outright winner rate in Europa League
| Team | December 7 |
|---|---|
| West Ham * | +1000 |
| Lyon * | +1200 |
| Leicester | +1400 |
| Napoli | +1400 |
| Bayer Leverkusen * | +1600 |
| Lazio | +2000 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | +2200 |
| Real Betis | +2200 |
| AS Monaco * | +2500 |
| PSV Eindhoven | +3500 |
| Real Sociedad | +4000 |
| Galatasaray | +5000 |
| Red Star Belgrade | +6500 |
| Olympiakos | +6500 |
| Rangers | +6500 |
| RB Salzburg | +18000 |
| Spartak Moscow | +10000 |
| Sporting Braga | +10000 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | +13000 |
| Legia Warsaw | +13000 |
| Genk | +15000 |
| Midtjylland | +15000 |
UEFA Europa League 2021-2022: Tournament Format
The 2021-2022 edition of the UEFA Europa League could have a tweaked knockout stage.
As usual, the tournament begins with the group stage (eight groups, four teams each) and only the top two teams of each group advance to the next round: the group winners advance to the Round of 16 and the second-placed teams advance to the knockout stages. next. meet the third-place Champions League teams to win the right to play in Round 16. Gone are Round 32 of the past years.
A two-leg knockout, goal-to-goal tie-in all the way through to the one-match final to be held in Sevilla, Spain, on 18 May 2022.
- Group stage: September 16, September 30, October 21, November 4, November 25
- Knockout knockout round: February 17 (Round 1) & February 24 (Round 2)
- Round 16: March 10 (leg 1) and March 17 (leg 2)
- Quarterfinals: April 7 (leg 1) and April 14 (leg 2)
- Semifinal: April 28 (leg 1), May 5 (leg 2)
- Final: May 18, 2022 (Sevilla, Spain)
No away goals in Europa League
Here’s the turning point: For the first time since 1965, no away goals will be used in any of the knockout stages of UEFA competitions, including the Europa League, after it was abolished in June 2021.
Series of games with a total goal score after the second leg ends will go directly to extra time and, if necessary, penalty kicks.
How to watch UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League 2021-22 will be held in the United States by CBS (English) and Univision (Spanish) on several television and streaming platforms.
- Day: 15 matches from September 2021 to May 2022
- Channel: CBS, CBS Sports Network-CBSSN (select matches only)
- Spanish TV: Univision, TUDN, UniMas, Galavision, TUDNxtra (TUDNxtra available through select cable, satellite and streaming providers)
- Streaming (English): Supreme +
- Streaming (Spanish): fuboTV, PrendeTV, TUDN.tv, TUDN app (authenticated user)
CBS Sports features live match, halftime, and post-game studio programming, which airs on CBS Sports Network and streams on Paramount+. Also returning this year is a RedZone-like ambient show called “The Golazo Show,” also on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+, with all the best goals and chances from the group stage matches showing. out simultaneously.
Univision reflects coverage with its own post-production and video game programming. The display around its whip is known as “Zona Fútbol.”
Nearly every Europa League match is available to stream fuboTV, provide a free seven-day trial for new subscribers. The streaming platform carries all of the Univision channel families: Univision, TUDN, UniMas, Galavision and TUDNxtra.
Univision will stream select matches on the ad-supported PrendeTV platform, available for free on mobile and connected TV devices, Amazon Fire TV, Apple (iOS and tvOS), Google (mobile) Android phones and TV devices), Roku and via the web Prende.tv.
