Hello and welcome to The Athletic, where we’ll have you covered throughout what’s sure to be a wild decision day in the Europa League!
Following a chaotic 18-match day in the Champions League yesterday, we have the same format in Europe’s second-tier competition, with 18 games and 36 teams all kicking off at the same time.
Like the Champions League, the new Europa League format shakes out like this: teams in the top eight of the 36-team table are automatically through to the knockout stage round of 16.
While teams from ninth to 24th in the standings will head to a play-off round, and the eight winners of that round will comprise the rest of the final 16 teams remaining. Positions 25 through 36 in the table will be eliminated.
That means that teams like Manchester United and Tottenham must get results today to secure their places in the top eight, while others like Porto and FC Twente can still fight for spots in last 24.
Who will make the top eight? Whose knockout stage will be starting early? And who will be eliminated? We’ll have you covered throughout the day right here on The Athletic.
